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A mercenary, also called a merc, soldier of fortune, or hired gun, is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military.
May 19, 2022 · A PMC that is compensated in excess of soldiers of the same skill level, but fights in a conflict that their country initiated, is not a mercenary. A member of the armed forces of a third-party state who is compensated in excess is not a mercenary if sent by their military.
The Nepalese Gurkhas are not mercenaries, because they are members of the armed forces of the nation involved. The Geneva Conventions provide a pretty tight definition of a mercenary that clearly excludes Gurkhas and GCC recruited foreign soldiers.
- It’s the second oldest profession. Much of military history is privatized. The word “mercenary” comes from the Latin merces ("wages" or "pay"); today it connotes vileness, treachery, and murder.
- The merc trade was resurrected by the US. For a few hundred years, states cooperated to outlaw mercenaries and privateers (mercenaries of the sea). This came undone after the Cold War.
- Contracting may be the new American Way of War. Why did the US, with the world’s most powerful military, need contractors? Because the All Volunteer Force could not recruit enough American’s to sustain two “long wars.”
- Most contractors who fight for America aren’t even American. When I was in the industry, I worked alongside people from all over the world: Mexico, Ghana, Australia, Canada and so forth.
A mercenary shall not have the right to be a combatant or a prisoner of war. A mercenary is any person who: is specially recruited locally or abroad in order to fight in an armed conflict; does, in fact, take a direct part in the hostilities;
Aug 17, 2024 · Mercenary, hired professional soldier who fights for any state or nation without regard to political interests or issues. From the earliest days of organized warfare until the development of political standing armies in the mid-17th century, governments frequently supplemented their military forces
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May 18, 2017 · The various definitions of mercenary do not, however, address training and advising someone else’s armed forces for profit. They also exclude those who are authorized or sent by their government to fight in someone else’s wars.
