Trends of a Temporary Military, Mercs.

Just another of those informative posts, not much I have to say on this topic at the moment. But the proper reply may change that.

Have just been thinking about things as of late and crossed this while reading up on stuff.

Let's be honest about this. The fact that we are dealing with an industry which has really only been in the public eye for a bit over a decade, depending on who and where you count, makes drawing conclusions difficult. Quite simply it is, despite notable consolidations in recent years, an industry in flux. Ten years ago most public commentary focused on just three companies, Executive Outcomes, Sandline (both of which no longer exist) and MPRI (which is now a subsidiary of L-3). Now, just in Iraq alone one has had probably hundreds of private military and security firms, of all shapes and sizes (and most of them NOT employing armed personnel) which have operated in Iraq since the start of the 2003 U.S. invasion.
The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown: PMCs in Iraq

Now not that it occured to me before, but I wasn't thinking about this stuff then.
While at a paintball tourney last year, between matches I had a day long conversation with a Marine on leave. He was a SAW gunner in his squad, and mentioned some stuff about the mercs over in Iraq. One of the things he talked about was a full auto shot gun, he never heard of them before, and I just rattled off USAS 12, or some other varient was what it could be.

From then on it was like we were best of friends, he was interested in knowing more about that weapon. I guess he really wanted one of his own, he said they would be nice for the guys to have while FIBUA.

But knowing what he said about the mercs and reading this peice, it got that wheel in my head spinning enough to make the light come on.

You ever seen the Role Playing Game Shadowrun?

Its set in the future, where megacoorperations have all the money and power, and even their own private armies.

It seems to be a trend, the privatization of the government. With the military, they have been contracting out all sorts of military specialties and positions to private companies or hiring on civilians in former military posts. When I was in Hanau, I remeber at the troop clinic, there wasn't a single military doctor there. All civies. In Bitburg, half the doctors were civilians.

One would think that one of the jobs of the military in Iraq is to provide stability and security. Perhaps many private entities do not trust the government's military to provide as much, and are hiring their own armies.

It doesnt seem that the private mercs are bound by the geneva conventions, so they can probably get away with alot more than Regular Military. There is less accountability, fewer eyes on them.

Who is to say that the government themselves have not hired a few of these mercs clandestinely to do a few side jobs? Or have looked the other way?

The government does hire a private security force out at Area 51 to guard it, after all, instead of using actual military.