Despite Denials, Blackwater Still Working for U.S.

[Bones]

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/01/despite-denials-blackwater-still-working-for-u-s/

While the $84 million Jerusalem contract is a boon, just a week after USTC Holdings bought Xe, the company was dealt a loss when the Army opted to hire DynCorp for a $1.04 billion contract to train Afghan cops. Still, Xe got a $100 million deal to guard CIA bases in Afghanistan last year, and Clark said that the new owners retain “95 percent” of Xe’s pre-sale government contracts. He declined to specify which ones the firm no longer retains.

I'm curious. How do members of the military feel about XE and other such PMCs?

 

[Kalam]

We know how the Iraqis feel about them:

 

[strollingbones]

follow the money....

 

[editec]

follow the money....

Bingo.

Nobody who matters (and certainly not anybody in the government) gives a rat's ass how the boys in uniform feel about Blackwater.

They are ALL mercenaries whether they work for Blackwater or the US military

They take their orders and they get paid for carrying them out.

That's all they need to know.

 

[RoccoR]

editec, strollingbones, et al,

OK, this is borderline funny.

follow the money....

Bingo.

Nobody who matters (and certainly not anybody in the government) gives a rat's ass how the boys in uniform feel about Blackwater.

They are ALL mercenaries whether they work for Blackwater or the US military

They take their orders and they get paid for carrying them out.

That's all they need to know.

(COMMENT)

Companies like Triple Canopy, DynCorp and Xe/USTC (formerly Blackwater) are not truly PMCs (Private "Military" Companies). They are PSCs (Private "Security" Companies). There is a big distinction. PSCs do not perform military operations; just as police don't perform military operations.

The difference exemplified:​

Erik Prince and Al Clark, Xe (formerly Blackwater) is a PSC.
General Chennault's American Volunteer Group (the famous Flying Tigers) is a PMC.​

As far as what the military and government thinks, the market is what it is. The decision to reduce the DOD budget and rely on contractors to perform non-combat related functions - as a consequence, lead to the rise of the PSCs. The military,at one time, had Constabulary Forces and Rear-Area Operations Centers or RAOCs. With the downsizing of the military, Congress and the Senior Civilian Leadership, in concert with the Combat Arms Commanders, created an environment for a symbiotic relationship between the PSCs, DOD, and other government agencies.

Now there are people within the military that hold PSCs (distastefully) as trouble in the making. But the use of contracts to fill-in gaps dates back to the American Indian wars and the Scouts. The US Secret Service (formerly the Union Intelligence Service) was started by Pinkerton, along with the first Rail Road Police (government recognized PSC). There are many examples, in every period of war.

The one thing I strongly disagree with is that these forces are mercenaries in any respect. This is an "uneducated" view of an anti-War component that simply doesn't understand the definition (technically - operationally - legally) of these terms.

Most Respectfully,
R