Modern Adventurers in War Zones; war correspondents and mercenaries

[Crakkerjakk]

On the mercs:

Libyans
Russians
Iraqi Baathists
South Africans are a trope, but I think mostly belong in the 80s and 90s.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Crakkerjakk

Libyans

The game is set at the end of 2011, which means that the Libyan Civil War is just ending. While any long-term hires among the hypothetical security of the not-at-all-villainous-company are unlikely to be Libyan, there might be a contingent of anxious-to-escape former Qaddafi-supporters coming in...

Originally Posted by Crakkerjakk

Russians

I was concerned that Russia's vigorous and firm direction in foreign policy and security matters might result in a better retention rate for anyone possessed of the right skill set than had been the case in the past and perhaps fairly active surveillance of the activities of citizens with certain backgrounds.

Certainly, a lot of the headlines involving Russian 'mercenaries' or 'pro-Russian militias' appear to be about people still under orders. I don't know to what extent you can find former Spetnatz in the private sector, without any entanglements of the sort that used to characterise British private security professionals back when they were used as an unofficial arm of state policy.

Someone who has a several year history working as a free agent or for PMCs/PCSs in UAE or elsewhere with no discernable connection to any state security agency might be approached, but I think the hypothetical people doing the hiring are fairly paranoid about anyone who could potentially be a spy.

That's one of the reasons I'm looking for plausible backgrounds including combat experience, preferably somewhere the experience was intimate, intense and frequent. In general, those who are favoured as recruits will be people whom supernatural means can reveal having been touched deeply by violence and preferably exhibiting the some sort of reponse to it violence that it is very unlikely that most intelligence agencies would tolerate.

They want professional-level skills, but are fine with motivations and psychological issues that aren't usually associated with professionals. Callous is pretty much a job requirement. Bloodlust, Bully, Intolerance, Jealous and Sadism are all pluses to the hypothetical HR department here.

Greed is to be prefered to enigmatic motives, but is not really sufficient on its own, unless the skill set involved can't be gotten with any other means.

Originally Posted by Crakkerjakk

Iraqi Baathists

I'd think that just hiring them would carry with it a lot of complications. Certainly, in order to carry out whatever mysterious tasks that the nope-no-villainy-here organisations wants done in Iraq, they'll have had to make contacts with several insurent or militia groups (as well as bribe or suborn some government figures), but it seems to carry a high risk of being drawn into sectarian disputes needlessly if you start hiring people that have a lot of local enemies.

Originally Posted by Crakkerjakk

South Africans are a trope, but I think mostly belong in the 80s and 90s.

Yeah, the problem is that most of our popular culture about mercenaries relies on media from the 60s to the end of the 80s. Then there's Executive Outcomes and Sandline, but after that, genuine mercenaries seem to get lost in the massive PMC/PSC industry, most of which isn't at all the same thing.

I guess some of the Ugandans, Peruvians and Colombians being hired by PMCs/PSCs could be hired by less savoury people, through much the same contacts. I guess any subcontracting staffing company that hires Third-Country National cleaning staff using methods that have a strong resemblance to human trafficking methods might be amenable to hiring killers-for-hire for a UAE company, as long as it can pay well.

Some West African veterans, maybe former child soldiers, might also have the requisite (Dis)Advantages, as well as decent light infantry skills. The danger is that a lot of them will have had very low skill levels in GURPS terms in their actual military skills.

Experience can replace training, to some degree, and there must be natural athletes and infantrymen even among very poorly trained militias. Mercenary service in Cote d'Ivoraire after the civil war in Uganda or Liberia might have served to sharpen skills, as well. Even if you started out with default skill levels, 20 years of experience might have sufficed to give you good fieldcraft, decent Guns, surprisingly good Melee Weapons and decent Tactics.

[Crakkerjakk]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking re:Libyans and the timing of your campaign.

If you're concerned about Russians still being tied into state intelligence, what about Chechnians or Georgians who fought the Russians?

Bosnians or Serbs whose demons were brought to the forefront of that war?

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Crakkerjakk

Yeah, that's what I was thinking re:Libyans and the timing of your campaign.

No doubt someone from the same Alma Mater as the scholars-of-not-at-all-Things-Man-Was-Not-Meant-to-Know was involved in Libya. Qaddafi seemed like an open-minded chap, when it came to questionable things that nevertheless could have practical applications for an enlightened tyrant.

Originally Posted by Crakkerjakk

If you're concerned about Russians still being tied into state intelligence, what about Chechnians or Georgians who fought the Russians?

Those are indeed the sort of fellows I was talking about. Perhaps some North Caucasian chaps who were initially religiously motivated and may even have gone abroad on jihad, but whose idealogical fervour burnt away, leaving little but a skill set useful only on a battlefield and a marked lack of the sort of socialisation that makes for a content civilian.

I'm concerned that military experience on the part of Georgians in the 2008 war might have been short-lived. And the Georgian armed forces did not exhibit the sort of game stats that are sought-after abroad.

They presumably did have some special operators and I guess a capable soldier might have left in disgust after the defeat. They lost a single SF trooper and had a lot of wounded from the company-sized formation that took part.

As for any other prospects, I don't know what is a plausible way to go from 'disaffected highly-skilled soldier in Eastern Europe' to 'mercenary in the Middle East'. Where does someone like that go to get the contacts?

If he hires on as an at least marginally respectable PMC/PSC contractor, how does he get into contact with someone who can vouch for his trustworthiness (up to certain limits) and utter lack of scruples to the Arabic (and some French) speaking recruiters?

I'm not even ruling out ethnic Russians, as long as they have lived for several years outside Russia and taken part in some mercenary activity that Russia doesn't have any observable reason to be involved in. Anyone who has worked for a series of African warlords and dubious Middle Eastern sheiks is likely to be perceived as 'authentic'.

The paranoia over a hostile government-planted spy mostly extends to people who arrive with the right skill set more-or-less directly from a given country. They don't think that anyone will set up an operation going five years back in time, a period when no one had any reason to want to infiltrate their unknown group, and allow a spy to work as a mercenary and maybe even commit crimes in the eyes of his home government during that time.

In particular, anyone who has committed war crimes would be trusted not to be a spy working for any non-rogue state intelligence agency. Of course, he might be a self-interested, back-stabbing treacherous monster of a man, but they more or less assume this about all their higher-ranking members anyway.

They're likely to want to find men who have trained commando forces for particularly unsavoury African regimes or even the rebels in some civil war. That, or work for an actual criminal enterprise as a security guard.

Of course, the linguistic and cultural background of the recruiters means that they are only likely to find someone who has worked in the Middle East at some point. But if they find one man who has been a bona fide mercenary, they are likely to try to recruit a lot of his acquintances.

Originally Posted by Crakkerjakk

Bosnians or Serbs whose demons were brought to the forefront of that war?

Absolutely.

But I still have to answer the question of what such men did for the 10+ years after their war ended and until reaching their current employment.

What does someone do if his war ends and he discovers that he can't really function in society any more? That something within him is broken and he can't express his bitterness and anger except through violence?

Does the French Foreign Legion take people who are good soldiers and function well in a hierarchical organisation, but who not only have Callous, but may have other psychological Disadvantages that make them pretty much unemployable in any non-violent profession?

I mean full-on functioning sociopaths. The sort of person who will, reluctantly, be able to refrain from killing people if ordered to avoid it, but will greet orders to open fire with eager joy. Someone who will commit atrocities any time he reasonably expects to get away with it.

Does anyone else that isn't a cinematic organisation looking for henchmen hire such people? What kind of army, PMC or other organisation has psychological screening loose enough so that someone with the right skills, but the wrong Disadvantages for most organisations that have to function in a civilised society, could get through?

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Icelander

Does anyone else that isn't a cinematic organisation looking for henchmen hire such people? What kind of army, PMC or other organisation has psychological screening loose enough so that someone with the right skills, but the wrong Disadvantages for most organisations that have to function in a civilised society, could get through?

I suspect that the work is mostly short-term freelancing. For an example of a group of such people, pulled together in a hurry, and less competent than they believe themselves to be, see Christopher Brookmyre's novel One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night. It's dark grey comedy, but it feels pretty plausible in its characterisations.

[Sword-dancer]

Local Guys, Nepali with Nasty Knives for example or other third world Country, Cooks, Laundry...

NGOs,

You will also find a few german Reporters,

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Sword-dancer

Local Guys, Nepali with Nasty Knives for example or other third world Country, Cooks, Laundry...

I found a lot of information about TCNs working for PMCs and PSCs, mostly in service roles, but also as security professionals. What I did not find is information on less-respectable PMC/PSC that would do work for criminal organisations.

If an Afghan poppy grower wants to travel abroad, say to the UAE, for example, but still wants his personal security to be extensive, experienced and armed with fully-automatic weapons, can he hire anyone for that?

Are there real-world Private Security Companies that work for criminals and would be persuaded to turn a blind eye to their criminal activities?

Those are the kinds of companies my entirely-innocent-NPCs need to be recruiting their personal security from. And I'm wondering if they really exist or not.

Originally Posted by Sword-dancer

NGOs,

That's an interesting idea. What are the effects on NGOs when the United States Forces - Iraq leave?

What are NGOs mostly doing in Iraq?

Who oversees their work?

If one happened to be, for example, a front for antiquities thievery, smuggling and even less savoury things, who would find out and how?

Originally Posted by Sword-dancer

You will also find a few german Reporters,

What about Polish? Would there be any Polish-language news organisations buying articles from Iraq?

Or French? Aside from AFP, which news organisations are most likely to buy articles in French on Iraq?

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by johndallman

I suspect that the work is mostly short-term freelancing. For an example of a group of such people, pulled together in a hurry, and less competent than they believe themselves to be, see Christopher Brookmyre's novel One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night. It's dark grey comedy, but it feels pretty plausible in its characterisations.

Yes, but how does one get to a position where foreign recruiters know to get in contact with you for freelance mercenary work?

After all, if they approach the wrong person, they risk exposure. So how does someone become a safe person to approach and bring up the idea that he might like to fly abroad and take money for illegally fighting as a mercenary?

[Crakkerjakk]

Originally Posted by Icelander

Yes, but how does one get to a position where foreign recruiters know to get in contact with you for freelance mercenary work?

After all, if they approach the wrong person, they risk exposure. So how does someone become a safe person to approach and bring up the idea that he might like to fly abroad and take money for illegally fighting as a mercenary?

Professional networking from previous short term jobs?

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Icelander

Yes, but how does one get to a position where foreign recruiters know to get in contact with you for freelance mercenary work?

After all, if they approach the wrong person, they risk exposure. So how does someone become a safe person to approach and bring up the idea that he might like to fly abroad and take money for illegally fighting as a mercenary?

Same as all other criminal contacts?