Rock and roll
This is Tony Shiena
Owner of Mosaic Security
Private Military Company that provides
Elite forces level security for their clients
Tony has a VIP coming into Caracas tomorrow, who we'll need to guard
We tagged along as he scouted out a particularly dangerous neighbourhood
That we will need to pass through in the morning
It's called The Triple X Barrier
The main issue with this client, is, we need to pick him up at (inaudible) airport
and deliver him to his meeting at the military installation
but there's no circumventing this
These guys should be flanking on each side
Okay, he's already seen a potential shooter
Considering the police claim 25 people are shot in this barrier a day
The armed person they spotted was not taken lightly
This is the wrong (bleep) place to be
Although we were able to get out without incident
it was clear that tomorrow's security was going to need to be very serious
We're at an airport about to extract a client
So the idea is that we have got to get him from here
To go to meet a government contractor
There've been a number of attempts on his life
So, you know, tensions are running a little bit high
Everybody recover, recover, recover
So there have been two or three attempts on your life?
For the business that you work in, you wouldn't be able to operate
without these guys taking you through countries
While providing highly trained security for VIPs like Pablo
is one role PMCs play, its really just the tip of the iceberg
In fact, the International Private Military Industry, has been exploding over the last 20 years
To find out more about this new modern world of mercenaries
We spoke to P. W. Singer, author of the book:
Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Private Military Industry
A Private Military Company, a PMC, is Private Companies, taking on roles that have
traditionally been done by the military and intelligence agencies
by the broader, national security complex
We have this assumption of war and who fights it
a man in uniform and that uniform, to us, means; well they're part of a national military
and when you look at the 21st Century, that image in our mind... It just doesn't hold true
These companies have taken on all the different roles of war
Everything from the back-end logistics, to training and consulting, to the tactical battlefield role
Pretty much, its the new American way of war, whether you're talking about Iraq or now Afganistan
Roughly half of the force there, is Private Military
[Jedd} In fact, business is SO good, that the global market for Private Security Services
is projected to reach $218 billion in 2014
and as more and more aspects of modern war and security are outsources to PMCs,
these companies are poised to grow even larger
[P. W. Singer] Outsourcing is always about cost savings
its the number of people that you don't have to to call up from your national guard and reserves
to take on these roles
Deaths, Injuries, Capture of Private Military Contractors
Doesn't resonate into the political world the same way it does for someone in the military
so we're seeing everything from companies that have being operating in Iraq, now doing things like
counter-piracy operations off Somalia, to the emergence of Chinese Private Security Companies
operating in Africa, or the Russians use private contractors during their Crimea operation
when we look at the future frontiers of the Private Military Industry, they reflect the next frontiers of war
To find out more about this massive industry,
that is fast becoming the future of war
we spoke to the man that, almost, single handedly
created the modern PMC as we know it
We're here in Abu-Dhabi and we're going to interview one of the most important
people in the PMC world, Eric Prince, who was the founder of Blackwater
PMCs are as American as Thanksgiving Day
[the] First Colonies were started by contractors, they were hired to secure most logistics of private companies
Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth Colonies were, uh, were private endevours
Now look, I started Blackwater as a way to stay connected to the SEAL teams
When our customers called us, we ran very hard to fill their needs
but we were mischaracterised as "out of control mercenaries"
and the fact is we were American Veterans serving America again and getting paid on a competitively bid contact.
"Full stop"
We did exactly the job the U.S government hired us to do
and did it well, more than 100 000 missions, on the security side, no one under our care ever killed or injured
[Jedd] For a first hand look to see what it takes to become a "soldier for hire"
we travelled to the Czech Republic to the "Anti-Terror Academy"
a former military base which is now one of the most popular security training facilities in Europe
This is where future PMC soldiers are going to be freshening up their skills
before they go out and work
In theory, even people like me can do these training courses
and basically be guns for hire
Make sure you focus on that foresight
Okay
Squeeze in the trigger
Although they are willing to train beginners like me, it was clear that a vast majority
of the guys there were former military, running through combat drills
"How did you get into all of this?"
"So I left the army, because the money wasn't good enough for what I was getting paid to do. Why would I do 5 years in Iraq..."
"in the army and earn $120 grand, when I can do 2 years in Iraq
and earn $400 grand..."
"Certainly in my era, anybody who is any good in the army, isn't in the army anymore"
[Jedd] The main goal of a facility like this is to take the elite skills these soldiers already have for offensive combat
and reshape them to provide defensive, special forces level security and protection
[Instructor] "The 2 guys behind, they just push out"
(gun cocks)
[Jedd] But, as I watched them run their drills, it was clear that these manoeuvres were much more than just offensive
They aren't only learning to provide additional support and security
They are essentially becoming their own army
Nobody nows more about what it means to have Private Armies for hire than
the world famous mercenary, Simon Mann
after serving the British Special Forces, he spent over 20 years in the PMC industry
until 2004 when he served 5 years in prison in Equatorial Guinea for his role in attempting to help stage a coup
a private military company, to me, is a company that is prepared to carry out full on offensive military operations
under a contract, "(inaudible) you pay us a load of money and we will help you win your war"
Where I get worried is when you start saying "No the way forward is for combat operations
to be privatised and given out wholesale to the private sector
There are certain things that armies have to do and a way of doing them
that should not be in the private sector
These guys are fighting for money, they're not fighting for the state, their not fighting out of sense of duty or patriotism
when it gets serious is when you get a PMC that starts to get excessively muscular
the line between defence and offence gets very quickly blurred
so immediately any decent soldiers will start thinking
"Instead of waiting here to be shot, why don't we go out there and bag the bad guys before they manage to shoot us?"
and suddenly, you know, the rules start to get bent
[Jedd] The further you look into the training around the world for PMCs
The more you realise that they're public face as simply defensive security is only one side to their capabilities
So we're here to see Mick Cowan
He's a former sniper and he's now a PMC
He's asked us to keep his location secret because he just doesn't want people to know where
this is going on. We're going to spend a little bit of time with him to kind of find out what he does
how it all works.
[Mick] I operate as a consultant for a number of companies and I step in and provide the actual instruction ability
[Jedd] Simple put he trains PMCs to be snipers using the latest military techniques and hardware
[Mick] Basically an AR-15 M4, with a red dot sight on it
[Jedd] And it's not just about shooting accuracy, they also teach you how to blend in with your environment
So your target doesn't even know you exist
[Mick] Jedd, you gotta be really low and slow.
(grunt)
Is there any kind of contracts that come along that you just morally don't agree with or don't take
Yes, certainly there would be jobs that I could see coming along that I would go "Hmmmm, thanks but no thanks"
But, morality is down to the individual and down to the companies themselves
You'll always get people who are morally repugnant, but you'll always get cowboys
[Jedd] But its not only the moral question of who these cowboys might work for that makes many uneasy
For veteran journalist Robert Pelton, who witnessed the rise of PMC in both Iraq and Afgahnistan first hand
It's a concern about their willingness to blur the lines if serves their purpose
It is a myth to assume that contractors are aligned with governments
and they synchronise, they actually have opposing goals
and there are many cases in which contractors were actually arrested by military (scoffs)
in Iraq for doing exactly that, shooting at people, you know, causing a mess
It's security but it doesn't seem like security because it's to keep them secure
If i come up and punch you in the face and say "That's for your protection" that's kinda the joke
You see fences going up, you see guard posts, you see people stopping you and you say
"That's not a police badge"
And it's up to the public to decide whether they think the use of force, by a non-state actor is appropriate
[Jedd] In fact, the actions of some PMCs has caused such an alarm, that U.S congressman, Jan Schakowsky
has introduced legislation to limit them from use in warzones altogether
There has been concern about using people who don't wear the badge of the United States of America
Who are not part of a chain of command
Who aren't held accountable in the same ways
I think what scares me the most, about these, uh, Private Military Contractors is that
buy and large they operate in the shadows, the transparency
isn't there, the accountability isn't there. It appears that
these contractors, literally, may be able to get away with murder.
[Jedd] When you consider that these companies might operate above the law, even while employed by the U.S Government
The bigger question for New York Times Washington correspondent David Sanger, it what happens when PMCs
Work completely outside the juristiction of America itself
One big concern for Private Military Contractors is a question of allegiance
When they become political instruments to help prop up a government, that's when you begin to ask the question:
"Does this corporation have the foreign policy of its own? And is that corporations foreign policy in sync or in opposition to American foreign Policy?"
Are they truly American? Or are they truly international?
Who exactly are they working for?
When the best and the brightest from armies around the world are now working for PMCs
You have to wonder if the next military super power won't be a country but a corporation
I think the PMC of the future can manipulate governments
We're at a stage now where I think it can happen
All CC done by Oliverpls