Private Military Contractors

For many Americans, the 1975 photograph of a helicopter rescuing people from an apartment rooftop in Saigon symbolizes the failure of the Vietnam War. What most do not know is that the rescue also demonstrates the prominent yet shadowy role played by private military contractors (PMCs) in American history. The helicopter was operated by Air America, then owned by the Central Intelligence Agency but first established as a private company, Civil Air Transport (CAT). Air America and CAT had a long and secretive role in the service of the U.S. military in Southeast Asia.

Terms such as mercenary and soldier of fortune have been replaced by PMC as the description preferred by those in the military services industry. Mercenary and soldier of fortune, in the narrowest terms, describe an individual who sells his or her military skills to a foreign nation and does not serve as a member of a designated government force. But both words, especially mercenary, are often used loosely and can apply to those who fight for other nations in support of a cause, sometimes as part of a government force, as well as those who seek adventure or status or even citizenship in the host nation. Profit is not always the primary motive for mercenary service. As the Air America example demonstrates, PMCs who serve their own nation can be categorized as mercenaries. The narrow definition of mercenary typically refers to combat duty and does not include the vast array of support and training services, the activities performed by many present-day PMCs. Closely related to mercenaries are filibusters, American military adventurers (most common in the 19th century) with no connection to any government entity who serve in private expeditions against nations not at war with the United States and, therefore, violate U.S. law.

PMC service to the United States is as old as the nation itself—in fact, a bit older. The Declaration of Independence may have accused King George III of ”transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete works of death, desolation, and cruelty” in the colonies, which he did by employing Hessians and other Germans, but the Continental Army also used mercenaries, although to a far lesser extent. The Marquis de Lafayette, whose early involvement with the Continental Army qualifies as mercenary duty, is certainly the best known of the Europeans who served the cause of independence. But others made notable contributions, for example, Swiss officer Friedrich von Steuben played a prominent role in training American units; two Poles, Kazimierz Pulaski and Tadeusz Kosciuszko, chief engineer of West Point; the German Johann Kalb and the Irish born Thomas Conway. In addition to the nation's use of PMCs, some of its early war heroes served under other flags, including John Paul Jones who served in Russia and David Porter who served in Mexico.

The naval version of the mercenary, the privateer, contributed to the Revolutionary War effort at sea against the [Page 661]formidable British Navy. After independence, the fledgling nation also used PMCs to help compensate for America's inadequate naval forces. The 1787 Constitution authorized Congress to ”grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal,” thus officially sanctioning privateering. The United States used privateers to great effect against the British during the War of 1812.

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