tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6161526002238586054.post1167322622197455056..comments2023-09-08T08:20:13.780-04:00Comments on Two-Fisted Blogger: PMCs, SOFs and Mercs, Oh My!Hank Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01241805904517893443noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6161526002238586054.post-45072632480475640792011-05-30T11:01:57.790-04:002011-05-30T11:01:57.790-04:00Mercenaries in Angola
http://www.amazon.com/To-Hel...Mercenaries in Angola<br />http://www.amazon.com/To-Hell-ebook/dp/B004Y5N2CU/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6161526002238586054.post-26804312013250676012011-02-05T10:55:01.777-05:002011-02-05T10:55:01.777-05:00Duly noted. :-)Duly noted. :-)Hank Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01241805904517893443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6161526002238586054.post-37340334247190874702011-02-05T10:16:29.829-05:002011-02-05T10:16:29.829-05:00Barlow also seems to have had an impressive busine...Barlow also seems to have had an impressive business sense for someone who jumped into the private sector from covert operations. He tells the story about how his non-existent unit met at the side of dusty road to be told that none of them would be paid their pensions. This is course was what led to him starting the company.<br /><br />Also, just to note, my above opinions are just that. Nothing empirical about them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6161526002238586054.post-61804302525852214952011-02-04T23:40:53.828-05:002011-02-04T23:40:53.828-05:00That makes a lot of sense. I really need to read h...That makes a lot of sense. I really need to read his book.<br /><br />Even in national military forces, intel makes or breaks a mission. The documented mission failures by both SF and the Rangers all had faulty intel, it seems. So Barlow's savvy in that department, plus making intel gathering organic to EO, certainly must have given him/them an edge.<br /><br />Your point #3 above couldn't be more right, IMO. A perfect example of this is WWII's Eastern Front. More than the Russian winter or the tremendous numerical advantage of the Soviets, Hitler's micro-managing is what defeated the Wermacht. The smashing victories in Poland and France had, by then, convinced him he was an invincible genius and he wouldn't afford his commanders the initiative they needed.<br /><br />Securing the diamond mines was sound strategic thinking on Barlow's part. It seems so simple, yet so many commanders fail to see the big picture like that, or are hindered from executing.Hank Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01241805904517893443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6161526002238586054.post-44864257359160615792011-02-04T22:39:44.821-05:002011-02-04T22:39:44.821-05:00Interesting question for sure. You might want to ...Interesting question for sure. You might want to ask Eeben Barlow himself but I will throw my opinion out there.<br /><br />1. Eeben Barlow's professional background in intelligence gathering. He already had established a network of intelligence assets all over the world from his days with CCB, these proved to be of critical importance years later during the EO years from what I gather from Barlow's book.<br /><br />2. EO recruited from a pool of strong candidates. The bush wars created some tough soldiers, many of them, frankly out of work and needing the money. EO was probably the go to place for professional soldiers looking for work.<br /><br />3. Lack of meddling from the top down. Operators had the mission flexibility to get the job done. The free market system ensured that EO operated efficiently in most respects. Lack of politics allowed soldiers to soldier. Barlow send his men after the alluvial diamond mines right off the bat to deny the enemy access to further funds which would have drawn the conflict out even longer.<br /><br />This is my snapshot thumbnail sketch of why EO was successful. I will try to think up some other reasons, but disciple had to be present on some level as well or the whole thing would have broken down.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6161526002238586054.post-34129548173698588892011-02-04T20:28:43.586-05:002011-02-04T20:28:43.586-05:00Since you've been researching the subject, I&#...Since you've been researching the subject, I'd be interested in your theories in why EO was so exceptional. My own hypothesis is that operational autonomy, combined with a command-level EO access to the friendly high command, played a big part. And despite the grabasstic gaggle in Angola described in Horse Thief, I'm guessing they resembled a professional specops force by the time of the mission in Sierra Leone. But that's me speculating.<br /><br />Obviously, they did something different than other mercs in Africa, and it would be interesting to isolate what it was.Hank Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01241805904517893443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6161526002238586054.post-86246769624492540382011-02-04T19:34:19.552-05:002011-02-04T19:34:19.552-05:00EO is really the archetype for a real deal effecti...EO is really the archetype for a real deal effective PMC that engages in combat operations against bad guys. They smashed the status quo by acting in contradiction of the misguided aims of the CIA and SA Intelligence, particularly in fighting UNITA in Angola. The Agency wanted EO out and MRPI in. As near as I can tell all US based PMC's are pretty much fronts for the CIA, or work for it in some form or another. None of them strike me as being "Private" Military Companies.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6161526002238586054.post-53365668598592715382011-02-04T19:14:42.231-05:002011-02-04T19:14:42.231-05:00Yes, there is that. I interviewed a real-life merc...Yes, there is that. I interviewed a real-life merc who said basically you're a rent-a-cop,guarding microwave towers in Dingdongistan or Gooberia. Because of Executive Outcomes, however, it's tempting to imagine it's all an Expendables-type adventure.Hank Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01241805904517893443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6161526002238586054.post-49899241992527210582011-02-04T18:08:35.474-05:002011-02-04T18:08:35.474-05:00PMC's are here to stay but from talking to fol...PMC's are here to stay but from talking to folks on the inside, I have little personal interest in them. The money is good but you are basically a glorified mall cop with tattoos and bravado. I would rather stay in the Army where the odds of seeing some real action are much better.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6161526002238586054.post-16816488209460952342011-02-04T12:22:39.812-05:002011-02-04T12:22:39.812-05:00Good point. I absolutely loathed all the spit-and-...Good point. I absolutely loathed all the spit-and-polish cheese-eating garbage. Take away that and the prison mentality, give me better pay, weapons, gear, and a cause I still believe in and I'd be tempted to follow a merc career.<br /><br />Trouble is, from what I know (despite all the jingoistic rationale), the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan don't look like causes I believe in.Hank Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01241805904517893443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6161526002238586054.post-86185149206842287542011-02-04T11:56:19.011-05:002011-02-04T11:56:19.011-05:00Some good thoughts to mull over, especially in thi...Some good thoughts to mull over, especially in this day and age, where PMCs are being asked to take more and more of a hand in conflicts around the world. Out-sourcing isn't just for tech support and computer programming anymore!<br /><br />I think it comes down to money, but not "just money". If I go into the Army at the age of 18 and stay for 4 years, I might be getting out at 22 as a Corporal or a high-ranking Tech Specialist with some good training, perhaps airborne, maybe Ranger training or some other specialized training like Comms, demo, etc..<br /><br />After leaving the army, I could then going to work for a PMC firm doing the same thing for the US military but being paid many times more, without a lot of the spit-and-polish I used to hate, and if for some reason I felt I needed to leave, no one is going to court-martial me for breaking my contract.<br /><br />I know not all PMC outfits are the same (Read "Big Boy Rules" for a somewhat scary look at PMCs in Iraq), but I can see the appeal, and at the same time, many of these companies aren't the "Dogs of War" style merc outfits sent into Africa to "restore order" or any such horrors.<br /><br />Either way, its an interesting time to be a private contractor.Jack Badelairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com