"The Return of the Mercenary" Topic

"The use of mercenaries in warfare has a very long history—much longer, in fact, than the almost-exclusive deployment of national militaries to wage wars. Before the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 ended Europe's Thirty Years' War and marked the rise of the modern state system, medieval powers from kings to popes routinely hired private fighters to do battle for them. As state governments sought a monopoly on the use of force within their territories in the 17th century, however, they moved to stamp out violence by non-state actors, including mercenaries, driving the industry underground.

Private militaries never really went away, but according to Sean McFate, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and associate professor at National Defense University, they have experienced a resurgence in the past 25 years. McFate himself was a contractor with DynCorp International, one of the private military companies whose rise is the subject of his recent book, The Modern Mercenary. Companies like DynCorp—and, more infamously, Blackwater—were major players in the U.S. military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, providing logistics and other services, as well as armed guards and trainers for local armies. McFate draws a distinction between these types of support contractors, used for defense and training, and mercenaries, who stage offensive operations on behalf of a client. Nigeria has reportedly deployed mercenaries from South Africa and elsewhere in the fight against the militant Islamist group Boko Haram. In practice, however, that difference is not clear-cut. "If you can do one, you can do the other," McFate told me in a recent interview…"
Full article here
link

Do you used them in your wargames?

Amicalement
Armand

Most Mercenaries (contractors) nowadays aren't really carrying out armed combat anymore. Most are serving protective details so that actual military personnel can carry out combat missions without wasting manpower on garrison duties.

I know that there are still those who specifically contract out to fight, but these are very few compared to the majority who are performing guard duties.

Yes, we use them extensively for our modern and near future gaming. I especially enjoy the freedom they provide when it comes to "uniforms", gear, and even vehicles. Personalizing stands of figures with names of friends and families is great fun too.

"The Return of the Mercenary"

I don't think they really ever left … one way or another …

Well under US, UK and International Law, Mercenaries are illegal. Modern PSC/PMC's can only perform defensive operations. If they conduct offensive operations they are considered mercenaries, which is illegal. You also have to understand when the media claims there were 100k contractors in Iraq. Less than 10% of them were armed and they mostly did security or training missions. Americans that go to Syria, Iraq or any where in the world to fight against ISIS are breaking the law. So don't come home bragging about it. Don't post pictures on social media and when you write a book, present it as fiction. lol

This guy was in the news here last week:
link

Although I'd hardly put him in the same pot as those who leave to fight for ISIS, he has still broken the country's laws & may need to face a court.

@Ironwolf: considering that it seems most of the US troops that go to fight against DAESHbags are not getting paid in anything other than the same food the refugees they're protecting eat, that kinda makes them not mercenaries.

Gotta be paid to be a mercenary under the Geneva Conventions.

Similarly, as long as the individuals are not serving in a foreign nation's military, they're clear of US law (and even serving in the French Foreign Legion is not considered being a Mercenary).

You adopt a false name when signing a contract with the French Foriegn Legion and are issued new papers, and upon completion of your contract,you are given French citizenship.

No way your former country can really come after you if you serve in the Legion.

Besides, the Geneva Conventions only deal with the treatment of military prisoners, the wounded and civilians in a war zone. No definition of mercenaries.

There are UN conventions which define what a mercenary is, but there are only 43 signatories of them. USA and Russia didnt sign.

Laws dealing with mercenaries are written and enforced by individual countries.

Actually Article 47 of the 1977 Protocol I amendment to the Geneva convention does define what a mercenary is and that mercenaries are not legaly considered combatants or prisoners of war.

1. A mercenary shall not have the right to be a combatant or a prisoner of war.
2. A mercenary is any person who:

(a) is especially recruited locally or abroad in order to fight in an armed conflict;
(b) does, in fact, take a direct part in the hostilities;
(c) is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of that Party;
(d) is neither a national of a Party to the conflict nor a resident of territory controlled by a Party to the conflict;
(e) is not a member of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict; and
(f) has not been sent by a State which is not a Party to the conflict on official duty as a member of its armed forces.

All critera must be met for an indivdual to be considered an mercenary according to the Geneva convention.
Protocol I has been signed and ratified by 174 states, the US has signed but not ratified the Protocol.

You do not *have* to adopt a false name when joining the Legion. You can, and some do, but it is not required.

The Americans that are fighting alongside the Kurds miss the Geneva Convention definition by not being paid any more than the other members of the force.

Doesn't matter anyway, it's not like ISIS is going to honor any of the Geneva Convention guidance for anyone they are fighting.

Lion of the Stars,
that might be why the few that have been arrested when they return to the states are charged with other crimes and not as a mercernary. As long as they can show they were not paid or given something of value, they were not charged with that specific crime.

I worked for Dyncorp in the middleast and during our training. They kept harping about the difference between offensive and defensive operations to avoid violating US and International law.

They are just private security or, if we're dealing with offensive operations and large units, they're just compensated allies and volunteers. Just call them your foreign legion or something, and don't make their uniforms too different from that of your regulars.

Dan