Here's an interesting question concerning PMCsFollow

As most of you know I am a helicopter pilot. As a matter of fact, I am a helicopter pilot of a particular stature since I have a large number of flight hours, no accidents, no incidents, I come from a military background, and am relatively young at 42 years of age.

Aviation is, by and large, a nomadic career choice. That I have been employed by the same hospital for nine years is almost unheard of in the industry. Couple that with an ever-shrinking pool of pilots, much less experienced ones, means that I am a rare bird in a small community.

All this brings me to my point: there are predatory companies out there who would relieve me of my livelihood and attempt to re-hire me at a substantially lower salary than what I am presently making. I have been keenly watching the growth of PMCs (provate military contracts) like Blackwater and HQ Aero Specialties who will provide additional military troops for a considerable amount of coin. Yes, PMC is a fancy term for a mercenary. The difference is the US government has authorized hiring such contractors to fill out the requirements brought about by the needs of the services. In fact, it has gotten to the point that the UN is hiring PMCs.

My skillset is a precious commodity, one which is not easily replaced or found. I am, for all practical purposes, an aeronautical neurosurgeon or flying nanotechnologist for all that is required to do what I do. While they may be able to teach monkeys to fly, it'll take 'em twenty years to get them to fill out the proper flight plan.

My question is this: if I were to throw over the traces and begin again in a new company, my wife was amenable to me doing a tour in Iraq, and I got a good deal on some Interceptor body armor, is it a morally proper thing to do, ie become a mercenary even if it is for your own country? Moreover, if I were captured, what status would I be under according to the Geneva Conventions? This apparently a large gray area, one which is not unlike the terrorists are who are being held in Gitmo.

The upside is I'd be able to pack heat again, just like the old days. I'd like that.

Your thoughts, Asylum?

Totem

Mid-life crisis much?

You would be a combatant. Would you be a lawful combatant? My husband thinks being a lawful combatant you would be covered by the Geneva Conventions. Why the change of heart though? What makes you want to do a tour in Iraq?

You live by the sword, you die by the sword. But if it's fun, then it's fun. If morals are your thing, then turn it down.

The following is how I personally feel. And I have been called crazy:
I would rather do something good for my neighbor, then to do something bad to my neighbor's enemy. I belive in a hereafter and karma. To be the vehicle for destruction would surely come after me either on, or before judgement day.

No, no mid life crisis here. The issue is money. They pay upwards of $650 a day tax free for being a PMC depending on skillsets. Natch, being a highly desirable helicopter pilot (and this being just my fine a$$, speaking nothing of my flying skills) I would be paid top dollar.

The moral dillema is that being a soldier is one thing and being a mercenary is quite another. While each of you may not see it that way, I was raised that mercenary work is not honorable. Yet this is what the military seems to be trending towards.

The Geneva Convention specifically is written for soldiers and non-combatants. The issue of mercenaries, terrorists, and partisans are not dealt with specifically there.

I just wanted to hear your opinions.

Totem

You're taking a risk by changing jobs in a career where you are a valued asset, and you're moving to a higher paying job, but with the applicable risks. As long as you weigh those risks against the rewards, I see you as a smart business man, not a mercenary.

Twiztid

Option one: leave your wife,go to Iraq, risk your life and morals and get paid blood money.

Option two: Bring your wife to hawaii, fly rich tourists around the island for good money. Work on your tan.

I like option two.

DK

What you have to get away from is this whole idea of the A-Team. I have worked with a few of the private contractors and I myself was thinking of going private sector once i got out of the military. I have done two tours in Kosovo and been over to the big sandbox for an extended stay. As a private sector contractor I don't believe you are under geneva conventions like I am. Military people are categorized on the back the ID. I am Category I so that means that I would be treated a certain way and paid while being a POW. but this is all for a foriegn nation. It's a whole different story over in iraq.. the insurgents over there dont claim anyone country. they come from syria, egypt, and iran to name a few. As for you intercept body armor.. make sure you get the good plates in it.. the small arms vest that sits inside of the full system doesnt do **** against 7.62mm.. and I have seen too many people get shrapnel from Improvised Explosive Devices shredding right through it. The armor plates are good for vital organs. I would not suggest going without a helmet. atleast get the military issue kevlar or opt for the more advanced ACH. There were some guys that i was talking to that were escorting the figi army when they were tasked to deliver the new iraqi currency and they seemed pretty cool.. think they were from global.. To go back to you moral dilema.. it shouldnt be an issue.. unless you are in some way aiding the other side.. if not.. send a post before you leave.. and i will send some care packages.. because nothing says moral like a box of beef jerky and mac n cheese... I am probably going back over there.. but in a different role.. first time through i was infantry.. jumped in with the 173rd into northern iraq and this time through it would be in the MI branch.. changed my job to HumInt collector because i didnt think therewas enough over there... with whatever you do, good luck


Florida Airborne

Its amazing to see how a conservative suddenly becomes concerned about big business ******** people and the Geneva Convention when it might have some affect in thier life.

It wouldn't be that I'd be leaving this job voluntarily, as that a predatory helicopter company (my first employer, btw) is trying to move in and squeeze all the competition out. It remains to be seen if they can actually do that since my hospital is the oldest air ambulance company in California and the sixth oldest in the US, so we have staying power and we've dealt with threats before. However, it's always good to view your options when looking at a possible change in the job situation and PMC work is certainly lucrative.

I've been eyeing the Hawaii flying gig too, but the whole 6 days on/1 day off with one week of vacation sounds too much like work to me for too little reward after the slack work schedule I've had for the last nine years.

The thing is, in my heart of hearts I know I am an adrenaline junkie and flying gunships again would scratch that itch. So, after a couple of hitches in Iraq I'd be able to settle down wherever and live off the low wages of a Gulf of Mexico oil company if I chose to do that again. I've often thought I should learn Spanish because Dynacorps is looking for bilingual helo pilots for combat insertions of Columbian troops into the cocoa fields down south. But they only pay $110k for living in the jungle for six months. I'd have to give that serious thought before I did something like that since the cash isn't so good.

I dunno. It's so easy to live inside the parameters of normal careers. To think outside the box and maybe live a bit on the edge for a change sounds exciting. And maybe I'm tired to seeing the same drunk migrant worker at two in the morning wrapped around a telephone pole or the T-boned kid who was racing his riced out Accord through the intersection.

Besides, it's been a while since I shot somebody. That's another itch that needs scratching.

Totem

/hijack



You're not from Hawaii are you? Good money? Sure, if you can afford to live here. The median price of a home is now $450,000. There is usually at least one helicopter crash a year here, 99% of the time totally fatal.

The median price for a home in Ventura county, CA only one hour north of Los Angeles and 45 minutes south of Santa Barbara is 500k, so what's your point?

I say don't do it.

Not for any of the candyass reasons I've read, but because PMCs are just that: Private.

The things you are ordered to do may be contrary to the best interests of your own country. At what point do you refuse? And what happens if you do? In the US military, a soldier can refuse to carry out an illegal order. In a PMC, it's possible, just possible, that doing so could turn you into a 'combat casualty.'

I'm not saying that PMCs are full of dirty SOBs who are sadistic killers selling out the US to the highest bidder. I'm sure that many of the people in PMCs have highly refined senses of justice and personal honor, not to mention ethics. But you never know. And it only takes once.

Bro, I'd say that a lower paying job being taxicab driver for an oil rig would be a better bet in the long run for your family.

PMCs just don't seem to be 'right' to me. That's my gut speaking.