Well hummm..., I am new here (and a civilian BTW), but the topic is very interesting, could anyone give the ones who didn't watch the documentary, a brief idea of what are those "contractors"?, what they do, are they legal, are they Private Mercenaries Armies that conduct Direct Actions, or ex military guys working as consultants for Governments, Arms dealers (legal or ilegal), security or technology companies, using their contacts and expeience?

Maybe some have the idea of an EO operative (or agent, or specialist, customer support personnel or whatever they call themselves) with leopard spot camouflage, beard and a beret in the jungles of Africa taken from the 60s-and 70s mercs, but obviously today it must be something a lot more complex, so... please share opinions.

One more thing, is it "...so forth" or "...so fourth"? (I dont think those merc guys have to be the 4th in the line or or wait for the 4th attempt, to be hired by a company, just kidding nevermind)

You answered allot of your own questions bvglee. It was showing how the PC evolved. It also showed how much our military depends on them today. Most of these companies dont even fight they do logistics and support roles. Excutive Outcome got the majority of the attention. They were some kind of elite special forces unit from south Africa that was disbanded for some reason and became a PMC. They were extremely aggressive and crushed the RUF which was some North Africa militia with 17,000+ men whos leader was a cannibal and did some nasty ****. His men would go to villages cutting peoples arms and legs off for the fun of it and kill all the men. There were 300 EO's and they would scout around killing every RUF they could find. They showed a time where some villager was wounded and found them he told them what happened so they decided on their own to avenge the village. They found the guys who just massacred this village and decimated them. They seemed like some badasses. They were so affective that the UN pretty much shut them down. People didn't like these elite soldiers running around without rules of conduct even tho EO seemed like a very honorable company with allot of dignity.

Bvglee, mercs do not typically take jobs with PMCs. So, you would be talking about something completely different.

What I heard about EO is that they handled situations on diamond mines in Sierra Leone and Angola in the 90s, but they do a lot more than mil-ops (they have strong industrial and mining operations, as well as other corporate assets). I never heard of that RUF affair until now, anyway they seem to be only highly evolved Soldiers of Fortune Companies that serves about anyone with a few millions under their belts.

But what about Sandline Int'l., Military Professional Resources Inc. and others?, what lies beneath the "action packed" portait of the Merc Lifestyle? maybe they hire former spec-ops, maybe they hire people with basic attitude and experience, but what for? is there anything more specific about the topic?

Originally Posted by RnderSafe

Bvglee, mercs do not typically take jobs with PMCs. So, you would be talking about something completely different.

Good point RnderSafe! Could you please tell us more about the differences? or point out reference links or someting? what I found lately on the topic are only highly subjective opinions, and some general outlines, nothing more.

Sandline closed up shop and is no longer operational.

Mercenaries serve the forces of a foreign nation. They are contracted by a government, king, mullah, whatever, of another country. PMCs work for the USG (or their) government.

As for finding general outlines, that is all you are going to get from those that work with or are hired by these companies. They may not be part of the USG or military, but OPSEC does apply.

The RUF is why they were called to those diamond mines and Sierra Leone. They were first called to take back that diamond mine and then for some reason they stayed and wiped out the entire RUF. Im not exactly sure to how they went from taking the mine to the country. They dont do anything now they arent a company anymore as far as i know. "they seem to be only highly evolved Soldiers of Fortune Companies that serves about anyone with a few millions under their belts." that is exactly why the world wanted them gone. Some evil leader in a third world country could unleash hell with them.

Originally Posted by Big_Z

they seem to be only highly evolved Soldiers of Fortune Companies that serves about anyone with a few millions under their belts...Some evil leader in a third world country could unleash hell with them.

Men's adventure literature to the contrary, there are very few soldiers of that quality who are willing to work for just anyone willing to pay their fee. Nearly all actual "mercenaries" who received their training in Special Forces or whatever maintain a high degree of loyalty to their native country. True mercenaries, those who are loyal strictly to whoever pays them the most money, are not trusted.

Besides, you almost never see foreign mercenaries serving as light infantry riflemen; it is cheaper to hire native conscripts to fill that expendable role. Mercenaries are usually very expensive and fill specialized, usually technical, roles that you simply cannot do with local talent. If they are in the infantry, they are almost invariably commanding local troops.

Actually, most mercenaries are not former unconventional warfare specialists. Less than half of the real-world mercenaries in the field today are filling infantry or security positions; the vast majority are pilots and aircraft mechanics, medics, communications specialists, and naval personnel.