Superpower for Hire: Rise of the Private Military 

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Imagine Google fighting Amazon in 10 years in an open war.

I CANT BELIEVE THIS IS SPONSORED BY CALL OF DUTY

Imagine Future Amazon, trading worldwide to even the most violent countries in the world-- securing their shipments with their own military. Imagine it growing to become the largest and most powerful army on earth. East India Company explained in one minute.

I've worked for PMC's all over the world for almost a decade. The advantage to the US government is that they never have to report on PMC deaths. It almost never makes the news. It also gives the US plausible deniability and the ability to distance itself. Invariably, militaries in a protracted conflict break the rules. You can't live in a war for years and not. When a Soldier or Marine does something like desecrate a corpse or shoot civilians, the nation as a whole gets a big black eye. When it's a PMC, the government can basically hang that one contractor or that one company out to dry. The reality is, that company reforms under a new name and business goes on as normal. It also depends heavily on the company. Overall, I found that most companies contracting to the US government are fairly above board and at least have standards and codes of conduct. In Africa and South America, I found it to be a bit more of a free for all, though once again very dependent on the organization. I tell my buddies that are considering the PMC world after the military to be very careful and stick with US government contracting. It's a lot more above board and more like the name "High Risk Security". Outside of the US Government Contracts, you find jobs that start to flirt a lot more with being straight mercenary work.

"Anybody that's any good in the army, isn't in the army anymore" There's more truth to that then he realizes.

The major problem with PMC is that they never want to put an end to any conflict

Vice in 2014: *This Video* Vice in 2020: *YOU WANNA KNOW HOW TO GET FREE TACOS?*

*Merryweather security how can I be of service

I think the call of duty ads kind of undercut the serious tone of the piece.

"he's asked to keep his location secret" then proceeds to show a license plate/tag number ten seconds later

I had my hair cut by a guy who worked for a PMC. Really interesting guy. Also talked about how hard it is to be a Contractor. You see all the same stuff soldiers do, but don’t have the support systems.

"If you're good at something, never do it for free"

“The transparency isn’t there.” Right, because our military is all about transparency.

4:20 "Outsourcing is always about cost savings..." Oh that's right, never about deniability. I always forget that.

The old saying “we work for money, you want loyalty buy a dog.”

Back when Vice did real journalism.

100,000 contracts and not one VIP killed or injured? That's one hell of a track record.

Doesn't matter, they'll never be able to stop Solid Snake.

Great content and approaches the subject matter from multiple angles and a truly open and honest insight into what is with all honesty a specialist trade with zero margin for error

It’s actually shocking how a video game like Metal Gear Revengeance was able to portray PMCs and the threats they could cause to the wider public, in such a grounded way. 💯 Minus all the cyborg ninjas and robots and stuff💀😆

No wonder people are joining PMC more than the standard military. They can get paid up to 25K a month.

The camera men of Vice do not get paid enough....

He’s only accepted this interview to use the vice guy as a human shield 😂

This aged really well with the whole 'Wagner' thing...

My uncle was a military contractor. There was only one US embassy he visited where he wasn’t shot at. He was in Russia before the collapse of the soviet union, in Kuwait during operation desert storm, and spent a fair amount of time in Baghdad. He had gotten so use to all of it, that he casually called my mother to say Hi while gun shots rumbled outside the embassy he was in.

"We don't sell policy, we sell power. We are a superpower for hire." - Jonathan Irons

Omg it's opened my eyes 👀 watching this video. So inspirational and intriguing. Yet scary at the same time. God bless you all 🙏 for your safety and well-being. From Liverpool England UK 🇬🇧

The "Presented by Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare" was a real nice touch, Vice.

Looks like the security guy was using the interviewer as a body shield haha

I went 35-6 in Favela.

Best Advanced Warfare ad i've ever seen

It's the age of empires again when amazon gets a private army.

Merryweather Security: what do you need?

Can't believe you had Erik Prince in a room and all you got was a sound byte of him saying "Blackwater was good, actually"

I was really curious about this topic and confused. This pretty much explained it. Thanks for sharing

This is probably the most interesting topic I have discussed in a while, brilliant video tbh.

That is a really bizarre Call of Duty Ad. Subliminal Ops

All this says to me is our best soldiers are worth more than we pay them.

This is a certified Atlas Corporation moment

Imagine what the nine mercs from TF2 could be if they were made into an actual PMC group like those of today...

"Private Military company that provides Elite forces level security for their clients" - Hops in a Moped

I'd rather hire the Diamond Dogs.

Really good Documentary!

when i heard them say "pmc" it triggered tarkov flash backs.

Not buying it. The guy shoves a pistol in his pants with no holster, carries it awkwardly, constantly posing with his drawn gun. Nope.

They got nothing on Diamond Dogs.

Kojima, you have propared me well for the rise of PMC's

I knew this was a very economically influential giant but only just realised this was a private military corp. Thank you for showing this is!

1778 America: "Mercenaries as the most deplorable aspect of British warfare" Modern America: "You know what, this isn't such a bad idea..."

"There's no way to circumvent this." It's called a helicopter.

8:44 bro legit he sounds like snake when snake is doing the speech about war

I used to work for Blackwater for around 7 years back in the early 2000's after getting out of the Navy. And still today I live a half mile from the original complex in eastern North Carolina. I think it's now called Academi.

Getting chased by scavs and can’t find the exfill.

Kojima tried to tell us about this 20 years ago in metal gear solid games!

Make vice great again

“You need to use these good bad guys” Thats wild

Private militaries have existed since the dawn of warfare, it’s just that they saw limited use in the late 19th through the 20th century. Before that, it was quite common to have entire armies composed of mercenaries instead of conscripted soldiers.

Kevin Spacey is behind it all btw.

Anyone else feel like becoming a mercenary now?

I believed this until "Presented by: Call of Duty Advanced Warfare" was shown. For once, thanks to Vice about being clear about being as much of a media outlet for hire as the so called superpowers discussed in this video.

"Private military contractors" = polite term for mercenaries.

New? I guess these guys never heard of privateers in the 1800s who were mercenary pirates on the US east coast.

Yes! Can't wait!

"Barrio" means neighborhood, not barrier. That you didn't get that right really surprising.

I don't know why people are acting like this shit is new. Mercenaries have been around since before the Romans.

when u realize this is a cod commercial..... (13:49)

It's just a branch Cypher, Boss, we need to further expand Diamond Dogs to catch up with them and send our branch there!

0:20 "PMC Contractor" stands for "Private Military Contractor Contractor"

I have a friend who did this after SOF for 8 years & now has 500k. Now he trains PMC operators & makes 150k a year, then he flys home to his daughter. The US ARMY couldn’t have given him this flexibility or salary.

400.000 dollars for 2 Years ? Where can i sign ?

2:41 that's a really good way to describe them

It's not bending the rules, it's survival. Obviously going on full scale offensive operations is a no-go, but eliminating a threat, that is actively engaged with you in combat, is defensive. For example, if the guy that just shot an rpg at our convoy ducks out of sight, that does not mean he is no longer a threat. We assume that he is either preparing another warhead, or grabbing another weapon, which opens up to the possibility of having to engage in offensive techniques to eliminate the threat. This is especially applicable to having vehicles stuck in a kill zone. Rather than just sit there and die, we actively seek out the combatants, and eliminate the threat. It's this way of thinking, and operating, that ensures we all make it back alive.

“PMCs are as American as thanks giving”, more like “British”. Most of the British Empire employed PMCs to maintain their territory except it wasn’t called PMCs back then.

This “professional”carries his pistol in his waistband.

Proof the cameraman never dies

well intersting to see it after last year

Mercenaries have been around forever.

When he used the vice guy as a human shield lmao classic move

Woah to think this video is already 9 years old, I can definitely say it hadn't degraded in the slightest way

Very interesting

Have you heard of the Blackwood Company? They've been doing jobs that the fighters guild won't do, expensive though.

“If we don’t own them they can’t exist” - US government lady

You guys have to give us an update on this! “What you’re seeing is Advanced Warfare.”

Oh boy I haven't heard or seen about advanced warfare in a hot minute. Thank's for giving me exo PTSD moment's

Wears bullet proof vest but not a helmet while on a motorcycle.... SMH

METAL GEAR SOLID PREDICTED THIS

i wonder what the valuation for pmc is now in 2021

if i was stronger i'd love to be a mercenary that job looks so cool

Mercenaries a new form of war? Spoken like somebody who never read a history book.

I think its normal even before the Roman Empire mercenaries are quite common , we had just looped back

The point is that a private company offers an American soldier minium twice the salary for the same job...

Back when VICE makes really good videos

Metal Gear Solid was right after all.

LOL "presented by Call of Duty Modern Warfare"

Clicked for the SSG-08, stayed for the journalism.

You should clarify that, I think you’re counting workers and mechanics on the fobs, laundry, cooking, cleaning, fire fighting, pest control and many other tasks were done by contractors

Battlefield 5: Contractor

War has changed. It's no longer about nations, ideologies, or ethnicity. Its an endless series of proxy battles fought by mercenaries and machines. War and it's consumption of life - has become a well oiled machine - Solid Snake - Metal Gear Solid 4.

When I saw the words ‘Superpower for hire’ in the title I immediately thought of COD Advanced Warfare, and why don’t you like at that?