Hello everyone, Im new to the site and new to the firefighting world. In fact Im still an outsider. Ive tested twice for my local departments and did fairly well on one. I believe from speaking with other fire recruits and students, that I could have done better if I had a few extra certs. Currently I have a family doing contracts in Iraq which is what Im interested in. He (my cousin) has directed to an academy in Texas that allows me to gain the training and certs I'd need to deploy and obtain a contract. The academy is TEEX but its almost $9000 to attend. I understand that this may be the best academy to attend and obtain the certs I'd need to deploy to Iraq under contract. Is this true or are there other academies just as good but a cost less?