Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The services and expertise offered by PMCs are typically similar to those of governmental military or police forces,
most often on a smaller scale. While PMCs often provide services to train or supplement official armed forces in
service of governments, they can also be employed by private companies to provide bodyguards for key staff or
protection of company premises, especially in hostile territories. However, contractors who use offensive force in a
war zone could be considered unlawful combatants, in reference to a concept implied{wrong word?] in the Geneva
Conventions and explicitly specified by the US Military Commissions Act.[1]
Private military companies carry out many different missions and jobs. These include things such as supplying
bodyguards to the Afghan president Hamid Karzai and piloting reconnaissance airplanes and helicopters as a part of
Plan Colombia.[2] [3] They are also licensed by the United States Department of State, they are contracting with
foreign governments, training soldiers and reorganizing militaries in Nigeria, Bulgaria, Taiwan, and Equatorial
Guinea.[4] The PMC industry is now worth over $100 billion a year.[5]
United States
Throughout US history, civilian contractors have supported the US Army on the battlefield and have become an
essential part of its war fighting and peacekeeping capabilities.
In 1985, LOGCAP was established primarily to preplan for contingencies and to leverage the existing civilian
resources. However, it was not until three years later before it was first used. In support of a United States Third
Army mission, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) used LOGCAP to contract for the construction
and maintenance of two petroleum pipelines systems in Southwest Asia.
Later, USACE awarded the first contract under LOGCAP umbrella concept to Brown and Root Services (now KBR)
in August 1992 as a cost-plus-award-fee contract, which was used in December that year to support the United
Nations forces in Somalia.
Some contractors have served in advisory roles that help train local militaries to fight more than effectively instead
of intervening directly. Much of the peacekeeper training the United States provides to African militaries is done by
private firms, and with the increasing absence of Western military support to international peace operations, the
private sector is commonly utilized to provide services to peace and stability operations from Haiti to Darfur.
The Center for Public Integrity reported that since 1994, the Defense Department entered into 3,601 contracts worth
$300 billion with 12 U.S. based various PMCs within the United States, specifically during the initial response after
Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
Private military company 2
Domestic operations are generally under the auspice of state or federal agencies such as the Department of Energy or
the Department of Homeland Security rather than the Department of Defense. Driven by increasingly greater fears of
domestic terror attacks and civil unrest and disruption in the wake of disasters, more conventional security
companies are moving into operations arenas that would fall within the definition of a PMC.
The United States State Department also employs several companies to provide support in danger zones that would
be difficult for conventional U.S. forces.
But the provision might also have unintended consequences, if the military chooses to use its new power to
court-martial civilians. For instance, the language in the law is so broad that it can be interpreted as saying that
embedded journalists and contract employees from foreign countries would also be liable under the military
code. Other punishable offenses under the code include disobeying an order, disrespecting an officer, and
possession of pornography in a combat zone."[10]
Recruitment
Discharged military personnel make up the majority of Western contractors. The boom of the private security
industry that took place in the 1990s can be traced back to the over 6 million military personnel that were discharged
in that decade. Post Cold War military reduction has also expanded the recruiting pool for PMCs. In some cases,
entire elite units, such as the South African 32nd Reconnaissance Battalion and the former Soviet “Alfa” unit have
been reorganized into private military companies.[12]
Some commentators have argued that there has been a recent exodus from many special operations forces across the
globe towards these private military corporations. Units that have allegedly been severely affected include The
British Special Air Service,[13] [14] the US Special Operations Forces [15] and the Canadian Joint Task Force 2.[16]
Finding work in the industry is not difficult for most former soldiers as their personal network of fellow and
ex-soldiers is enough to keep them informed of available contracts.
Legal position
Two days before he left Iraq, L. Paul Bremer signed "Order 17"[24] giving all Americans associated with the CPA
and the American government immunity from Iraqi law.[25] A July 2007 report from the American Congressional
Research Service indicates that the Iraqi government still had no authority over private security firms contracted by
the U.S. government.[26]
The new status-of-forces agreement makes it clear that Contractors are under the jurisdiction of Iraqi law.
from different countries, including Israel, have also signed contracts with the Colombian Defense Ministry to
carry out security or military activities.[3]
• In December 2009, the Congressional Research Service, which provides background information to members of
the United States Congress, announced that the deployment of 30,000 extra U.S. troops into Afghanistan could be
accompanied by a surge of "26,000 to 56,000" contractors. This would expand the presence of personnel from the
U.S. private sector in Afghanistan "to anywhere from 130,000 to 160,000". The CRS study said contractors made
up 69 percent of the Pentagon's personnel in Afghanistan in December 2008, a proportion that "apparently
represented the highest recorded percentage of contractors used by the Defense Department in any conflict in the
history of the United States." In September 2008 their presence had dropped to 62 percent, while the U.S. military
troop strength increased modestly.[36] [37] [38]
• Also in December 2009, a House oversight subcommittee said that it had begun a wide-ranging investigation into
allegations that American private security companies hired to protect Defense Department convoys in
Afghanistan would be paying off warlords and the Taliban to ensure safe passage. That would mean that the
United States is unintentionally and indirectly engaged in a protection racket and may be indirectly funding the
very insurgents it were trying to fight. A preliminary inquiry determined that the allegations warranted a deeper
inquiry, focused initially on eight trucking companies that share a $2.2 billion Defense Department contract to
carry goods and material from main supply points inside Afghanistan (primarily Bagram air base) to more than
100 forward operating bases and other military facilities in the country.[39]
Contracted security services used by % of organizations contracting from % organizations contracting from
humanitarians international PSPs local PSPs
However, there are a great many voices against their use who cite the following problems[40] :
• Outsourcing security left NGOs reliant on contractors and unable to develop their own security thinking and make
their own decisions
Private military company 7
• Perceived association of PSPs with state security, police or military services in turn compromises the ability of
NGOs to claim neutrality, leading to increased risk;
• Outsourcing may not necessarily lead to lower costs, and the cost of middlemen may result in more poorly paid
and poorly trained personnel who turn over frequently and cannot adequately perform the job; and
• NGOs have obligations beyond strictly legal liability that include political, ethical and reputational implications -
if the organisation’s responsibility to prevent and mitigate any possible negative outcomes is better achieved
through in-house security, this should be their choice.
The result is that many NGOs are not open about their use of PSPs and researchers' at the Overseas Development
Institute studies have found that sometimes statements at NGOs central headquarters contradict those given by local
staff.[40] This prevents informative knowledge-sharing and debate on the subject needed to improve NGOs decisions
regarding this issue, though there have been some notable exceptions (Afghanistan NGO Security Office (ANSO)
and the NGO Coordination Committee in Iraq (NCCI)).[40]
List of PMCs
Africor LLC Pretoria Africor LLC, Pretoria, South Africa. Specializes in Security
operations, mission
operational, training,
logistical support in Africa.
AirScan Titusville, US Department of Defense, US Air Force, NASA, US Forest Service, National Provides airborne
FL Test Pilot School, National Response Corporation, US Department of the surveillance and security
Interior, Bureau of Land Reclamation, Maximum Protective Services, Ecopetrol:
the national oil company of Colombia, Occidental Petroleum Corporation,
Cabinda Gulf Oil Company (Angola), SONANGOL: national oil company of
Angola
Custer Battles McLean, VA Iraq and oil sector (at present, have ceased operations in Iraq) Extinct?
GlobalEnforce, Wilmington,
Inc. DE
MTCSC, Inc. Chula Vista, Department of Defense, Marine Corps Systems Command, Marine Corps Provides flexible
CA Intelligence Agency, SPAWAR, NAVSEA Warfare Centers, DISA, National engineering and systems
Security Agency integration services.
Private military company 8
Pathfinder Security Casper, WY Oil, gas and mining sector; mainly in the US
Services
Raytheon Cambridge,
MA
Sharp End Mainly uses Australian and New Zealand ex-special forces instructors
International
Xeros Services Lexington, Belize, Kuwait, South Korea, Pakistan-Iran border International operations
KY specialising in security,
logistics, surveillance,
intelligence, and military
support.
UK companies
Control Risks Group London Provider of security and armed guards for British Embassies and
Consulates
Tecnodef London
Private military company 9
Others
• Asia Security Group, Afghanistan
• BlueSky, Australia
• Compass ISS, Switzerland
• Executive Outcomes, South Africa (ceased operations on January 1, 1999)
• PinPoint Security Group, Security Operations,Close Protection Services and Humanitarian emergency rapid
response.
• Орёл, Russia [41]
• Omega Group, Norway
• SIRAS Group, Denmark
• Tundra Security, Canada
• Unity Resources Group, Australia, based in Dubai - Special Forces and law enforcement veterans from Australia,
the US, New Zealand and Great Britain
• Watan Risk, Afghanistan
• Africor LLC, Africa, based in Pretoria, Nairobi,- Africor.com African Security Operations and Humanitarian
emergency rapid response
• Secopex, France, based in Carcassonne
Resources
Academic publications
• Arnold, Guy. Mercenaries: The Scourge of the Third World. Palgrave Macmillan, 1999. ISBN 9780312222031
• Brooks, Doug/ Rathgeber, Shawn Lee: The Industry Role in Regulating Private Security Companies, in:
Canadian Consortium on Human Security - Security Privatization: Challenges and Opportunities, Vol. 6.3,
University of British Columbia, March 2008. [42]
• The Market for Force: The Consequences of Privatizing Security, by Deborah D. Avant, George Washington
University, August 2005. ISBN 0-521-61535-6
• Armies Without States: The Privatization of Security, by Robert Mandel, Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2002.
• Private Armies and Military Intervention, David Shearer, April 1998. ISBN 0-19-829440-9
• Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry, Peter W. Singer, Cornell University Press,
March 2004. ISBN 0-8014-8915-6
• Brillstein, Arik: Antiterrorsystem. Engel Publishing 2005 - ISBN 393854700
• Machiavelli, Niccolò. The Prince. 1532. See ch. 12.
• "Privatising Security: Law, Practice and Governance of Private Military and Security Companies" [43] by Fred
Schreier and Marina Caparini, DCAF Occasional Paper 6, The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of
Armed Forces, March 2005.
• "Private Military Firms and the State: Sharing Responsibility for Violations of Human Rights and Humanitarian
Law", Filipa Guinote, Collection Ricerche, "Series E.MA Awarded thesis", Vol. VII, Marsilio Editori Srl.,
Venice, Italy, 2006
• "Soldiers of Misfortune – Is the Demise of National Armies a Core Contributing Factor in the Rise of Private
Security Companies?" by Maninger, Stephan in Kümmel, Gerhard and Jäger, Thomas (Hrsg.) Private Security
and Military Companies: Chances, Problems, Pitfalls and Prospects, VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften,
Wiesbaden, 2007. ISBN 978-3-531-149011
• "Leashing the Corporate Dogs of War: The Legal Implications of the Modern Private Military Company" by
Hin-Yan Liu, 15(1) Journal of Conflict and Security Law 141-168, 2010. (doi:10.1093/jcsl/krp025)
Private military company 10
• Woolley, Peter J. “Soldiers of Fortune [44],” The Common Review, v. 5, no. 4 (2007), pp. 46–48.
Non-academic publications
• Making A Killing, James Ashcroft. Virgin Books. ISBN 1-85227-311-9
• Licensed to Kill : Privatizing the War on Terror, Robert Young Pelton ISBN 1-4000-9781-9
• Three Worlds Gone Mad: Dangerous Journeys through the War Zones of Africa, Asia, and the South Pacific,
Robert Young Pelton, August 2006. ISBN 1-59228-100-1
• An Unorthodox Soldier, Tim Spicer, September 2000. ISBN 1-84018-349-7
• Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, Jeremy Scahill, Nation Books. February
2007. ISBN 978-1560259794
• Contractor, Giampiero Spinelli Mursia Editore 2009 ISBN 978-88-425-4390-9
• Guns For Hire: The Inside Story of Freelance Soldiering, Tony Geraghty, Portrait. 2007. ISBN 978-0749951450
• Private Security Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan: Legal Issues [45], Jennifer K. Elsea, Congressional
Research Service, January 7, 2010
• Irak, terre mercenaire : les armées privées remplacent les troupes américaines [Iraq, mercenary land: private
armies replace US troops], by Georges-Henri Bricet des Vallons, Favre (Lausanne:Switzerland), January 2010.
ISBN 978-2828910952. Only in French.
References
[1] Barnes, Julian E.. (2007-10-15). "America's own unlawful combatants?" (http:/ / www. latimes. com/ news/ printedition/ front/
la-na-blackwater15oct15,1,6804674,full. story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage& ctrack=2& cset=true). Los Angeles Times. .
[2] Vieira, Constanza (2007-07-17). "COLOMBIA-ECUADOR: Coca Spraying Makes for Toxic Relations" (http:/ / www. ipsnews. net/ news.
asp?idnews=38576). IPS. .
[3] Private Security Transnational Enterprises in Colombia (http:/ / www. colectivodeabogados. org/ article. php3?id_article=1253) José Alvear
Restrepo Lawyers' Collective February, 2008.
[4] Shishkov, Viktor (2009-03-02). "Private military companies to supersede regular armies" (http:/ / www. informationliberation. com/
?id=26599). informationliberation. .
[5] Yeoman, Barry (2003-06-01). "Soldiers of Good Fortune" (http:/ / www. motherjones. com/ news/ feature/ 2003/ 05/ ma_365_01. html).
Mother Jones. . Retrieved 2007-05-08.
[6] Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to Speak at JHU SAIS (http:/ / www. sais-jhu. edu/ pubaffairs/ media_events/ Media_Advisories/
MA2005/ rumsfeld05. html), press release December 2, 2005
[7] Secretary Rumsfeld's Remarks to the Johns Hopkins, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (http:/ / www. defenselink. mil/
transcripts/ transcript. aspx?transcriptid=1361)
[8] Bill Number H.R.5122 for the 109th Congress (http:/ / thomas. loc. gov/ cgi-bin/ query/ z?c109:h5122:)
[9] H.R. 5122 109th: John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (http:/ / www. govtrack. us/ congress/ billtext.
xpd?bill=h109-5122)
[10] Farah Stockman (01-07-2007). "Contractors in war zones lose immunity" (http:/ / www. boston. com/ news/ world/ middleeast/ articles/
2007/ 01/ 07/ contractors_in_war_zones_lose_immunity/ ). The Boston Globe. .
[11] Higgins Alexander G. US rejects UN mercenary report (http:/ / www. usatoday. com/ news/ world/ 2007-10-17-3392316246_x. htm) USA
Today, October 17, 2007 (syndicated article by Associated Press)
[12] Zabiki, Feliz "Private Military Companies: Shadow Soldiers of Neo-colonialism" (http:/ / web. ebscohost. com/ ehost/ pdf?vid=5& hid=9&
sid=4d40ba1c-96af-446e-ad9b-13cd8366bc88@sessionmgr12), Capital & Class, Summer 2007, issue 92 p1-10, Retrieved on 2010-3-22.
[13] Crisis as SAS men quit for lucrative Iraq jobs (http:/ / www. telegraph. co. uk/ news/ main. jhtml?xml=/ news/ 2005/ 02/ 14/ nsas14. xml),
The Daily Telegraph article dated 15/02/2005
[14] Soldiers to be allowed a year off to go to Iraq to earn £500 a day as guards (http:/ / www. telegraph. co. uk/ news/ main. jhtml?xml=/ news/
2004/ 05/ 23/ nirq123. xml), The Daily Telegraph article dated 23/05/2004
[15] $150,000 incentive to stay in US elite forces (http:/ / www. telegraph. co. uk/ news/ main. jhtml?xml=/ news/ 2005/ 02/ 07/ welite07. xml),
The Daily Telegraph article dated 07/02/2005
[16] Special forces get pay raise (http:/ / www. canada. com/ nationalpost/ story. html?id=1109da57-944c-45a4-962d-9f89d591341a), National
Post article dated August 26, 2006
Private military company 11
[17] Merle, Renae (2006-12-05). "Census Counts 100,000 Contractors in Iraq" (http:/ / www. washingtonpost. com/ wp-dyn/ content/ article/
2006/ 12/ 04/ AR2006120401311. html). Washington Post. .
[18] "Coalition Provisional Authority Order 17 (revised)" (http:/ / www. cpa-iraq. org/ regulations/
20040627_CPAORD_17_Status_of_Coalition__Rev__with_Annex_A. pdf) (PDF). . Retrieved 2008-12-30.
[19] P. W. Singer (March/April 2005) Outsourcing War. Foreign Affairs. Council on Foreign Relations. New York City, NY
[20] A movieclip containing the behavior of alleged Aegis Defence Services driving in Iraq (http:/ / movies. crooksandliars. com/ Aegis-PSD.
mov)
[21] 'Trophy' video exposes private security contractors shooting up Iraqi drivers (http:/ / www. telegraph. co. uk/ news/ main. jhtml?xml=/ news/
2005/ 11/ 27/ wirq27. xml& sSheet=/ news/ 2005/ 11/ 27/ ixworld. html), Daily Telegraph article from 26/11/2005.
[22] Discussion on a blog about Aegis trophy video (http:/ / thedanreport. blogspot. com/ 2005/ 11/ clearing-up-supposed-aegis-video. html)
[23] Blackwater license being revoked in Iraq (http:/ / news. yahoo. com/ s/ ap/ 20070917/ ap_on_re_mi_ea/ iraq)
[24] http:/ / www. cpa-iraq. org/ regulations/ 20040627_CPAORD_17_Status_of_Coalition__Rev__with_Annex_A. pdf
[25] Hirch, Michael (2007-09-20). "Blackwater and the Bush Legacy" (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20071001161845/ http:/ / www. msnbc.
msn. com/ id/ 20892483/ site/ newsweek/ ). Newsweek: p. 2. Archived from the original (http:/ / www. msnbc. msn. com/ id/ 20892483/ site/
newsweek/ ) on 2007-10-01. . Retrieved 2007-09-23.
[26] "Blackwater staff face charges" (http:/ / edition. cnn. com/ 2007/ WORLD/ meast/ 09/ 23/ blackwater. probe/ index. html). CNN.com.
2007-09-23. . Retrieved 2007-09-23.
[27] MICHAEL R. GORDON (August 18, 2010). "Civilians to Take U.S. Lead as Military Leaves Iraq" (http:/ / www. nytimes. com/ 2010/ 08/
19/ world/ middleeast/ 19withdrawal. html?_r=1& ref=private_military_companies). The New York Times. . Retrieved 2 September 2010.
[28] "SL:SoF Synopsis" (http:/ / www. abc. net. au/ foreign/ s220036. htm). Foreign Correspondent (ABC Television). .
[29] "Sierra Leone: Soldiers of Fortune, Script" (http:/ / www. abc. net. au/ foreign/ stories/ s433773. htm). Foreign Correspondent (ABC
Television). .
[30] "CIA Correspondence" (https:/ / sites. google. com/ site/ intelligenceoperations/ home/ cia-correspondence). True Origins of AONN DSI.
United States Defense Security Intelligence Network. . Retrieved November 9, 2010.
[31] "Feds pull suspicious .gov site" (http:/ / news. cnet. com/ Feds-pull-suspicious-. gov-site/ 2100-1028_3-983384. html). True Origins of
AONN DSI. CNET News. . Retrieved November 9, 2010.
[32] http:/ / www. scgair. com/ index. html
[33] U.S. firm offers 'private armies' for low-intensity conflicts (http:/ / www. worldtribune. com/ worldtribune/ 06/ front2453824. 0319444444.
html), WorldTribune article from March 29, 2006
[34] Congo Holding 3 Americans in Alleged Coup Plot (http:/ / www. washingtonpost. com/ wp-dyn/ content/ article/ 2006/ 05/ 24/
AR2006052401591. html), Washington Post article from May 25, 2006
[35] Congo Deports Nearly 3 Dozen Foreigners (http:/ / www. washingtonpost. com/ wp-dyn/ content/ article/ 2006/ 05/ 29/ AR2006052900556.
html), Washington Post article from May 29, 2006.
[36] "Projected contractor surge in Afghanistan: Up to 56,000" (http:/ / www. federaltimes. com/ article/ 20091216/ DEPARTMENTS01/
912160309/ 1009/ ACQUISITION)
[37] "Up to 56,000 more contractors likely for Afghanistan, congressional agency says" (http:/ / www. washingtonpost. com/ wp-dyn/ content/
article/ 2009/ 12/ 15/ AR2009121504850. html?hpid=topnews)
[38] "Projected contractor surge in Afghanistan: Up to 56,000" (http:/ / www. federaltimes. com/ article/ 20091216/ DEPARTMENTS01/
912160309/ -1/ )
[39] "Congress investigating charges of 'protection racket' by Afghanistan contractors" (http:/ / www. washingtonpost. com/ wp-dyn/ content/
article/ 2009/ 12/ 16/ AR2009121604126. html)
[40] Abby Stoddard, Adele Harmer and Victoria DiDomenico (2009) Private security providers and services in humanitarian operations (http:/ /
www. odi. org. uk/ resources/ details. asp?id=2844& title=private-security-providers-humanitarian-operations) Overseas Development
Institute
[41] (http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=afLLkEd_4pU)
[42] http:/ / www. humansecurity. info/ #/ vol-63-brooks-rathgeber/ 4527827401
[43] http:/ / www. dcaf. ch/ publications/ kms/ details. cfm?lng=en& id=18346& nav1=4
[44] http:/ / www. thecommonreview. org/ fileadmin/ template/ tcr/ pdf/ WoolleyRev54. pdf
[45] http:/ / assets. opencrs. com/ rpts/ R40991_20100107. pdf
Private military company 12
External links
• Privatisation of war and international humanitarian law (http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/
privatisation-war)
• Shadow Company (http://www.shadowcompany.com) award winning documentary on PMCs with footage of
Blackwater, 2007
• Riding Shotgun in Baghdad with Blackwater's Security Detail (http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/
defense/1506812.html) Robert Young Pelton's article in Popular Mechanics about his month spent with
Blackwater running Route Irish between the Green Zone and Baghdad International Airport.
• " Making a Killing: The Business of War (http://www.icij.org/report.aspx?aid=177&sid=100)", Center for
Public Integrity, October 2002.
• " The Private Military Industry and Iraq : What Have We Learned and Where To Next? (http://www.dcaf.ch/
publications/kms/details.cfm?lng=en&id=18405&nav1=4)", DCAF Policy Paper 6, 2005
• The Strategic Contractor - op-ed 19 September 2007 by The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (http://www.
hcss.nl/en/publication/389/The-Strategic-Contractor---Iraq,-Blackwater-and-Pr.html)
• U.S. Army Sustainment Command. A site to accumulate and offer materials helpful to the resolution of legal
issues arising from the in-theater use of contractor support to military operations (http://www.aschq.army.mil/
gc/battle2.asp).
• The UK Foreign Affairs Select Committee agreed to the following (Ninth) Report: On Private Military
Companies (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmfaff/922/92202.htm) on 23
July 2002.
• Human Rights First; Private Security Contractors at War: Ending the Culture of Impunity (2008) (http://www.
humanrightsfirst.info/pdf/08115-usls-psc-final.pdf)
Article Sources and Contributors 13
License
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
http:/ / creativecommons. org/ licenses/ by-sa/ 3. 0/