High Expectations
When Allen Petty signed up for a year in Iraq with KBR -- the largest U.S. government contractor there, with more than 30,000 employees and subcontractors -- he expected to bring home $80,000 to $100,000, more than three times what he made driving a truck in Texas.
Some of his friends thought he was insane to risk his life for a paycheck, but Petty said he and his wife, both on their second marriages, prayed about it and decided it was their only hope. They were barely getting by on his $30,000 income, they said in interviews in May. They had no savings whatsoever, no insurance, and they owed Sylvia's mother $6,000 for their wedding less than three years before.
Allen Petty, who spent four months in Iraq as a driver for KBR, with his daughter Katy, 10 months, back home in Burnet, Tex., in October. Petty hoped to earn enough for a house but said the pay was less than he had expected.
(Photos Michael Stravato For The Washington Post)
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"This is a beautiful town, but we're not making it here," Sylvia said at the time. "I told him, 'Baby, you have to go.' " During Allen's first weeks and months in Iraq, the couple found ways to cope. Allen didn't tell his family everything he was going through; Sylvia avoided the news. Allen sent money home, and Sylvia repaid her mother about a third of what they owed her.
Sylvia planted flowers outside the corner house on Main Street that they rent from her parents. She bought the children treats and planned a cruise for the family. She was able to afford more healthful food for herself and the children. She lost 25 pounds, and her face was tanned from working in the garden.
Allen bought handcrafted wedding rings in Kuwait. He purchased a laptop computer so they could communicate by e-mail and instant message.
In retrospect, the couple now say they should have been saving more. But it was the first time they had had a little extra money, and it felt so good not to worry about the bills.
In July, the money started to dry up, the family said. The couple put half of Allen's paycheck in their savings account but kept having to dig into it to pay expenses.
"Most of this money went to backed-up bills, and what was left went to food and clothes and dental needs for the kids," Sylvia said. "There was no money ever left over because everything in the savings had to be transferred into the checking every month."
According to the family's bank statements, Allen earned between $2,000 and $4,000 a month during his time in Iraq, far short of the $8,000 to $12,000 monthly sum he said he had expected.
"KBR led people into their job opportunities with false promises," Sylvia said.
But Allen acknowledged that his expectations were probably unrealistic and that KBR recruiters had stressed at the outset that the job was no way to get rich. At least, he said, he expected to get paid more than he would in the United States, particularly as the security situation in Iraq worsened, making his job even more dangerous.
Stephanie Price, a spokeswoman for KBR, confirmed that Petty's pay was reduced when the State Department cut pay levels for Kuwait-based contractors in July. She said their base salaries were cut 15 percent "to reflect current threat levels in that country."
But truck drivers based in Kuwait who traveled into Iraq -- as Allen typically did -- were still eligible for hazardous duty pay, an increase of 55 percent of their base salary, Price said, adding that KBR raised truckers' pay in August to "reflect the hard work and dedication of those who put their lives on the line daily as they drive through hostile areas to deliver needed military supplies."
Price said that as of Jan. 6, 68 employees of KBR and its main subcontractors had been killed in Iraq. She said the company does not release the number of employees who were wounded. One employee is still missing.
