I arrived in Baghdad airport for my first private security contracting gig in 2004.

I was met by an overweight ex-pat, who was sweating profusely and seemed a little out of his depth. I was handed an AK-47 with 3 magazines, a bulletproof vest missing the back plate, and told to get into an old Mercedes sedan.

I looked at my mate… we were apprehensive.

Ironically, I had just read an article written by a former contractor about working in Iraq. In this article, the author detailed the ‘ins and outs of contracting’. He warned guys thinking of taking up work in Iraq to be very careful about which companies they went with as some had poor management.

I began to think I could have featured in his article.