I am happy with my choice

Ali Hussein has made a career for himself in the Danish Defence.

Once Ali received his diploma, that stated that he was an electronic engineer, he was very much in need of a change of scenery from books and homework. Although his family had come to Denmark as refugees to avoid the war and bombings in Iraq, he wanted to do the military service he had postponed during his studies. However, he then avoided military service by lottery, but decided to volunteer with the Special Forces. Due to restructuring, the dispatch of his team was postponed for 6-8 months, which made Ali change tracks to the civilian section of the Defence.

“I get the chance to work on some exciting projects that no one else has access to,” he says, referring to his work on installing launch racks for the Launcer MK41 missiles on the three Danish naval frigates. The missiles have been tested at drills off the coast of northern Norway, where drones have been shot down, but otherwise, the frigates are stationed in Korsør. During the installation phase, Ali worked on calculations which allowed the different weapon systems to communicate. Ali also had to coordinate purveyors such as the American military or the Danish factory Therma. Today, the frigates are operating, so Ali is working on correcting errors, improvements and finding solutions for updating technical installations: “This could be a defective printed circuit board which is no longer in production,” he explains. “Then it is my job to find a new solution.”

As an electronic engineer, Ali Hussein has installed cables on board the Danish frigates. Ali’s parents are Iraqi refugees, and initially they were unhappy with his line of work. They associated the Defence with an establishment that would bomb civilians.

Some of Ali’s work is classified, but he lets on that he gets his hands on a lot of new technology.

“I realize that there is no competition salary wise between the Defence and the private engineering field. But it is a family friendly place to work,” says Ali, who is the father of two small children. All overtime work is deposited in a so-called care-account and multiplied by 1.5 – this means, that 10 overtime hours become 15 hours’ worth of lieu days. “We have child’s first sick days and two extra care-days per year. So I am happy with my choice.” The pension is good, too, and there is security as well. This all makes Ali feel that his working conditions are ideal for him and his family.

Ali Hussein har satset på en karriere indenfor Forsvaret.

Da Ali stod klar med eksamensbeviset som svagstrømsingeniør, trængte han i den grad til at lave noget, der ikke havde med studier og lektier at gøre. Selvom hans familie var kommet til Danmark som flygtninge fra krig og bombardementer i Irak, ville han gerne aftjene den værnepligt, som han ­havde udskudt under studierne. Men så trak han frinummer og meldte sig derfor frivilligt til de stående styrker, den såkaldte specialstyrke. På grund af nogle omstruktureringer i forsvaret blev hans holds udsendelse til krigsområder udskudt 6-8 måneder. ­Derfor søgte Ali over i den civile del af forsvaret.

“Jeg har mulighed for at beskæftige mig med nogle spændende opgaver, som ingen andre har adgang til,” siger han med henvisning til, at han har været med til at installere affyringsramper til missiltypen Launcer MK41 på de tre fregatter, Danmark har i flåden. Missilerne er blevet testet på øvelser udfor Nordnorge, hvor man bl.a. skyder en drone ned, men til hverdag har fregatterne hjemme i Korsør. Under installationsfasen arbejdede Ali også med beregninger, så de forskellige våbensystemer kan snakke sammen, ligesom han skulle samarbejde med leverandørerne, der kunne dække over alt fra det amerikanske militær til den danske fabrik Therma. I dag er fregatterne i drift, så Ali arbejder med at rette fejl, lave forbedringer og finde løsninger, når en teknisk installation skal opdateres: “Det kan f.eks. være, at et printkort bliver defekt og man ikke længere bruger den type,” forklarer han. “Så er det min opgave at finde en ny løsning.”

Som svagstrømsingeniør har Ali Hussein bl.a. trukket kabler på de danske fregatter. Da Alis forældre er flygtet fra krig i Irak, var de i begyndelsen ikke så glade for, at Ali søgte ind i militæret. De forbandt forsvarsinstitutionen med magthavere, der bomber deres egen civilbefolkning.

En del af Alis arbejde i forsvaret er hemmeligstemplet, men han kan da sige, at han har fingrene nede i en masse ny teknologi.

“Jeg ved godt, at Forsvaret ikke kan konkurrere med det private ingeniørmarked på lønnen, men det er til gengæld en familievenlig arbejdsplads,” siger Ali, der har to små børn. Al overarbejde går ind på en såkaldt omsorgskonto og ganges med 1,5 – dvs. at 10 timers overarbejde bliver til 15 timers afspadsering. “Vi har f.eks. børns første sygedag og to omsorgsdage om året ud over børns første sygedag. Så jeg er glad for mit valg.” Sammenholdt med gode pensionsforhold og sikkerhed i ­ansættelsen synes Ali, at hans arbejdsforhold er det ­bedste for ham og hans hverdag med ­familie og børn.