Are there private military companies?
A private military company (PMC) is a private company providing armed combat or security services for financial gain. The services and expertise offered by PMCs are typically similar to those of governmental security, military or police forces, most often on a smaller scale.
Can private security have machine guns?
Federal law prohibits private parties from buying fully automatic weapons registered after 1986, but does let law enforcement agencies have them.
What guns do Mercs use?
These include various 9mm or equivalent handguns such as the Glock 9mm, rifles such as the M-4, M-16, and AK-47, and various other large caliber weapons.
What is the difference between PMCs and private military companies?
PMCs refer to their staff as “security contractors” or “private military contractors”. Private military companies refer to their business generally as the “private military industry” or “The Circuit”. The services and expertise offered by PMCs are typically similar to those of governmental security,…
Do military contractors get their own weapons?
Typically, the company will issue weapons to its contractors but there are cases where contractors may need to get their own kit. In some cases, the employer will acquire weapons from the host nation, not necessarily through the government, but if operating with and for the government they may go through the government.
Are private military companies cheap imitations of National Armed Forces?
Those who assume they are cheap imitations of national armed forces invite disaster because for-profit warriors are a wholly different genus and species of fighter. Private military companies such as the Wagner Group are more like heavily armed multinational corporations than the Marine Corps.
Are private military contractors unlawful combatants?
However, contractors who use armed force in a war zone can be considered unlawful combatants, in reference to a concept outlined in the Geneva Conventions and explicitly specified by the 2006 American Military Commissions Act. There has been controversy over whether PMCs in active combat zones should be considered mercenaries .