Te deployment did hold some surprises, though, including a confusing incident involving a tourist visa that almost cost Jones a hefty fee. Based on his experience, he advises anyone preparing to deploy to “be ready for anything” and “make sure you gain as much knowledge as you can about where you’re going. You don’t know that you don’t know.”
What Jones did know is that he wanted to be among the best at his job. “If I’m going to do something, I at least want to be able to say that I’m one of
the
FAMILIAR FACES Being deployed to Qatar, where there is no shortage of familiar Western services including chain restaurants such as Applebee’s, strengthened Anthony Jones’ appreciation for the far more austere conditions that most Soldiers in theater encounter. “I definitely gained a newfound respect for exactly what they have to go through,” he said. (Photo courtesy of
ArabianBusiness.com)
better ones, although you can’t always objectively compare. … Ten, of course, I want my parents to be proud of me. I want my wife to be proud of me.”
Most important, “our job is to support the Soldier, and anytime that we fall short,
thousands of miles away. Actually, the biggest challenge [in Qatar] had to do with connectivity, the Internet, because the system over there is not as stable as it is here. Also, if something goes wrong and you have to contact somebody back here stateside, you’re nine hours ahead. So that lag sometimes makes it a little bit tougher to get the job done when it has to be done,” Jones said.
Culturally, though, “Qatar was one of those unique places [in Southwest Asia] where you could go out and feel very safe,” other than on the roads, where
Jones said “the driving was a little bit different.” Also, there was no shortage of familiar chain restaurants, and his work schedule left enough time to enjoy them.
Jones’ workday was typically 9-10 hours long, punctuated by a trip to the gym and then dinner. A typical workweek went
there’s something that isn’t
getting to the warfighter. … If you can’t get motivated about that as a contract specialist, then you’re probably not in the right field. Some of the things that we buy as contract specialists, or we negotiate for, are not necessarily always the most interesting things—I mean, a contract for tissue—but it is important.
from Sunday through Tursday,
followed by a half-day on Friday or maybe on Saturday. “I rarely worked seven days,” Jones said. “Tere were some times when I didn’t work overtime because it wasn’t needed.”
“We have situations where you know for a fact that Soldiers most definitely need this particular item or service, because they’re out there fighting. … I could call my parents and my wife every day if I wanted to, and I did.” But Soldiers in theater can’t always do that. “Tey’re not always on the base; sometimes they’re out in the field. I definitely gained a newfound respect for exactly what they have to go through.”
“WE WERE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE MANPOWER THAT THEY DIDN’T REALLY HAVE. ... I THINK IT ALLOWED US TO MAYBE TAKE A LITTLE MORE TIME TO ENSURE THAT THE CUSTOMER WAS GETTING THE BEST THAT WE COULD PROVIDE.”
—MS. MARGARET C. ROTH
ASC.ARMY.MIL
121
WORKFORCE
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