Posted on 07/18/2004 7:57:12 PM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4
Once called mercenaries, highly trained killers have offered their deadly services for a price--from ancient Rome to the War on Terror. Today, they've marched from the back pages of "Soldier of Fortune" to form vast corporations with the power of the most advanced militaries. The payday for these private soldiers has reached $100-billion annually! Unregulated by governing forces, they wage war for those who can afford it. Find out if they are the future of conflict resolution in our 2-hour special.
But no History channel, which was one of my most watched in s. cali. And no Comedy Central or Fox channel, news or otherwise. So no King of the Hill.
Hardship tour. Not quite as bad as Armed Forces Network Korea before they got their satellite feed.
I saw this special last evening (Sunday) and it was excellent.
You beat me to it. I thought of posting that last night, but didn't have time/got pulled away, and came back to post this AM.
Before 9/11/2001, SoF magazine ran a number of articles, over the course of several months, about EO and the situation in Sierra Leone. Their analysis of the UN bureaucrats was pretty biting, and deservedly so.
My ex-Brother in Law teachs air mobile tactics in Africa. He's rated for both fixed-wing multi-engine and rotary wing.
Thanks for the ping!
Like they say, "Armies of nations have to do a lot of things. A Private Army has to do only one thing."
The word FREELANCERS came from the long wars of Europe and the fact that Soldiers all had nothing to do when the war was over and the Soldiers were no longer needed and could not be afforded.
The Greeks had the Spartans.
Egypt used Mercs.
What has always been will always be.
Thanks to the networks' body-counting, agencies and governments will probably be relying more and more on these "contractors".Or kontraktniki. Depending on the area of operation.
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