Aprivate military company (PMC) or private military and security company (PMSC) is aprivate company providing armed combat or security services for financial gain. PMCs refer to their personnel as "security contractors" or "private military contractors".
The services and expertise offered by PMCs are typically similar to those of governmentalsecurity,military, orpolice but most often on a smaller scale. PMCs often provide services to train or supplement officialarmed forces in service of governments, but they can also be employed by private companies to providebodyguards for key staff or protection of company premises, especially in hostile territories. However, contractors that use armed force in awar zone may be consideredunlawful combatants in reference to a concept that is outlined in theGeneva Conventions and explicitly stated by the 2006 AmericanMilitary Commissions Act.[1]
Private military companies carry out many missions and jobs. Some examples have included military aviation repair in East Africa,[2]close protection for Afghan PresidentHamid Karzai and piloting reconnaissance airplanes and helicopters as a part ofPlan Colombia.[3][4] According to a 2003 study, the industry was then earning over $100 billion a year.[5]
Modern PMCs trace their origins back to a group of ex-SAS veterans in 1965 who, under the leadership of the founder of the SAS,David Stirling andJohn Woodhouse, foundedWatchGuard International (formerly with offices inSloane Street before moving to South Audley Street inMayfair) as a private company that could be contracted out for security and military purposes.[7]
The company's first assignment was to go toYemen to report on the state of the royalist forces when a ceasefire was declared. At the same time, Stirling was cultivating his contacts in theIranian government and exploring the chances of obtaining work inAfrica. The company eventually operated inZambia and inSierra Leone, providing training teams and advising on security matters. Stirling also organised deals to sell weapons and military personnel to other countries for various privatised foreign policy operations. Contracts were mainly with theGulf States and involved weapons supply and training. The company was also linked with a failed attempt to overthrow ColonelMuammar Gaddafi from power inLibya in 1971. Woodhouse resigned as Director of Operations after a series of disagreements and Stirling himself ceased to take an active part in 1972.[8]
Stirling also founded KAS International (aka KAS Enterprises) and was involved in a collaboration with theWorld Wide Fund for Nature to forcibly reduce the illegal poaching and smuggling ofelephant tusks in various countries ofSouthern Africa.[9] Other groups formed by ex-SAS servicemen were established in the 1970s and '80s, includingControl Risks Group and Defence Systems, providing military consultation and training.
In 1989, theUnited Nations Mercenary Convention banning the use ofmercenaries was initiated and entered into force on 20 October 2001.[10] As of August 2021, the convention had been ratified by 37 states, and signed but not ratified by 9 states.
Domestic operations are generally under the auspice of state or federal agencies such as theDepartment of Energy or theDepartment of Homeland Security rather than the Department of Defense. Driven by increasing fears of domesticterror attacks andcivil unrest and disruption in the wake of disasters, more conventional security companies are moving into operations arenas that would fall within the definition of a PMC. TheUnited States State Department also employs several companies to provide support in danger zones that would be difficult for conventional US forces.
The October 2000USSCole bombing proved a pivotal moment for private military companies at sea and directly led to the first contract betweenBlackwater and the US military.[15][16] Blackwater, and private military contractors in general, became notorious in the 21st century after their usage by the United States government in theAmerican occupation of Iraq.
Armed contractors aboard amerchant ship to deter piracy.
Since the late 2000s, PMCs have become increasingly involved inanti-piracy measures in Somalia and other regions. PMCs remain active in this region, mainly providing security for private shipping through theGulf of Aden and at times contracting to aidUN efforts. PMCs were hired to deter pirates from attacking vessels and taking the shipping crew and their transport hostage. While a large variety of international naval missions with the same goals such as the EU'sAtalanta, NATO'sOcean Shield, andCombined Task Force 150 are and were active in this region, it is still necessary for the shipping companies to have security personnel on deck. Due to their decentralized nature, it can be difficult for the UN or other international organizations to provide effective oversight over what happens on the seas. Whereas the UN showed that, between 2010 and 2015, there were over fifty encounters between the national sovereign navies that participated in the missions, resulting in over 1,200 detained pirates, only one PMC published information over this period.[17] Since the PMCs are so much more active in this area, covering a larger part of it through activities on board trading ships, this could be a low estimate.[18] PMC presence in Somalia is an example of twoviolent non-state actors at sea engaged in combat with each other.
On April 5, 2005, Jamie Smith, CEO ofSCG International Risk announced the expansion of services from the traditional roles of PMCs of protection and intelligence to military aviation support. SCG International Air would provide air support,medevac (medical evacuation),rotary andfixed-wing transportation,heavy-lift cargo, armed escort, and executive air travel to "any location on earth." That marked an expansion of services to rival the capabilities of some countries' armies and air forces.[citation needed]
In 2008, theInternational Committee of the Red Cross, theSwiss government, and contributors from private security companies and the civil society/NGO sector developed and proposed theMontreux Document on Private Military and Security Companies, detailing international legal obligations and specific recommendations related to PSC services procurement practices and operational oversight, as well as clarifying the obligations of states pertaining to the hiring of such entities during armed conflicts.[19] As of December 2018, fifty-four states had signed the Montreux Document.[20]
As revealed in 2009 by Stoddardet al., the use of private security contractors byNGOs in dangerous regions is a highly sensitive subject.[21] Quite often, the contractors hired are local companies and mostly are unarmed personnel guarding facilities; only rarely are international contractors or mobile armed security personnel used.[21] Many NGOs have sought the services of private security contractors in dangerous areas of operation, such asAfghanistan,Somalia andSudan, due to lack of knowledge, skills, and time to adequately meet the challenges of deteriorating security environments; and administrative costs of managing security in-house and potential to outsource the liability.
Contracted for
international
local
Unarmed guards for facilities/residences/project sites
29%
77%
Physical security for premises
31%
55%
Security management consulting
37%
9%
Security training for staff
41%
4%
Risk assessment/threat analysis
36%
7%
Information services
26%
12%
Armed guards for facilities/residences/project sites
17%
14%
Standby security
13%
16%
Mobile escorts (armed)
9%
13%
However, it has been argued that outsourcing security leaves NGOs reliant on contractors and unable to develop their own security thinking and make their own decisions. Perceived association of PSPs with state security, police or military services in turn compromises the ability of NGOs to claim neutrality, leading to increased risk. Moreover, outsourcing may not necessarily lead to lower costs, and the cost of middlemen may result in more poorly paid and poorly trained personnel, who turn over frequently and cannot adequately perform the job. Finally, NGOs have obligations beyond strictly legal liability that include political, ethical and reputational implications: If the organisation's responsibility to prevent and mitigate any possible negative outcomes is better achieved through in-house security, it is argued, this should be their choice.[21]
The result is that many NGOs are not open about their use of PSPs and researchers at theOverseas Development Institute have found that sometimes statements at NGOs central headquarters contradict those given by local staff.[21] This prevents informative knowledge sharing and debate on the subject needed to improve NGO decisions regarding this issue, though there have been some notable exceptions; namely, the Afghanistan NGO Security Office and the NGO Coordination Committee in Iraq.[21]
The private security contractor fulfills many different needs in the private and public sectors. While some nations rely heavily on the input of governments of such nations as the United States, other countries do not trust the US, so they tend to look for private contractors who will have afiduciary obligation to them.[citation needed]
In December 2009, theCongressional Research Service, which provides background information to members of theUnited States Congress, announced that the deployment of 30,000 extra US troops into Afghanistan could be accompanied by a surge of "26,000 to 56,000" contractors. This would expand the presence of personnel from the US private sector in Afghanistan "to anywhere from 130,000 to 160,000." The CRS study said that contractors made up 69 percent of the Pentagon's personnel in Afghanistan in December 2008, a proportion that "apparently represented the highest recorded percentage of contractors used by the Defense Department in any conflict in the history of the United States." In September 2008, their presence had dropped to 62 percent, and the US military troop strength increased modestly.[23][24][25]
Also in December 2009, aUS House of Representatives oversight subcommittee stated that it had begun a wide-ranging investigation into allegations that Americanprivate security companies that were hired to protect Defense Department convoys in Afghanistan would be paying off warlords and theTaliban to ensure safe passage. That would mean that the United States unintentionally and indirectly engaged in a protection racket and might be indirectly funding the very insurgents it is trying to fight. A preliminary inquiry determined that the allegations warranted a deeper inquiry and focused initially on eight trucking companies that share a $2.2 billion Defense Department contract to carry goods and material from main supply points inside Afghanistan (primarilyBagram air base) to more than 100forward operating bases and other military facilities in the country.[26]
In 1994 and 1995, the South African-based PMCExecutive Outcomes was involved in two military actions in Africa. In the first conflict, Executive Outcomes fought on behalf of the Angolan government againstUNITA after a UN-brokered peace settlement broke down. In the second action, Executive Outcomes was tasked with containing a guerrilla movement inSierra Leone, theRevolutionary United Front. Both missions involved personnel from the firm training four to five thousand combat personnel for the Angolan government and retaking control of the diamond fields and forming a negotiated peace in Sierra Leone.
In 2000,ABC Television's international affairs programForeign Correspondent broadcast a special report, "Sierra Leone: Soldiers of Fortune", focusing on the exploits of South African pilotNeall Ellis and hisMi-24 Hind gunship.[27] The report also investigated the failures of the UN Peacekeeping Force and the involvement of mercenaries/private military contractors in providing vital support to UN operations and British military Special Operations in Sierra Leone in 1999–2000.[28]
In mid-May 2006, police in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo arrested 32 alleged mercenaries of different nationalities: 19 fromSouth Africa, 10 fromNigeria and three from theUnited States. Half of them worked for the South African companyOmega Security Solutions, and the Americans worked forAQMI Strategy Corp. The men were accused of plotting to overthrow the government, but charges were not pressed. The men were deported to their home countries.[29][30]
The Central African-based park ranger organizationAfrican Wildlife Defence Force contracts former servicemen and law enforcement personnel to protect national parks and private game ranches in Africa. Candidates must undergo additional retraining to become park rangers. They are also referred to as Private Ranger Contractors or PRC.[citation needed]
According to the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), since 2017, the Russian-based PMC, Wagner Group, has been operating continuously in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, as well as in other African countries. Under the guise of helping governments defeat violent insurgencies or fight Islamic extremist movements, the Russian Wagner Group is believed by several US and African government sources to be responsible for significantcrimes against humanity. It is reported that hundreds of contractors from the Russian PMC enter these countries each year. The Wagner Group has been accused of extreme violence against African civilians and human rights violations by the US State Department and most European governments.[35]
In the mid-2000s, a group of self-proclaimed former ANCfreedom fighters, known as the TRAKboys, began to emerge in fringe political circles within Johannesburg and Cape Town. They gained national attention in South Africa when they began calling upon leaders to demand an investigation by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development into the foreign and domestic activities of Executive Outcomes. Failed assassination attempts on several high-profile members of the TRAKboys, such as former Cape Town-based manufacturing tycoon, Dylan4K, have led to speculation, conspiracy theories and public outrage directed towards Apartheid-era, Afrikaner-owned PMCs operating in southern Africa.[36][37][38][39]
In 1999, an incident involvingDynCorp inBosnia was followed by aRacketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) lawsuit being filed against DynCorp employees stationed in Bosnia. It alleged that "employees and supervisors from DynCorp were engaging in perverse, illegal and inhumane behavior and were illegally purchasing women, weapons, forged passports and participating in other immoral acts."
In December 2006, there were estimated to be at least 100,000 contractors working directly for theUnited States Department of Defense inIraq which was a tenfold increase in the use of private contractors for military operations since thePersian Gulf War, just over a decade earlier.[40] The prevalence of PMCs led to the foundation oftrade group thePrivate Security Company Association of Iraq. In Iraq, the issue ofaccountability, especially in the case of contractors carrying weapons, was a sensitive one. Iraqi laws do not hold over contractors.
Two days before he left Iraq,L. Paul Bremer signed "Order 17" giving all Americans associated with theCPA and the American government immunity from Iraqi law.[42] A July 2007 report from the AmericanCongressional Research Service indicates that the Iraqi government still had no authority over private security firms contracted by the US government.[43]
After thewithdrawal of US troops from Iraq, theUS State Department is reportedly planning to more than double the number of its private security guards, up to as many as 7,000. Defending five fortified compounds across the country, the security contractors would operate radars to warn of enemy rocket attacks, search for roadside bombs, fly reconnaissancedrones and even staff quick reaction forces to aid civilians in distress. Its helicopter fleet, which will be piloted by contractors, will grow from 17 to 29.[44]
PMCs supplied support to US military bases throughout thePersian Gulf, from operating mess halls to providing security. They supplied armed guards at a US Army base inQatar, and they used live ammunition to train soldiers at Camp Doha inKuwait. They maintained an array of weapons systems vital to the invasion of Iraq. They also provided bodyguards for VIPs, guard installations, and escort supply convoys from Kuwait. All these resources were called upon constantly.[5]
In 2010, severalBlackwater PMC employees "were indicted on unlawful killing charges in connection with their work as US government contractors during theIraq War"; founderErik Prince sold the company and departed soon thereafter.[45]
Employees of private military companyCACI andTitan Corp. were involved in the IraqAbu Ghraib prison scandal in 2003, and 2004. The US Army "found that contractors were involved in 36 percent of the [Abu Ghraib] proven incidents and identified 6 employees as individually culpable",[46] although none have faced prosecution unlike US military personnel.[46]
On March 31, 2004, four American private contractors belonging to the companyBlackwater USA were killed byinsurgents inFallujah as they drove through the town. They were dragged from their car in one of the most violent attacks on US contractors in the conflict. Following the attack, an angry mob mutilated and burned the bodies, dragging them through the streets before they were hung on a bridge. (See also:31 March 2004 Fallujah ambush,Operation Vigilant Resolve)
On March 28, 2005, 16 American contractors and three Iraqi aides from Zapata Engineering, under contract to theUS Army Corps of Engineers to manage an ammunition storage depot, were detained following two incidents in which they allegedly fired uponUS Marine checkpoint. While later released, the contractors have levied complaints of mistreatment against the Marines who detained them.
On June 5, 2005, ColonelTheodore S. Westhusing committed suicide, after writing a report exoneratingUS Investigations Services of allegations of fraud, waste and abuse he received in an anonymous letter in May.
On October 27, 2005, a "trophy" video, complete with post-productionElvis Presley music, appearing to show private military contractors in Baghdad shooting Iraqi civilians sparked two investigations after it was posted on the Internet.[47][48][49] The video has been linked unofficially toAegis Defence Services. According to the posters, the man who is seen shooting vehicles on this video in Iraq was a South African employee of Aegis Victory team named Danny Heydenreycher. He served in the British military for six years. After the incident, the regional director for Victory ROC tried to fire Heydenreycher, but the team threatened to resign if he did. Aegis, the US Army, and the US State Department each conducted a formal inquiry into the issue. The Army determined that there was no "probable cause to believe that a crime was committed."[50]
On September 17, 2007, the Iraqi government announced that it was revoking the license of the American security firmBlackwater USA over the firm's involvement in the deaths of seventeen Iraqis in a firefight that followed a car bomb explosion near a State Department motorcade.[51][52] The company was allowed to continue to operate in Iraq until January 2009 when theUS–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement took effect. Blackwater was one of the most high-profile firms operating in Iraq, with around 1,000 employees as well as a fleet of helicopters in the country. In 2014, four Blackwater employees were tried and convicted in US federal court over the incident; one of murder, and the other three of manslaughter and firearms charges.[53]
On March 12, 2017,Sallyport Global fired two investigators who alleged sex trafficking, alcohol smuggling, and security lapses by Sallyport employees atBalad Air Base in Iraq.[54]
On March 27, 2006,J. Cofer Black, the vice chairman ofBlackwater USA, announced to attendees of a special operations exhibition inJordan that his company could now provide abrigade-size force forlow-intensity conflicts. According to Black, "There is clear potential to conduct security operations at a fraction of the cost of NATO operations." Those comments were later denied.[55] In March 2024,Intelligence Online reported that an ad was being circulated by former French special forces soldiers for around 3000–4000 foreign recruits. The ad was backed by Abu Dhabi-based Manar Military Company (MMC), which is run by a former French special forces officer, and is financially linked to a politically influential and wealthy Abu Dhabi family. The ad suggested that the UAE aimed to establish an elite foreign legion. Despite MMC claiming that the project was canceled and the ad was disinformation, experts said an Emirati foreign legion could be real. Since 2009, the UAE had been utilizing PMSCs, initially withErik Prince. Investigations also revealed the UAE's involvement in hiring mercenaries for assassinations in Yemen and for supporting the Wagner Group.[56]
In 2006, a US congressional report listed a number of PMCs and other enterprises that have signed contracts to carry out anti-narcotics operations and related activities as part ofPlan Colombia.DynCorp was among those contracted by the State Department, and others signed contracts with the Defense Department. Other companies from different countries, includingIsrael, have also signed contracts with the Colombian Defense Ministry to carry out security or military activities.[4]
The RussianWagner Group has been deployed in theRussian invasion of Ukraine, fighting alongside theRussian Armed Forces since early 2022. In February 2023 it was reported that Russian Prime MinisterMikhail Mishustin signed a decree which allowedGazprom to launch "a mercenary army".[57][58][59] Several other mercenary groups have been in evidence, such asRedut, the ministerial-affiliatedPatriot group, as well as dozens of other formations.[60][61] According to one Dutch study, it was estimated that no more than approximately 35,000 operators of private military and security companies ever participated in combat in theRusso-Ukrainian War as of 2024.[62]
Contractors from theHong Kong-incorporatedFrontier Services Group (FSG) likeErik Prince have established close ties with Chinese state-owned firms since 2014 by providing security, logistics, and aviation for Chinese companies in dozens of countries across Asia, Africa, and Europe in connection with China'sBelt and Road Initiative.[45]
In November 2018, FSG or its founder, incorporated a subsidiary in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo with "a mandate to extract minerals and timber and conduct financial operations."[45]
TheConstitution of the Russian Federation was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993, and entered into force on 25 December 1993. Article 13.5 reads:[67] "The establishment and activities of public associations whose goals and activities are aimed at the forcible changing of the basis of the constitutional order and at violating the integrity of the Russian Federation, at undermining its security, at creating armed units, and at instigating social, racial, national and religious strife shall be prohibited." In addition, it has been illegal since at least the 1996 edition under Article 359 of theRussian criminal code to recruit, train or finance a mercenary. Also the use of him in an armed conflict or hostilities shall be punished.[67]
Eeben Barlow apparently brought the idea of PMCs to Russia in 2010; there he gave an invited talk to theSt. Petersburg International Economic Forum, as well as presented the PMC concept to representatives of the General Staff of theAFRF. At the time he proposed forming PMCs from retired military personnel and contractors.[68]
The existence of Russian PMCs seems to go as far back as 2011, when theSyrian Civil War kicked off and violent unrest was felt inLibya beforeMuammar Gaddafi was eliminated in October. Russians had big investments in both of these countries.[69] State-owned enterpriseRostec and its subsidiariesRosboronexport andTechnopromexport, as well as privately ownedStroyTransGaz (STG) andTatneft have billions of dollars invested in international affairs and like to hire from the Russian PMC sector.[69]
In 2012,Vladimir Putin suggested to theState Duma to consider the legalization of PMCs,[70] although owners of Russian PMCs have claimed that because Russia inherited its legal system from theByzantine Empire, anything that is not explicitly prohibited is allowed.[71][72]
Oleg Krinitsyn heads theRSB-Group,[72] reportedly in 2013 Russia's largest PMC.[73] The Moscovite MSG was the focus of attention in 2013 for its failed and bloodySyrian involvement. It contracted employees through the Slavonic Corps shell company owned byVadim Gusev and based inHong Kong to work for the régime ofBashar al-Assad, but the latter failed "to fulfill their financial obligations, which caused problems with the housing and feeding of the fighters from Slavonic Corps."[73] Meanwhile, 100 of the 267 men hired in spring 2013 by Slavonic Corps perished in October 2013 in a firefight withISIS.[69] Out of the ashes of the Slavonic Corps was born theWagner Group.[74]
Two recruiters for the Slavonic Corps were ultimately jailed in October 2014 for their violation of Article 359. They faced up to eight years imprisonment but were convicted for three. Regular squad members were reportedly unpaid and faced no prosecution in Russia.[70]
Not long after the Slavonic Corps fiasco, theWagner Group PMC made its appearance on the scene.[69] Near the end of 2014, Wagner was given the instructional role of local Basharite militias.[69] Prior to September 2015, the PMCs were Russia's only pseudo-military presence in Syria.[69]
Wagner and Moran both contributed in 2014 to the RussianWar in Donbas;[69] Wagner is known to have fought in Syria since late 2015. One manner of payment to the group is from 25% of the proceeds from captured and secured oil and gas infrastructure in Syria.[74]
In January 2018, Foreign MinisterSergei Lavrov said of PMC employees that legislation was needed to "protect these people",[74] while Duma memberMikhail Yemelyanov authored a bill to do just that "because private military companies are legal in many countries"; continuing: "We wrote in the bill that the defence ministry would coordinate and that participation in armed conflicts would only be with their permission."[74]
In February 2023, it was reported thatGazprom would form a PMC of its own calledFakel. The law "On the Security of Fuel and Energy Facilities" appears now to state that companies in this field "may be granted the right to establish a private security organisation".[75]
The organisation Molfar has investigated 37 private military companies in Russia, and found that all of them are or have been connected to Kremlin. Most of them are also funded by Kremlin. More than half of them are participating in the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In total, they have activities in 34 different countries. Russian PMCs are involved in oil and mining operations in 19 countries in Africa.[76]
Scholars have studied whether contractor deaths have an effect on the public's "casualty sensitivity" when substituted for military fatalities.[77] Casualty sensitivity refers to the inverse relationship between military deaths and public support for a sustained military engagement. Contractor deaths may account for nearly 30% of total US battlefield losses since the beginning of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.[78]
In October 2007, theUnited Nations released a two-year study that reported that, although hired as "security guards", private contractors performed military duties. A spokesman for the American mission to the UN office in Geneva (UNOG) said that "Accusations that US government-contracted security guards, of whatever nationality, are mercenaries is inaccurate."[79] An observer noted that the difficulty in separating private from public troops means that legal proceedings against theseviolent non-state actors can be complicated, and stated that contracted combatants carry the legitimacy of the state that hires them.[80]
Demands for specific PSC services have grown to record levels in recent decades, and private firms' capabilities now include an array of services that are vital to the success of on-the-ground war fighting as well as other more traditional stability operations and contingency contracting. While past calls for corporate responsibility have heralded successes such as theKimberley Process and theExtractive Industries Transparency Initiative in widespread international operations, there has also been a move within the PSC and contingency contracting industries to call for accountability and to implement a code of ethics for the retention of services and operations of such service providers. Existing credible accountability initiatives form a skeleton for governing the conduct of contractors, but much remains to be fleshed out to form a coherent and standardized framework from which to oversee such organizations and activities. Over the last decade there have been a number of initiatives to regulate the private security industry.[81] These include theISO/PAS 28007:2012 Guidelines for Private Maritime Security Companies[22] and theANSI/ASISPSC.1 andPSC.4 standards.
Founded in 1955,American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) is a society of individual security professionals dedicated to increasing the effectiveness and productivity of security professionals by developing educational programs and materials. ASIS is anANSI-accredited Standards Developing Organization, and within ASIS, the ASIS Commission on Standards and Guidelines works with national and international standards-setting organizations and industry representatives to develop voluntary standards and guidelines for security professionals. With funding from the US Department of Defense, the ASIS Commission on Standards is currently promulgating four sets of standards for private security companies.[82]
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^Affi, Ladan; Elmi, Afyare A.; Knight, W. Andy; Mohamed, Said (May 3, 2016). "Countering piracy through private security in the Horn of Africa: prospects and pitfalls".Third World Quarterly.37 (5):934–950.doi:10.1080/01436597.2015.1114882.ISSN0143-6597.S2CID155886392.
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