[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Contractor VS Merc (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 7/15/2008 6:04:43 PM EDT
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When the the term Private Military Contractor replace mercenary? What was the idea behind that...more PC crap? Do contractors find the word mercenary offensive? What's the difference (if any) between a "contractor" and a "mercenary" |
contractors are security. Very well armed security. Mercenaries operate as a military unit, conducting military operations, not security. Well probably that too but more along the lines of what an actual military does. I don't think Blackwater and guys like that are being sent out in unit formations to take objectives. I have no idea really, just my guess. |
this plus i believe a contractor would be considered someone that works for their own government, while a merc will work for anybody as long as there is money. |
They were called sniper rifles up til about 10 years ago.... and the real reason probably is-"sniper" has a somewhat derogatory connotation and historically snipers were often not respected or valued by the military, but I bet there's a bit of military PC to it. |
That doesn't make it any less juvenile-sounding. |
Get back to me when the first soldier yells "Shit they got Fred, everyone down there's a precision rifleman in the church tower!" 
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Contractors murder babies in the dead of the night under the pay of big evil corporations. Mercenaries murder babies in daylight under the pay of US sponsored and supported dictators. See the difference? 
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The term is 'Private Military Corporation', referring to the contractor's firm... The contractors themselves are bodyguards, 'private security contractors' or 'protection specialists'.... The difference between a security contractor (et al) and a 'mercenary' is simple... A mercenary is a full on private soldier, who fights wars for hire by the highest bidder.... They engage in the full spectrum of combat operations.... PSCs don't engage in offensive military ops - their sole purpose is to protect a site or principal.... So they are not mercenaries... They are super-duper security guards.... Think 'Mall Ninjas on more Roids than Barry Bonds(*)' |
Many of us old folks still call them sniper rifles . Nothing juvenile about it.
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Mercenarism is prohibited under the First Additional Protocol of the Geneva Conventions, the African Union has banned it, as have France and South Africa. Mercenarism is a crime that carries a steep sentence. The better part of a decade in France, for instance. PSCs, on the other hand, are not regulated. At least not in that way. |
I wonder if the Swiss Guards at the Vatican are still considered Mercs? Historically they have always been considered mercenaries. |
a good answer 
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Ding, ding, ding... give this man a balloon! Private security is hired to protect private assets, such as persons and supplies. In the case of BW they are hired, or 'contracted,' by the State Dept, to protect government (read 'non military') personel. Mercenaries are hired to wage war, not to do body guard work. |
what if i only want to murder young rape victim mothers holding toddlers in the twilight between day and night while under the pay of a pawn broker who pays in gold coins and confederate dollars? Does that make me a contractor or a merc or something else??
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Personally I never thought of the term "mercenary" as bad.... you are only "bad" based on ho you fight for. The guys from many countries that fought for Rhodesia did it for minimal pay and bennies (same as the Rhodesian soldiers) Were the mercenaries? If so I respect the hell out of them for what they did. I could think of a lot of ways to define mercenary... some of those ways would include BW (or the like contractors) doesn't mean I don't respect them. Some definitions could even include American soldiers. They have a skill to do a job, the job needs doing, they do the job for pay. Moraly no different from an honest mechanic (and better than a dishonest one) |
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The guy cooking my eggs this morning for breakfast is a contractor. The guy plunging the shit out of the backed up shitter is a contractor. The guy pumping the shit out of the porta-johns is a contractor. The guys that empty the trash dumpsters are contractors. The guy that worked on my AC is a contractor. I have contractors that work my IT helpdesk and run some of our communications equipment. There's contractors that operate forklifts, heavy equipment, drive semis, work as mechanics, work in the library, gym, movie tent, px, phone center etc. I don't think you could call any of those contractors "Mercenaries". There's many, many, many, more contractors that are unarmed and have nothing to do with any type of security then there are those that do. The Security Contractors that most people think of when someone uses the term "contractor" aren't out hunting the enemy. They generally escort convoys or VIP's to provide them protection to get from point A to B. They aren't patrolling looking for the enemy, they aren't setting up vehicle check points, or doing cordon and knocks etc. I don't think "mercenary" fits them either. If they were in fireteams working alongside the military kicking down doors, capturing and killing insurgents, patrolling etc. then "mercenary" might fit, but that's not what they do. |
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I'm telling you that the word "mercenary" cannot be applied to that circumstance. A citizen or national of any party to a conflict is exempted from the crime of mercenarism. That's all there is to it. (See First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Convention, 1977). |
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Well I don't give a fuck what they are called. This argument ranks somewhere around "what kind of bug got splattered on my windshield last night" to me. What I wish for is the .gov would hire some Blackwater guys to go into Pakistan and kill BinLaden. If the new Pakistan government doesn't want the US military to go in there, we should just send some private citizens. There is a $50M reward afterall. Just what I think....... |
Best description here yet. Contractors are employees of corporations. Merc's are individuals who LOVE action for pay. Been there done that.  |
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I've wondered about it for a bit. They did a show on Discovery, the .Mil channel . one of them about Executive Outcomes in Sierra Leone working for the standing government...taking out the rebels in short order when the .gov couldn't do the same thing. This show called them PMCs and mercs during the show. I didn't know if there was a actual difference in their missions or was it just a title to make the sheep less scared. |
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Historically mercanaries have been hired to do "only" security just like Blackwater and other groups (varangian Guard and others). The only difference between mercenary and contractor is semantics and what they want you to feel by using the word.
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Good point. It would be very interested to see what Blackwater would do if a country like Russia approached them with a multimillion dollar contract to deploy contractors into Chechynia. |
I doubt they could pull it off. We have the CIA in Pakistan and if they can't find him no body...... well maybe the NSA could but still. I don't think blackwater has the resources to pull that off. Maybe in 10 years. I don't even think they have their COIN aircraft delivered yet. I support blackwater purely for the badass factor of the job. I wish I could get hired into their intel ops but I'd have to relocate. |
Amen and they all save Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines from having to that work so that they can do things that more directly effect the battle field. If it wasn't for contractors they'd be drafting folks by now. |