Thoughts On Civilian Military Contractors?

They are necessary, but nation building type engagements that we seem to be fond of make them more prevalent than they should be.

Maybe one of the military guys on here can correct me, but I don't think PMC's do what one would normally consider "black ops." Yes, they do have contracts with the CIA, but that is mostly to provide security for CIA stations and personnel in certain countries. If you've ever seen Zero Dark Thirty, the security guys depicted in the Camp Chapman suicide bombing incident were all Blackwater guys in real life. The two former Navy SEALs killed in action during the Benghazi attack were also CIA security contractors, but its not clear if they were staffed by a larger contractor (Blackwater, Triple Canopy, etc) or if they were just independent contractors.

My understanding is that PMCs do not perform "direct action" missions or recruit assets. They do perform some foreign internal defense-type services - say, training Explosive Ordinance Disposal units of a foreign country - but they certainly aren't "assassins for hire."

The American Hero channel, formerly the military channel, had a show on the other night about contract soldiers. I did not get a chance to watch the whole thing, but they were basically implying they were NOT killers for hire.

It is an interesting dynamic...on many fronts. While Obama and the democrats are decreasing the number of military personnel - or at least plan to, I assume the number of PMC personnel will only increase.

Reading this Blackwater book, one could assume that they are indirectly, direct action personnel - if you know what I mean. They are not going and raiding homes, but they are certainly not afraid to engage what appears to be the enemy (and even beyond if the book is to be believed).

Blackwater was employed by the State Department by in large in Iraq. They were investigated by the FBI, but their contract essentially made them immune from prosecution in the US and when their personnel made questionable decisions that resulted in death, they were quickly flown out of the country so as to avoid the Iraqi justice system (if there is such a thing).

Other contractors are employed by the CIA to perform other functions.

Google Raymond Davis and CIA when you have time...

My BIL is one. He makes well over 6 figures doing a job an E6 or E7 would be doing for way less than half of that. Good for him, I guess, but as a policy, something about it rubs me the wrong way.