shadowmaster

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Like the usual Sunday afternoon I was browsing the tv stations and came upon a History Channel show on PMC's (Private Military Companies) or MERC's as they are commonly known as.

What is your take on the use of PMC's?


BTW, here is a PMC based in my home town of Salem, Oregon.
http://www.icioregon.com/

dante2

mercenaries?

shadowmaster

Yes. Mercenaries. It was a very interesting show and after doing some research on the internet it has proven to be a very eye opening experience.

opengsh

Well, this is a tough topic, because in order for such companies to exist in the capacity that would be required of an "army for hire" it would require strenuous government strangleholds on their arms and activites. Not just in the USA, but everywhere...

Any such group unchecked could be dangerous and IMHO i think that governments should be the ones with armies, not private citizens with enough money...

Dangerous is the world that lets a man buy death at wholesale prices!

shadowmaster

The thing is there are such companies. They are operating today for many different governments including the US Government in Iraq today.

The first real company that operated was one called Executive Outcomes. This one is closed today but they actually operated as an army in South Africa for years. Very effective and very lethal. So much so in the country they operated in they had 300 operatives. When they pulled out the UN sent in 15000 peace keepers and they could not do what the 300 EO's did.

opengsh

Ugh, don't try to make these wanna-be militaries (upscale redneck militias) into something they are not.

They are by no means some fabled group of warriors. They also do not have to (by any reportable means) follow many of the mandates and rules the UN soldiers might.

No matter what they view, Civilians with guns... w00t! :happycow:

Justin

The group of people that were hired to go into sierra leone were some bad ass ex soldiers.

The UN asked them to leave and sent in peace keepers and that totally fucked that country.

Justin

I think the group was called executive outcome.


And in certain situations I think their services are warranted.

shadowmaster

Executive Outcomes is correct. They were basically the founding company that launched the multi-billion dollar industry that we have today in PMC. Here's the deal with PMC's. Governemts can hire PMC's to come in and do specific tasks and that is their sole focus whereas a "states" military has much much more to concentrate on. For example; you could hire a Corporation like Blackwater USA to train a countries military. That would be their soal purpose and they would have their operatives, most of which are exmilitary/special ops, train these people in what they know. Many PMC's are hired for security purposes. Etc etc etc.....

If you really want to know about it or just skeptical about it then take 10 minutes and just put in Private Military Companies in a search and see what you get. You may be surprised at what you see.

Superhuman

Russia has them a lot too. A lot of ex-KGB officers who work in groups like that. I am against them though, if you take Russia for example... there biggest client is the Russian Maffia. That's the bad thing about those armies....it's commercial, they work to make money (those guys earn LOTS of money) not to make this world a better place. They're interesting though. The ''American civilian'' who got hanged on that bridge in Iraq was a soldier of one of those PMC's too if I'm not mistaken.

shadowmaster

Actually several of those "American Contractors" that have been killed in Iraq are actually PMC Operatives.

Rockefeller

I saw that same show, and I think that if they are that effective in what they do, then they should be allowed to do it. Think of the countless lives they saved by doing what they did.

shadowmaster

So then you do understand why I start this post. I mean come on. In a business sense a person always wants to use the best tool to get the best results. If a PMC is the best tool to get the best results then use it rather then using sub-standard equipment so to speak.

worm

I work with a bunch of Delta Force guys, this is exactly the kind of job they get recruited into when they leave the service. if you look at alot of the influencial people in Iraq you see these guys with the Dark Sunglasses and M-16s guarding them. Its supposedly great cashola , especially considering these guys aree mostly just leaving n enlisted military salary. Of course there is the drawback that they end up dead alot.