re: Has anyone worked armed security

I would not take a job doing armed security in the Middle East unless it was somewhere like Qatar or Dubai. Even then I'd be very cautious. You would not only be a wildly foreign country where the rules are radically different but you'd an American in a region where only the Israelis like the Americans (The Saudis and Gulf Arabs tolerate us at best).

If you want to get into security as a career choice see about getting hired by an armored car company. Yeah, your first couple of years will likely be something dull like counting money in an office but there are opportunities for advancement.

My Nephew works for Loomis and they fly him all over the country to work certain delivery routes for them. Free housing, per diem for his food, and he is (I shite you not) making a hundred grand a year.

Which kind of makes me feel like a doof for telling him to skip the whole armored car thing and get a college degree instead.