Tweet
Some myths are there to stay. I like when people give a chance to thought, chance to think about it again without extreme prejudice. Without labeling someone, without judging a person before hearing him out.
The chance is rarely given to mercenaries. But like in all life, there are goods and bads.. there are good mercenaries, and there are bad mercenaries. Somehow the public seems to label them all as extreme baddies and people who have reserved a spot in hell, extra hot.
Here are some myths:
1. Mercenaries kill people for money, and are professional killers
Yes, mercenaries in missions might get to a position where they have to kill people. But so do soldiers. Professional soldiers get paid too. They fight for their country, but kill as well. That's the nature of the business. I prefer the term 'professionals'.
2. Mercenaries go for the highest bidder
Wrong. Mercenaries are individuals. They choose their side like they want to. Someone has ideological preferences, someone likes the money, someone has former family ties to this country, someone just feels like justice is on the other side, someone selects random, what ever. To say they ALL go for highest bidder is an accusation that is ridicolous. To say, they switch sides easy if someone just pays more.. Like I said.. someone likes the money more, someone the ideology. Do you think a merc who is neo-nazi would fight for Jewish contractor if it pays few dollars more? Or vice versa? I don't think so.
3. Mercenaries are criminals, and hide their past
Some might be, some might be not. To say they all are is again laughable accusation. There might be mercs who are criminal, but being merc doesn't equal criminal.
4. Mercenaries do war crimes and butcher civilians
Some might do overkills for sure. But that is definitely NOT professional. Soldiers from all areas commit these things when there is some kind of failure, or someone loses it. Real mercenaries are highly trained. Mercs have a mission, a goal. Who pays whole lots of money to a group that has priority #1 to kill civies? To say they all are like this, is ridicolous.
After all, through out the times mercs have saved people and they are called liberators. To enemy they are pain in the butt.
5. Mercenaries makes wars longer, and that is their goal
War is their business, but they don't make wars longer. What do you think, that there are 10 000 mercenaries in every war? Hah
.. Secondly, they are professionals. NO ONE pays money to losers who can't prove they are pros. Wars end by doing war. Professionals are more effective, thus making the war end SOONER most of the times. THe worst kind of a war is the one that burns in low fire, killing small amounts of people for 20 years, totalling far more higher casualties, destroyed infrastructure, forever lasting hatred, grudge, generation that has not seen peace, but only war etc.
.... and btw, if there is a war somewhere, you can't just decide to be a merc and go Rambo. You have to be accepted, and that means you're most likely 'International', which means volunteers from other countries and they are one group themselves. They usually make less than $1000 (EASILY LESS THAN THIS!!!!) a month. In Bosnia, some claim to recieved the pay of 300 DM a month, plus upkeep. So you are a volunteer. That doesn't make you really a merc now does it? Or if it does, then you still are just volunteered for the other country, and you think you can switch sides when you feel like it? Think twice, you'll most likely be shot for even thinking about it. You know too much. And you become enemy anyway. With this kind of crap money, I think you need to have some ideological and personal reasons why you volunteer for a particular side. There goes the highest bidder thing.
Mercenaries are organized as legal companies around the world, mostly in the US and UK. They are professionals, and companies are 100% legal. They do even humanitarian missions. They do security things. They train personel. They go to a conflict to do a mission that someone has paid them to do, AND that side has to be legal side and not criminal, because then their business gets ILLEGAL. They are under control and under watching eye, so they can't f up badly.
Not after some missions in 80s in Africa they can't. Now, it's legal.
in fact, mercenaries have less reasons to kill civies. They don't have so much passion, because they are not under one flag. They are professionals. They are there to do their job. They don't necessarily have grudges. Killing civilians is BAD business.
If you go sadistic, torture and kill people randomly, others in the group WILL start thinking you're a psycho, right? Do you think you will remain in this group for a long time, thinking that people trust psychos? After all, it's all based on trust. You have to be able to trust the man next to you, and you see this guy flipping and doing war crimes from left to right.. no no.. that guy is gone soon. It's not professional, not good business.
So there. What's your take?
The chance is rarely given to mercenaries. But like in all life, there are goods and bads.. there are good mercenaries, and there are bad mercenaries. Somehow the public seems to label them all as extreme baddies and people who have reserved a spot in hell, extra hot.
Here are some myths:
1. Mercenaries kill people for money, and are professional killers
Yes, mercenaries in missions might get to a position where they have to kill people. But so do soldiers. Professional soldiers get paid too. They fight for their country, but kill as well. That's the nature of the business. I prefer the term 'professionals'.
2. Mercenaries go for the highest bidder
Wrong. Mercenaries are individuals. They choose their side like they want to. Someone has ideological preferences, someone likes the money, someone has former family ties to this country, someone just feels like justice is on the other side, someone selects random, what ever. To say they ALL go for highest bidder is an accusation that is ridicolous. To say, they switch sides easy if someone just pays more.. Like I said.. someone likes the money more, someone the ideology. Do you think a merc who is neo-nazi would fight for Jewish contractor if it pays few dollars more? Or vice versa? I don't think so.
3. Mercenaries are criminals, and hide their past
Some might be, some might be not. To say they all are is again laughable accusation. There might be mercs who are criminal, but being merc doesn't equal criminal.
4. Mercenaries do war crimes and butcher civilians
Some might do overkills for sure. But that is definitely NOT professional. Soldiers from all areas commit these things when there is some kind of failure, or someone loses it. Real mercenaries are highly trained. Mercs have a mission, a goal. Who pays whole lots of money to a group that has priority #1 to kill civies? To say they all are like this, is ridicolous.
After all, through out the times mercs have saved people and they are called liberators. To enemy they are pain in the butt.
5. Mercenaries makes wars longer, and that is their goal
War is their business, but they don't make wars longer. What do you think, that there are 10 000 mercenaries in every war? Hah
.. Secondly, they are professionals. NO ONE pays money to losers who can't prove they are pros. Wars end by doing war. Professionals are more effective, thus making the war end SOONER most of the times. THe worst kind of a war is the one that burns in low fire, killing small amounts of people for 20 years, totalling far more higher casualties, destroyed infrastructure, forever lasting hatred, grudge, generation that has not seen peace, but only war etc..... and btw, if there is a war somewhere, you can't just decide to be a merc and go Rambo. You have to be accepted, and that means you're most likely 'International', which means volunteers from other countries and they are one group themselves. They usually make less than $1000 (EASILY LESS THAN THIS!!!!) a month. In Bosnia, some claim to recieved the pay of 300 DM a month, plus upkeep. So you are a volunteer. That doesn't make you really a merc now does it? Or if it does, then you still are just volunteered for the other country, and you think you can switch sides when you feel like it? Think twice, you'll most likely be shot for even thinking about it. You know too much. And you become enemy anyway. With this kind of crap money, I think you need to have some ideological and personal reasons why you volunteer for a particular side. There goes the highest bidder thing.
Mercenaries are organized as legal companies around the world, mostly in the US and UK. They are professionals, and companies are 100% legal. They do even humanitarian missions. They do security things. They train personel. They go to a conflict to do a mission that someone has paid them to do, AND that side has to be legal side and not criminal, because then their business gets ILLEGAL. They are under control and under watching eye, so they can't f up badly.
Not after some missions in 80s in Africa they can't. Now, it's legal.
in fact, mercenaries have less reasons to kill civies. They don't have so much passion, because they are not under one flag. They are professionals. They are there to do their job. They don't necessarily have grudges. Killing civilians is BAD business.
If you go sadistic, torture and kill people randomly, others in the group WILL start thinking you're a psycho, right? Do you think you will remain in this group for a long time, thinking that people trust psychos? After all, it's all based on trust. You have to be able to trust the man next to you, and you see this guy flipping and doing war crimes from left to right.. no no.. that guy is gone soon. It's not professional, not good business.
So there. What's your take?
I know! You can hire yourself out to OTers who need to have their threadjacked ideas re-jacked. You could try: "Topic on a tangent? Scenarios sidelined? Main idea muddled? Try
Comment