06:39 PM CST on Friday, January 9, 2004

By Wendell Edwards / 11 News

With more devastation happening every day, the big job of rebuilding Iraq is the responsibility of Houston-based Halliburton. Hundreds of Americans have been recruited and brought to Houston for training.

Busloads of skilled workers, like carpenters and mechanics, have been hired by KBR, a division of Halliburton.

“While we are here, we are not being compensated with pay,” said one worker.

And he won't be until he's worked in Iraq for a month. He's a truck driver who asked not to be identified. He's been in Houston since December 14.

“I had a decent paying job with benefits and I quit to come down here for this,” said the worker. “Now I wished I would have stayed.”

With his training finished, his days are now spent waiting to be sent to Iraq. He has nowhere to go and no money to spend.

In a statement, Halliburton says: ”there are currently several hundred people in Houston in various stages of processing and training.”

The statement also says: ”It typically takes between 10 to 14 days to complete this process. They leave for the Middle East when the training and processing is complete.”

After nearly a month living at the Wyndham Greenspoint hotel with other recruits, this man says he's tired of waiting.

“I'm going to have to leave to save the mortgage on my house,” the worker said. “I can't afford to sit down here and have something else go wrong or another excuse.”

Other recruits tell 11 News, for now, they are staying put. They are hoping KBR puts them to work soon.