By By JAMES COLLINS / Niles Daily Star
NILES - Job security will soon take on a whole new meaning for Caleb Schaber.
The 31-year-old, who was born in Niles and raised in Buchanan, has recently accepted a job in Iraq as a military contractor for Selrico Services.
His experience with carpentry and running crews of workers in the desert for the Burning Man Art Festival helped him to get a job as a project coordinator for HVAC and generator maintenance on U.S. military bases.
Selrico Services is a government contractor that offers an array of services such as food service, refuse and recycling and heating and cooling repairs. He expects to make about $60,000 for his year of work with the company.
Schaber said he will basically be doing air conditioning work to help American soldiers keep cool in weather that can get up to 130 degrees.
Initially, Schaber visited a military recruiter to look into the possibility of joining the armed forces, but was kept out of the military because of the tattoos on his hands, he said.
He then began applying for various jobs in Iraq and finally landed one as a contractor with Selrico.
While he is looking forward to being involved in this "once in a lifetime" opportunity, Schaber is aware of the ever present danger of being stationed in Iraq.
But, his contract, which states all of the work will be done on military bases, makes him feel a little more comfortable about the security. The contract also states when travel is necessary he will always be accompanied by military escorts.
In fact, if he ever leaves the base on his own, Schaber would lose his job.
His interest in working in Iraq comes from a variety of reasons.
While he does not particularly agree with the reason our country went to war in the first place, he does support the troops who are risking their lives in Iraq and the effort to get the country back on its feet.
He sees the rebuilding of Iraq as a necessary process to ensure a positive future for the country.
Schaber also has an adventurous spirit and is always looking for new experiences.
Schaber graduated from University of Washington with a degree in anthropology in 2003.
Originally, he was supposed to leave for Kuwait sometime this week, but a sudden change of plans will now be sending him to a military base in El Paso, Texas for orientation and some basic safety training.
Schaber said his first stop in Iraq will be at Camp Anaconda, a 15-square-mile "tent city," located north of Baghdad.
With a very colorful history, his decision to work in Iraq comes as no surprise to those who know him closely.
His grandmother, Vera Schaber, a 92-year-old Niles resident, remembered the trip he took off to Europe at the age of 17 and the Space Odyssey-themed monolith he helped to create in Seattle in 2001, which made international news.
The large art project appeared in newspapers across the country and on televisions networks like CNN and England's BBC, he said.
Another rare experience came in 2001 when Schaber decided to throw his hat into politics by running for mayor of Seattle.
He was one of 12 candidates for mayor and considering he had no prior political experience and a very small campaign budget, Schaber thought his sixth place finish was a successful one.
Most recently, he has been working as a crew leader helping to organize the Burning Man Festival, an annual event dedicated to artistic self-expression. The festival takes place in Nevada's Black Rock Desert and has grown to become a very popular event attended by about 33,000 people, he said.
After signing his contract to work in Iraq, Schaber left Seattle and returned to the Niles area to visit his grandmother and father, Ken Schaber, before embarking on his next journey.
His grandmother is worried about his safety, but said she tries not to think about it.