Just a little light reading about private military contractors. For those of you looking for a light read, a tale of adventure, a few quick notes about PMC’s followed by two hundred pages of first person “I could die out here,” reportage from a reporter who parachutes into a scene, collects a few notes and leaves….well, then you can just skip this book entirely. But if you want to really know about the history of mercenaries, private contractors and how these things materialize in the modern world then by all means get yourself a copy of Sean McFate’s “The Modern Mercenary.”
This book is filled with data, some of which is so startling it’s hard to imagine, but this trend to the PMC isn’t new, not by a long shot. The playing field of modern war is both a chance to reexamine how these groups work, and also a chance to see if there are more ways of utilizing their abilities. This new world of war, the transition, isn’t without risk, and history has already shown us the ugly head of the PMC when things go sideways, but the reality of the future looks to be MORE of these groups, not less.
The author has history and details these private armies going back centuries. If this is your cup of tea then have a look.