What is up with mercenaries these days?
Did we have them in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, or during the Soviet vs. Afghan war?
Maybe we/they had them but I don’t remember them. Private militaries could become a problem like they were in the Middle Ages.
We could clean out our prisons and “volunteer” some soldiers.
Back then it was easier to hide the rifle barrel at the “volunteers” head than it is now.
One joined because one might get sent to the front in France instead of fighting rooskies at the Eastern Front.
Same thing in Korea, Vietnam etc.
We have contractors (very lucrative business — global market estimated at $100 billion back in 2002). NYT* article about it here:
Not the same as mercenary fighting forces, of course. We tend to train and equip people in other countries rather than fight directly as mercs. Of course, there are Americans fighting as mercenaries in various countries for various outfits, but not that many, and these outfits are not officially sanctioned by our government as contractors are.
In Vietnam, we trained Montagnards:
And also used South Koreans:
Our doings in Afghanistan (we funded the mujahedeen, some of whom became the Taliban):
https://www.vox.com/world/22634008/us-troops-afghanistan-cold-war-bush-bin-laden
*Note: there is an error in the NYT piece. The August 1995 ethnic cleansing was 225,000 to 250,000 per international agencies including UN, UNHCR, ICRC, etc., not 100,000. Plus, another area was ethnically cleansed of 30,000 in May 1995. And yes, MPRI most certainly was there training Croat troops and assisting in lots of other ways.
Supposedly they don’t have to abide by Geneva convention rules.
They can be summarily executed or on the other side commit what may be considered war crimes without the host country being held responsible.