Chuck Barrier, a Halliburton employee working as a contractor for Kellogg Brown and Root in Iraq, spoke to the Harris County Beekeepers' Association about the situation overseas from a civilian's perspective.

"We are the support for the troops over there," Barrier said. "In my job, I'm responsible for the health of the KBR and Halliburton employees."

Barrier said most of the KBR medics have extensive experience as paramedics in the United States.

A former paramedic for Rural Metro in Pasadena, Barrier also trains the military medics and Navy corpsmen to treat soldiers wounded in combat.

"Most of the good training that I pass on to these 18-, 19- and 20-year-old guys is what I learned working for Rural Metro," Barrier said.

He is currently staying on a base comparable to the size of Alvin, Texas in western Iraq, about 8 miles from Fallujah.

The base is protected by Marines, which brings Barrier a sense of comfort in what he considers a hostile environment.

"I don't go outside my camp gate unless I'm surrounded by my good friends the Marines," Barrier said.

From his perspective, Barrier said it seems the Iraqi people do not want to Americans in their country.

He attributes that to the belief that they have an inherent distrust of authority as a result of their experience under Saddam Hussein's leadership.

"But the people we have contact with every day, they know our hearts," Barrier said. "We only get paid to treat Americans, but we help the others as if they were red, white and blue."

Barrier said he understands that the civilians' motivation for working in Iraq is different than that of the military personnel.

Even though all the Americans currently working in Iraq have to endure the same living conditions and are missed by their families, Barrier said soldiers do not have the same monetary incentive as civilians.

Higher pay than what he would make in the United States is what motivated Barrier, who is married with three sons, to take the job overseas.

However, he also contends that his loyalty to the job is rooted in something deeper.

He has learned firsthand how much the soldiers put on the line to serve their country, and he tells them every day that he admires their work.

"There's not a day that goes by that I don't tell some youngster that I appreciate what he's doing," Barrier said.

The KBR workers in Iraq are responsible for bringing food, fuel, electricity, water and ice, among other necessities, to the people, Barrier said.

Although their trucks carrying fuel make them an obvious target, the risks taken by the civilians are worth it as far as Barrier is concerned.

"I'm helping (the soldiers) do their job because it's eventually going to help my family back here," he said.