PMCs for Recon

[Dominique]

I'm feeling motivated, and decided to start working on some background info for a few generic Private Military Contractors (PMC) for use in a modern Recon setting. I'll be adding additional info on them, as the mood hits me. Let me know how they look, and if you've got any comments, feel free to post.

Sterling Security Consulting, LLC. - SSC Is a British firm hiring former US, UK, Canadian, Australian, NZ military personnel. They primarily recruit from Special Operations or combat arms specialties, but specialist positions such as medical and EOD personnel are hired on an as needed basis. The company currently maintains recruiting offices in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, and Kuwait.

The companies personnel perform various functions for their clients, such as providing protective service details, convoy escort/security, counter-sniper, EOD, specialized medical support, or site security. Their major contracts are in in Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Haiti, Jordan.

Staff

Brig. Sir John Sterling (DSO, OBE) - President, and CEO. Brigadier Sterling is the company’s founder, and chief financial backer, he’s a former commander of both the 1 Para, and the 16 Airmobile Brigade, and 4 Armor Brigade (the famed “Desert Rats”). While he normally has little to do with the company’s daily operations, he is their public face, and the person most closely associated with it.

Col. Winfred Lovejoy (VC) - VP for operations. Col. Lovejoy is a former SAS trooper, and the company’s current VP for operations. He basically handles the companies day to day operations, and ensures that things are running smoothly.

[Dominique]

Tier One

Tier One is a relatively new US security firm, based in South Eastern Virginia, that primarily hires former SOF, and Special Mission Unit (SMU) troops. They’re one of the primary security contractors for the US Dept. of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, providing protective service details to US diplomats in high risk areas of the world. They’ve also have several DOD and Dept. of State contracts, to provide specialized training to foreign military and police units.

Employees tend to come from Ranger, Special Forces, Delta, or SEAL backgrounds, although they do have their fair share of Recon Marines, PJs and Combat Controllers. They’ve gotten a bit of a reputation for the supposed “cowboy” attitude of some of their younger employees, and their preference for chewing tobacco, Oakley sun glasses, and Under Armor shirts.

Recent press reports indicate that Tier One personnel may be under contract to provide security services to a number of other US intelligence and security agencies, such as the CIA, NSA, and DIA, at their overseas operating locations, in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, and other high risk locales, as their presence wouldn’t attract as much attention as uniformed US military or security personnel.

[Dominique]

So, did any of you guys read over this stuff? Is it useful? Would you use it?

[Lando The Archmagi]

I'm interested in more details.

[Dominique]

I plan on fleshing this out a bit more, but my computer seems to have crapped out on me, and I'm stuck in Iraq, at the moment, so it's going to be a while before I really get a chance to work on this.

[Lando The Archmagi]

I plan on fleshing this out a bit more, but my computer seems to have crapped out on me, and I'm stuck in Iraq, at the moment, so it's going to be a while before I really get a chance to work on this.

Well keep your head down and stay safe over there. I've had family serve in that area. I look forward to seeing more as you have time.

[Dominique]

just out of curiosity, what type of info would you guys be interested in seeing? More detailed write-ups of the various companies, background info onthe characters, plot seeds, etc...

As far as the characters go, they'd all have military or law enforcement backgrounds, or a combination of the two. Say John Smith did three years as a Marine assigned to 1st FAST Company, before getting out and picking up a job as State Trooper. After two years of patrol, he moved over to SWAT and the dive team, and decided to join the local Marine Reserve unit. His reserve unit was called up for two deployments, one to Iraq, where he served as a team leader on a Protective Detail, and one two Afghanistan where he served on a Marine Civil Affairs team advising the Afghan Border Police, before taking a job as an advisor/trainer with one of the fictional companies I'm posting.

[Dominique]

Just bumping this up, as I'll be making some additions after the holidays.

[slade the sniper]

Just bumping this up, as I'll be making some additions after the holidays.

I would be interested in fictional companies for gaming...but I am interested in real companies for my thesis. PM me if you care to help.

-STS

[Trooper Jim]

More detail on the history of the companies, some the major players and adventure seeds, are a good place to start.

[Kovoston]

More detail on the history of the companies, some the major players and adventure seeds, are a good place to start.

What he said!!

[Dominique]

I'll see about fleshing the companies out next week, as well as looking into adding some more detailed history on their various employees.

[slade the sniper]

Here is some info that I uncovered reference PMCs...

United States
The United States has often relied on civilian contractors to support military operations beginning with the Revolutionary War, where it is assessed that almost 18% of the war effort was composed of private contractors. Since that time, the US has maintained a contract capability to sustain and move military forces in both peace and war. What is unprecedented is the size and scope of the US military’s current contracts. Not only is the US using contractors in two undeclared wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but also in South America, Central Africa and Asia. ,
This capability for using contract forces, especially when the desire is to not provoke further aggression, while still performing combat operations, has been a unique American capability for several decades. The 1st US Volunteer Cavalry in the Spanish American War, the 1st American Volunteer Group in World War II and Air America in Laos during the Vietnam War mark the most successful use of PMCs by the United States. Recent examples include Military Professional Resources Inc. (MPRI) in the Balkans and the current contracts ongoing in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn.
The model of a PMC that works in close cooperation with the US military is a validated one, especially when the PMC and the military are separated by space yet still mutually supporting the overall theater strategy. This successful use of low visibility military options in a conflict has not gone unnoticed, and the model of PMC support to “cooperative security locations” has become a reference for Chinese military strategy that they have shown interest in emulating. Other examples of the proliferation of PMCs can be observed in the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China.

-STS

[slade the sniper]

United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has a strong industry base of PMCs, being the birthplace of the modern PSC. While the British government does have a fondness for outsourcing, having privatized nearly 70% of all previously government controlled entities; they retain a strong legal bulwark against offensive operations conducted by any private entity. While it can be argued that the delineation between offensive and defensive operations has blurred, when cases of malfeasance on the part of a PMC can be proven, there have been large penalties handed out in the form of fines and prison sentences.
Currently, the UK boasts an impressive list (such as ArmorGroup, Control Risks Group, Erinys, Global Risk and Hart Group) of well-regarded PMCs that are hired by multi-national corporations, NGOs, and also by the United Nations. During the recent Libyan civil war, the British Firm Aegis was hired to secure the Swiss embassy in Tripoli for three months at a cost of 960,000 Swiss Francs due to an inability of the Swiss government to secure the building.
Additionally, the Libyan civil war may have been an operational test for governmental armed assistance but non-involvement prior to, during and after hostilities. , The European Union External Action Service (EEAS), the EUs organization responsible for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy has recently published a list of their pre-approved PMCs that can be called on to support on-going or crisis operations in various countries. This list includes Control Risks Group, Saladin and G4S, as well as the Canadian PMC GardaWorld. This large Anglo contingent on the EEAS PMC list bodes well for the UK wielding increased diplomatic, economic and military power both globally and in Europe.

-STS

[slade the sniper]

France
In contrast to the UKs burgeoning PMC capability, France has relatively meager global presence with only one of their companies, Geos, as a pre-approved EEAS list. This has not gone unnoticed, and the presence of so many Anglo firms “seems to favor British economic interests” per a French White Paper on PMC expansion regarding British PMCs in Libya. Due to this, a consortium of French companies including Geodis, GIE Access, Sodexo and Thales have formed the Global X company in an attempt to bid for UN peacekeeping operations to provide for a Fraco-centric foreign policy under the auspices of a UN mandate. Additionally, this consortium seeks to provide for a means to secure French flagged vessels operating in hostile waters so that they will not have to become “Anglo flagged” to be able to receive security from British or other Commonwealth security providers.
Although somewhat stymied by British PMCs, they have managed to gain leverage within the company Argus, a Hungarian PMC which now has primarily French leadership and utilizes primarily former French soldiers. Argus is the current provider of training for the nascent Libyan military after a previous attempt at covert support via the French PMC Secopex was killed during a traffic stop by anti-Qaddafi insurgents during the civil war.
Additionally, the French White Paper addresses the issue of cost savings as their calculations reveal that PMCs would cost between 25% to 50% less than similar military units, although the reason for the cost savings could not be determined.

-STS

[slade the sniper]

Russia
Russia, unlike Europe, had little historical use of mercenaries, with the exception of the Cossack peoples who were more an allied autonomous ethnicity. Other than that, the leaders of pre-Soviet Russia would hire specifically talented individuals for short durations, such as John Paul Jones’ employment by Catherine the Great to take part in the naval portion of the Liman Campaign against the Ottoman Empire. In more modern operations it is often suspected, but never proven that the Soviet or Russian government employed mercenaries as a tool of national power. , At most, there are stories of individuals travelling to conflict areas to engage in traditional mercenary activities, but official government involvement has proven impossible to prove.
The success of US and UK using contractors to pursue foreign policy goals has resonated in the Russian government and the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin has stated “I believe that such companies [PMCs] are a way of implementing national interests without the direct involvement of the state. Yes, I think we could consider this option.” One area where the post-Soviet government was able to use private contractors in this role was in the area of weapons exports in violation of arms sanctions. Using a vast pool of ex-Soviet era pilots, intelligence professionals and soldiers, the Russian government was able to ensure delivery of weapons and equipment worldwide. Although somewhat beyond the scope of this thesis, the ability of the Russian government to utilize personal connections, organized crime and state-owned enterprises to pursue non-official foreign policy goals is somewhat remarkable considering the difficulty and scrutiny these operations were under.
Given the ability of the Russian government to non-officially collude with various groups and individuals to pursue foreign policy goals without the overt knowledge of either the government or the populace of Russia, the desire to create a third tier of covert operational capability, along with organized crime and intelligence agencies, will likely increase their ability to operate covertly on a global scale. The primary employer for these PMCs is expected to be the state energy concerns to protect infrastructure and production assets in both Russia and abroad.

-STS

[slade the sniper]

China
China desires to be passive and more proactive in shaping the security environment they operate within. In an effort to modernize their forces, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is in the midst of creating a market structure within the Chinese Military Industrial Complex (CMIC) to allow for competitive bidding, and to leverage civilian capability for military purposes. Coupled with the strategic thinking evident in Unrestricted Warfare, the ability of the Chinese government to affect security and military situations globally is of increasing importance.
The success of US and UK PMCs in the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan as well as the “cooperative security locations” afforded to the US via PMC cooperation with a host nation has not gone unnoticed. The current capability of Chinese security companies is still rather limited and focused on the domestic market, however they are very interested in becoming global enterprises. The desire for a non-traditional, deployable security capability is driven by several issues. The first issue is that the PLA and the PLA Navy (PLA-N) is currently incapable of long duration combat operations outside of mainland China, with the possible exception of Taiwan. A second issue is that China is pursuing a “places not bases” strategy that will allow them to create pseudo-military bases that are disguised as small exclusive economic zones. A third issue is that deployment of PLA and PLA-N forces would be considered somewhat provocative by the United States, India, other Asian nations and perhaps Russia.
In order to allow China to expand economically and still maintain security for their foreign assets in unstable areas but without appearing to be deploying regular military forces, the use of PMCs is highly advantageous. The difficulty that China would face would be one of control, similar to what the US faces. The unique aspect of Chinese PMCs is that they would be employed primarily by SOEs pursuing long term economic policies on behalf of China, thus the majority of PMCs would be closely connected to Chinese foreign military policy. The possibility also exists that the PLA would use PMCs as a way for their personnel to take extended leave and gain deployment experience while not being under the legal status as a PLA soldier.

-STS