Private military companies - is actually the army, controlled only by their shareholders and those, the highest bidder. Companies like this are not going to disappear, in front of, with the development of capitalism, more and more private armies are created in the world. Let's consider then, what are they doing.
10. Soldiers at a discount (Discount Soldiers)
One of the interesting facts about private military companies is that, what are they (like any other company) can be created anywhere in the world. for example, Defion Internacional was created in Peru, South America. it, at first sight, not the best place for a fearsome private army, however, in Peru for 20 years there was an internal conflict, resolved only in 2000 year, and the country is still reaping the fruits of the clashes.
The country is full of men, who grew up in a state of non-stop conflict, who now have difficulty supporting their families in a weak economy. In this way, Defion Internacional managed to recruit men, paying them all 1 000 dollars a month. Of course, these people think, that for them this is a good salary, as the typical salary in Peru is 200 dollars a month, and this is if a person can find a job at all.
Defion Internacional specializes in dangerous missions in the Middle East, but also supports other types of businesses such as healthcare and catering, English language training and (what's the worst) insurance services. The company received missions in Iraq from the US Department of State (US Department of State), that is, these low-paid Peruvians also worked for the US military. They also worked for a large private US military company, Triple Canopy Inc., although lately this company has been self-employed in Peru. And since we have already started talking about "Triple Canopy" ...
9. Private army guards U.S. officials overseas
«Triple Canopy», как и «International Challenge», hires cheap soldiers in South America. but, this is just a small part of their business. Triple Canopy Founded by Former US Army Special Forces. At the moment, the company mainly works as mercenaries of the US government in Iraq.. Employees include former fur seals, Rangers, special forces and police officers.
Despite, that Triple Canopy specializes in escort and security operations, she also performed some of the toughest missions that a mercenary company is capable of. After the fall of Saddam Hussein, the company found work in Iraq - protecting and escorting US officials, as well as performing other high-risk operations. Since the company works so closely with the U.S. Army, it is also called the "other army" of the United States.
8. Rise of the German mercenaries
Over the years the Germans (who for obvious reasons have tried to avoid conflict since World War II) mocked that, how American mercenaries intervened in all conflict zones of the world. AT 2007 year they found a log in their own eye - a former German officer named Thomas Kaltegartner (Thomas Kaltegärtner) founded his own company of mercenaries.
Kaltegartner company, Asgaard German, caused the appearance of gray hair on the heads of German politicians by signing a deal to ensure the protection of Galadid Abdinur Ahmad Darman (Galadid Abdinur Ahmad Darman), Somali President. As it appears, their task was to restore security in a war-torn region.
It doesn't sound too bad, if you don't know one fact: Darman is a self-proclaimed president - one of many Somali military leaders who have claimed their title and refuse to recognize the official authorities., designated by the United Nations as transitional government. One can only guess, what does "security" mean for such people and how does he plan to "restore peace in the country".
And now he has highly qualified German soldiers ...
7. Image problems
At the moment, private military companies are trying to maintain a positive, professional reputation. Anyway, in our information era, no company oversight will go unnoticed. The best example of this shiny new image is Sandline International, a defunct British company closely associated with Aegis Defense, whose mercenaries have fought in war-torn Sierra Leone and Papua – New Guinea, as well as in other hot spots of the planet.
Sandline had its own advisor and public relations officer Michael Grunberg (Michael Grunberg), who smiled and gave the same corporate buzzwords to the media, for which the presidents of information technology companies are famous. According to Grunberg, his company and a horde of soldiers, receiving salaries from private individuals: "Authoritative entities, possessing established principles and true professionals ". Sandline ineptly dealt with their negative media coverage, like many other companies: eg, when was the book published, criticizing the company (Mercenaries: African security dilemma), they responded by releasing a large list of the book's flaws, nitpicking the details of the book, but did not respond to any serious accusation.
6. «Academy»
«Academy», likely, the most innocuous-sounding name on this list, but the impression is deceiving: this is actually the same famous company "Blackwater" (Black water). The history of the company's atrocities is so vast, that there are entire websites dedicated to listing their dubious "accomplishments": eg, at some point they even participated in the CIA death battalion.
Name "Academi", which was introduced in 2011 year, is the company's second attempt to rehabilitate its name change reputation in five years. The first attempt was the name "XE Services", lasted only two years, until the next "corporate reorganization". So far, this strategy is bearing fruit., since the new name has not yet been discredited. On the other hand, judging by, that they had already had to plead guilty to 17 federal felonies and pay millions of dollars in fines, likely, in the near future they will have to come up with another harmless name. Although, given their current reputation, hardly any name will soften the attitude of people towards this company.
5. «Executive Outcomes»
Next in the line of fearsome private military companies is Executive Outcome, which is friendly called EO (if, of course, they have friends). This South African company has been spotted in most war zones in Africa, in which the company has great influence. EO mercenaries spotted in Sierra Leone, Angola, Uganda, Botswana, Zambia, Ethiopia, Namibia, Lesotho, and, of course, South Africa. Despite, that according to their statements, their task is to ensure peace, the company is suspected of some shady deals, from interfering in the affairs of an oil company from Sierra Leone to deals with the largest diamond mining and processing company De Beers.
The company is known for capturing the regions of the client country, rich in minerals – first of all, mercenaries establish control over regions with gold, oil and diamonds, and only then pay attention to everything else. According to some rumors, the company sometimes "forgets" to return these regions to the country. It is believed, that Executive Outcomes is mining gold in Uganda, oil in Ethiopia and has many commercial enterprises in other countries, in which the company fought.
4. The Jamie Lee Jones case (Jamie Leigh Jones)
AT 2007 by Jamie Lee Jones, employee of the private military company "Halliburton / KBR", He stated, that she was raped by several of her colleagues. This tragic crime was just the beginning of her troubles with a private military company.. Her employer then decided to cover up the incident., closing on 24 Jamie hours in a shipping container without food or water. Then came a warning: they will fire her immediately, if she leaves Iraq in search of medical assistance.
There is nothing surprising in the fact, that Jones sued the company. However, legal proceedings proved to be problematic. The KBR employee's contract stated, that all Jones statements should not be heard by the jury, judge and they cannot be published to the general public - for this reason it was too difficult to prove anything. Finally, after 15 months of highly publicized struggle Jones was allowed to face KBR in court. when it, finally, went to court in 2011 year, KBR lawyers provided evidence, which were completely ignored by the media. This isn't the first time Jones has manipulated opinions., lied and often changed the version of what happened. One of these changes was the statement, that her pectoral muscle was damaged and her chest was disfigured, but "she could not find at least one witness from Iraq", who could confirm, that she at least claimed, that her chest was damaged. Furthermore, during her departure from Iraq, she had to wear a heavy bulletproof vest, which the, according to doctors, she wouldn't be able to carry with those injuries, about which she spoke. She ended up losing the case., despite, which until the very end claimed, that the story was true.
we, of course, We never know, what happened to Jones, and how the company initially reacted to it, but the lawsuit shed light on KBR's unethical employment contract, which indicated, that company employees do not have the right to sue sexual assault cases. The U.S. government has since passed an amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act., prohibiting the hiring of companies, whose contracts contain such prohibitions, and KBR had to drop the ban.
3. Trophy videos
AT 2005 trophy video, in which men from Scotland or Ireland just shot at civilians in Iraq, was uploaded to the site, unofficially associated with Aegis Defense Services, a private military company, which hires like Scots, and Irish. The incident sparked angry protests in the media around the world, and sparked discussion of the current state of the armed forces in Iraq. By that time, more than 25 000 mercenaries. Mercenaries were hated by many for their reputation for outraging and killing civilians for the slightest provocation. None of the mercenaries were convicted, since local law enforcement agencies were prohibited from initiating criminal cases against mercenaries.
Despite the video evidence, this case was no exception. After careful consideration of the available materials, the United States Army Criminal Investigation Service (US Army’s Criminal Investigation Division) concluded, that they will not open a criminal case. Meanwhile, Aegis Defense diligently conceals the results of its internal investigation. Not a single investigative archive became public knowledge.
2. Founder, David Stirling (David Stirling)
Despite, that mercenary troops have existed since about, how war was invented, the creation of modern private military companies is usually associated with Colonel David Stirling. Stirling was a Scottish landowner and experienced military man - even before, how he started his mercenary business, he organized SAS (Special Air Service), which is considered one of the best special forces in the world.
After the end of World War II, Stirling left the army, moved to Africa and founded "Africa Capricorn" – society, promoting racial harmony. However, fate has prepared another way for him. He soon found himself head of Watchguard International Ltd., commercial company, helping to train the security forces of various Arab and African countries. watchguard company, founded in the 1960s, generally considered the first modern private military company.
1. Sex slavery
DynCorp is one of the most powerful private military companies in the world., most of the billions of dollars in profits that come from the US government. Unfortunately, according to some statements, company code of conduct, to put it mildly, It leaves much to be desired.
In the late 1990s, two informants (independently each other on the other) reported, that the DynCorp employees, stationed in Bosnia regularly bullied civilians. According to their statements, DynCorp employees regularly had sex with minors and even sold civilians into slavery.
The company immediately reacted to the horrific news ... by firing the informants. One of the fired, Catherine Bolkovach (Kathryn Bolkovac), already ran into trouble before: despite, that she discovered a network of brothels and bars, in which kidnapped women had to entertain peacekeepers, her attempts to inform her superiors about this were constantly frustrated, and she even received threats.
Nevertheless, Katrin insisted on her. She, along with a second informant, filed a lawsuit against DynCorp. The company lost both cases and the behavior of its employees became so widely known, that Hollywood even made a movie, based on the history of Bolkovac.
Bonus: «Sharp End International»
Despite living on the continent, consisting mainly of deadly spiders (or because of this), Australians have an unusual knack for bringing their sense of humor to any situation.. The business of private armies is no exception.: derisive name ("sharp end" in English means the most unpleasant part of any action) combined with a serious site leaves no doubt, that Sharp End International was founded in Australia. Another sign of that, that the company is Australian, is the existence of a corporate fan page on Facebook.
Sharp End is a relatively small company compared to other mercenary forces.. This is because, that it is a highly specialized organization: private military company, training other military forces. Employees of the company are experts in training government and private armed forces, i.e, they show other soldiers how to act. This makes the company a rather dangerous subject., but, Fortunately, they have a strict code of honor and do not teach just anyone.
