Maybe everything you know about the pmc military acronym (PMCs- Private Military Companies) comes from the shooter video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III. This video game has a private military contractor unit called Task Force 141. Their task is to track down a terrorist who is masterminding a Russian invasion of the US.
However, there is much more to Private Military Companies than what is shown in fictionalized video game versions. Private Military Companies (PMCs) or Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) are private companies that provide armed combat or security services for financial gain. Their expertise is similar to security, military or police services, but generally on a smaller scale.
Comparable to security guard companies, PMCs have training protocols for discipline and fitness, combat skills, armed and unarmed interactions, crowd control security, legal and ethical considerations, and teamwork/leadership development. PMCs also utilize tools like security guard management software – to manage personnel, enhance efficiency in operations, track/monitor guard locations, do incident reports and communicate with clients.
What do PMCs do?
Here are some present-day examples of what PMCs do:
- SUPPLY SECURITY TO COMPANIES (e.g. PMC British Aegis Defense Services was known to provide corporate military for oil refineries in Iraq, or Blackwater USA guarded agricultural biotech company Monsanto in Argentina).
- PROVIDE BODYGUARDS FOR KEY STAFF/GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS (e.g. American DynCorp gave security to Afghan President Hamid Karzai).
- FORCIBLY REDUCE ACTIVITIES SUCH AS POACHING OR SMUGGLING (e.g. British private military company KAS International reduced poaching in various African countries that engaged in the illegal elephant tusk industry).
- COMBAT PIRACY (e.g. British security firm Protection Vessels International PVI was hired by shipping companies in the gulf of Aden in Somalia to deter pirates from attacking vessels and holding crews/cargo for ransom).
- PROVIDE COUNTER-NARCOTIC ACTIVITIES WITH EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS AND SERVICES (e.g. American private military contractor Academi worked for the Department of Defense Counter-Narcotics Technology Program Office).
- TRAIN OR SUPPLEMENT OFFICIAL ARMED FORCES (e.g. the United Arab Emirates has had contracts with the PMC Frontier Services Group to give training, logistics, and advisory services for UAE forces in Yemen).
Positive Impacts of Using Private Military Companies
- PMCs can augment military forces with specialized skills and expertise- for instance building the capacity of a national security force.
- PMCs can support peacekeeping efforts and stabilization with security and logistical support (e.g. the United Nations used PMC services in the early 2000’s in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Sierra Leone).
- PMCs can supply manpower in areas where governments or companies lack resources.
- PMCs can be utilized unofficially where official military forces may face bureaucratic restraints.
- PMCs can supply training, logistics, intelligence gathering and security consulting, especially in high-risk areas or conflict zones (training locals, assisting with reconstruction, and post-conflict projects).
- PMCs can create economic opportunities like job creation, revenue generation, and stability by protecting critical infrastructures in regions with security risks.This involves PMCs securing oil refineries, power plants, telecommunication networks, ensuring continued operation of essential services.
- PMCs can aid humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
- PMCs can provide security for commercial shipping in areas prone to piracy (like the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean).
Negative Impacts of Using Private Military Companies
PMCs have been involved in some very negative controversies. In the 1990’s DynCorp International in Bosnia was accused of involvement with sex trafficking and forced prostitution, leading to multiple investigations. Also in the 1990’s, a South African PMC called Executive Outcome was questioned over human rights abuses and their role in perpetuating conflict in Angola and Sierra Leone. As a result, there have been increased regulations put in place for PMCs, with oversight and accountability to address potential ethical, legal and security concerns.
Additionally, Blackwater (now Academi) had a serious incident in 2007 in Iraq. Blackwater contractors opened fire in Baghdad’s Nisour Square, killing 17 Iraqi civilians and injuring many others. International outrage over the incident raised questions over PMCs operating in conflict zones.Contractors that use armed force in a war zone were possibly considered unlawful combatants- based on concepts outlined in the Geneva conventions and stated in the US 2006 American Military Commissions Act, though this 2006 Bush-era Act has since been revised and amended (e.g. with President Obama’s Executive Order 13492 in 2009). The IHL (International Humanitarian Law), the United States, the ILC (International Law Commission) of the United Nations, along with other countries, all have their input on PMCs in conflict zones. As a result there continues to be ongoing efforts and initiatives to address regulations of PMCs.
So due to some unfortunate incidents, sometimes PMCs have a mixed reputation. They may be viewed by some as a legitimate service provider filling a security niche in the market. Or critics accuse PMCs of using questionable techniques which may exacerbate conflicts. In his book “Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry” author and strategist P.W. Singer says:
“Once a monopoly of the state, war has become a free market enterprise, with private military firms now offering their services to the highest bidder. Yet, rather than bringing peace, the privatization of warfare has brought war and its attendant evils back into the heart of civil society.”
How are PMCs legal?
PMCs are legal entities but are sometimes confused negatively with mercenaries (derogatorily called “mercs” or “hired guns”). This is because PMCs and mercenaries both work for money, not political or ideological interests. But while PMC private military and mercenaries equally may engage in similar activities- such as providing military services to clients for financial compensation- there are key differences. In contrast, the purposes, legality, accountability and reputations of PMCs and mercenaries are distinctly different.
Private military companies typically operate their private warfare while adhering to all legalities– national and international laws, usually by contracts with governments, multinational corporations or legitimate entities. PMCs follow regulations of their conduct, licensing, and are accountable. PMCs are legitimate companies with organizations, protocols, hierarchies, trained personnel, logistical support and legal departments. Employees of private military companies have insurance options of health, life, AD&D, travel, disability, workers’ compensation insurances, etc. – consistent with the insurance for security guard companies.
While they may operate in unstable areas to protect client assets and employees, PMCs additionally provide services beyond combat- security consulting or intelligence gathering. PMCs are held accountable with legal and contractual limits, along with rules of engagement, human rights, and other regulations.
On the other hand, mercenaries deserve to be perceived even more negatively by individuals who may have incorrect assumptions about private military companies. Mercenaries often operate in illegal gray areas or outside the law altogether. Their unethical/illegal behavior is made possible because mercenaries have little or no accountability to any rules of engagement or standards. Usually they have no official or formal contracts, nor any structured company or formal organization. Mercenaries will work for whoever will pay, regardless of the morality or legality of the job. Because mercenaries are motivated by financial gain- not any cause or person- they are usually only loyal to the highest bidder. There will be little discipline or training protocols for the mercenary individuals or small groups. Exploitation, violence and instability are seen as the inevitable by-products of mercenaries’ activities.
A Renaissance political philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli, sums up the use of mercenaries in warfare in his work “The Prince” which still seems timely today:
Mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous; and if one holds his state based on these arms, he will stand neither firm nor safe; for they are disunited, ambitious, and without discipline, unfaithful, valiant before friends, cowardly before enemies; they have neither the fear of God nor fidelity to men, and destruction is deferred only so long as the attack is; for in peace one is robbed by them, and in war by the enemy.”
The Role of PMCs in Today’s World
Beyond the varied opinions about PMCs, in the end private military companies ultimately provide needed and essential services in the security industry. These private entities offer many necessary military and security services for governments, corporations, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). PMC contributions range from armed combat, security, intelligence, logistics, training and advisory support. They supplement military forces, protect assets, and enable humanitarian operations. PMC employees are often former military personnel, familiar with work in conflict zones and high-risk environments. In the operation of global security around the world, private military companies (PMCs) play a crucial role.
