New content is adapted from material by Project ACES and the Naval Graduate School. The author does not claim any for-profit ownership over them.
Defense Global
February 2017 issue
"Necessary Demons"
The AN's private military peacekeeping force is simply supplying a twenty-year-old demand.
In 1995, the government-in-exile of occupied Ustio contracted a then-little-known private military startup called Triple Spectrum Risk Management to replenish the manpower of the Ustian Air Force due to the extremely high attrition rate among its pilots in the opening days of the Belkan War. Comprised primarily of South Sotoan pilots but also including a number of young mercenary pilots from other countries, the pilots were given immediate access to high-grade defense articles granted to Ustio by the Osean military.
The members of the "Demon Lord's" 66th Air Force Unit distinguished themselves in their merciless combat against Belkan and other insurgent forces during the conflicts, their feats becoming as legendary as the rumors surrounding the identity of the Demon Lord himself. Triple Spectrum would continue on to help suppress the rebellion led by North Point ultranationalist officers in 1997, before regulatory measures enacted by the FCU would lead to its dissolution.
Twenty years on, and despite various scandals, it appears there is no stopping the rise of private military companies. The recent ratification of the Canerd Accord granted the Assembly of Nations (AN) the ability to recruit private military firms (PMFs) for peacekeeping operations. The Security Enterprise division of General Resource will comprise the largest contingent of the first private security force endorsed by the Assembly of Nations, over the objection of GR's CEO Francis Mondeci and much of the popular media.
Yet as controversial as popular media suggests, and as much as Mondeci had to be overridden to get the Security Enterprise founded in the first place, it is important to look at the rise of the PMF in the broader context of the global security situation of the last 25 years.
The concept of a soldier-for-hire is as old as warfare itself, hired by fledgling city-states and nations to protect their sovereignty and interests prior to the development of standing professional armies.
Modern times, of course, have seen a significant weakening of that state entity. The rebellions and revolutions that ended of Sotoa's colonial era in the 1960s to the early 1990s provided fertile ground for the stateless mercenary to thrive. However the sudden surge in recent mercenary activity is, ironically, a direct product of an environment of "peace."
In Usea, Sotoa and the former Estovakia, the combined effects of natural disaster and invasion have left many countries less willing and able to defend themselves against non-state threats. Those states and factions that depended on Osean and Yuktobanian aid have seen this wellspring dry up significantly.
The widespread demobilization of the superpowers' militaries after the hypermobilization of the Cold War added onto an enormous inventory for the resources and tools of large-scale violence. Private forces now have access to weapons systems on par and even surpassing many national militaries. Millions of light arms have also been dumped on the world market, adding onto those stocks left by the former colonial powers after the independence of their colonies.
Despite multiple shows of public arms destruction, significant portions of these stocks have ended up in the hands of the so-called "lords of war" and other independent gun runners, decreasing governmental control over the means of conflict. The greatly expanded arms market then gives even more power to non-state entities such as private conflict groups as well as the firms organized to counter them.
These factors have led to an upswing in the number of conflict zones over the last two decades. This was further compounded by the declining willingness by the major industrial powers to intervene in these conflict zones for a variety of reasons including a reduced tolerance for casualties as well as new evaluations on how those conflicts directly affect domestic security.
It was believed during the optimistic environment that pervaded after the end of the Usean and Ceres conflicts that the AN would become the world's primary peacekeeping agency. However, the AN is an organization diametrically opposed to the fighting of wars, and despite a more unified General Assembly, its Security Council is still subject to the ideologies and other whims of the veto-wielding superpowers. This, along with its failure to prevent the Usean and Anean wars in violation of its charter, means that the AN has otherwise proved ineffective in its peacekeeping role.
Nevertheless, the superpowers are effectively left with little choice but to delegate such responsibilities to PMFs. That they choose to place for-profit military enterprises under the guidance of the more ideological AN seems contradictory, but it now gives them a peacekeeping force which is not only competent and well-armed, but brimming with skilled military labor.
The Belkan "mercenary effect" following its military's dismantlement in 1996 well-known and well-documented. The military, industrial and scientific talent that hemorrhaged from the country would be utilized to bolster militaries all across the globe. This talent would also serve as the brains behind some of the more notorious private military enterprises, such as Zenith Operation Enterprise and Kronus International.
But the downsizing of the superpowers' militaries in Osea and Yuktobania following the end of the Belkan War as well as in Usea after the Continental War in 2005 produced an oversupply that would form the backbone of these PMFs. This included both conscripts and professional soldiers, enlisted men and officers alike.
Reductions were also taken in back-end areas such as logistics. In Osea's case, the increasing number of interventions it deployed its military to since 1995 revealed a large support gap that would be filled by outsourcing these duties to private military firms such as Kronus.
Thus the environment of disarmament by the major powers has not only bred a sharp increase in the number of global conflicts, but has also created a vacuum that the PMFs are ideally positioned to fill.
Developing nations trying to build military power - as well as the non-state actors threatening their sovereignty - have found it easier to simply contract a PMF to bolster that power at the cost of a small concession. Professional training and weapons systems can be made available relatively quickly, at the price of a copper mine or oil reserve for another buyer. This has been the case for much of the post-Cold War and post-Ulysses environment.
But in the case of the Security Enterprise and Neucom's planned Emergency Unit, their roles with the ANIPF can be considered such a concession.
Both corporations exemplify the opportunistic nature (to find a word) of the post-globalist society. Where Neucom has led with their sharp focus on innovation through their subsidiaries, General Resource has created an environment to propagate the accomplishments of smaller companies on a much broader scale than allowed by their immediate environs. Both approaches have resulted in staggering economic growth where they wield significant influence.
That there is now a coalition of non-state actors rising against them in the form of the Valahia is an opportunity in itself for these companies to protect their gain as well as their customer base. Their ability to do so will secure their growth in the foreseeable future.
Having official backing from no less than the Assembly of Nations is more than just garnish.
It is in fact recognition of the rise of private industry's presence not just in supplying, but actively waging conflict. And as non-state entities themselves, it is also a testament to their influence not just in the global economy but also global politics as well.
In a sense, their presence should not be regarded as controversial but natural. The rise of these PMFs are merely the forces of conflict adapting to a constantly evolving global paradigm using the resources they have available.
The real question to ask now is how a powerful man so averse to waging war as Francis Mondeci will exercise that responsibility now that he holds the Demon Lord's leash.
A/N: Most of this material was inspired by this article I found while looking for a "history of the private military" and then adapted accordingly. Shockingly, that article made a lot of sense in the sense of the AC world transitioning from "peace" to "corporate." The article can be found at the Naval Graduate School website: [1].[usa].gov/Uk1K2J (remove the brackets)
