How to get a job with an military contractor overseas

March 17, 2022 | Hiring Information, OVERSEAS INTEL

Obtaining work with an international military contractor (PMC) or a private military contractor – isn’t easy, even if you have the required combination of expertise and training. It also helps that you are in top physical condition and have a spotless criminal record. Rank and responsibilities are determined by the value you bring to the organization you decide to work for.

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Not Mercenaries

America isn’t a signatory to that treaty, even though the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries prohibits its signatories from using mercenaries, or from raising mercenary troops. A Department of Defense mandate enables PMCs working under the auspices of a U.S. government contract to protect themselves, their customer, and their customer’s assets, but a military commander must ensure the PMC doesn’t participate in military operations, such as raids or pre-emptive strikes against opposing forces.

Experience Needed

The biggest U.S. PMC, Constellis, supplies security staff to the authorities. Constellis requires its security staff to get at least two years of expertise in physical security, DoD anti-terrorism and force protection, and investigation and interview techniques. An appropriate background includes service with the U.S. Army military police, U.S. Air Force Security Service, or military intelligence service. A high school diploma or its equivalent is mandatory; however, an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in a security or political science-related discipline is preferred. U.S. citizenship and security clearance, or the skill to get a security clearance, are needed for many duties.

Physical conditions

Security staff should have the strength to wear proper personal protective gear, like Kevlar vests and helmets, during prolonged high-risk conditions. They need to survive prolonged intervals of combat and not be concerned about poor living conditions in distant places. International or national travel, often on short notice, is needed as well as multi-lingual skills.

Prognosis and Pay

Details on pay and job satisfaction for foreign military contractors are sketchy and anecdotal. However, the private citizen with military expertise will benefit so long as authorities will willingly pay for private security contractors, and they typically receive a 6-figure salary.

Defense companies respond to demand for contractors in Ukraine

March 12, 2022 | The Danger Zone

PMC

The demand for Private Military Contractors (PMC) in Ukraine is rising by the day, as experts see “a frenzy in the market” for security personnel consisting primarily of former soldiers with combat experience. According to the BBC, some PMC companies are offering between $1,000 and $2,000 a day, excluding bonuses, for those with combat experience who are willing to make the trip to the war-torn country.

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Search jobs in Ukraine

Ever since the collapse of Soviet communism in the early 1990s, Eastern Europe has been fertile ground for PMC firms, which are usually employed to provide protection to corporations and wealthy families. Now the demand for PMCs in the region is rising fast and is expected to be constant for the foreseeable future. Currently, PMC jobs in Ukraine, an active warzone, come with a host of physical-security challenges. Experts tell the BBC that most of the missions in which PMCs experts participate involve logistical support and so-called “extraction” operations. These refer to organized efforts to help remove people from Ukraine. They can range from simple to very complex operations, sometimes involving entire families of people who have the means to pay for their security. In such cases, operations may be priced in the millions, with handsome profits for those involved. In many cases, PMCs can charge in excess of $10,000 per person for extraction operations.

Industry insiders stated that a number of non-governmental organizations operating inside or around Ukraine are hiring now PMCs for protection. In such cases, PMC personnel are “supposed to protect people, places or assets, rather than engage in direct combat”. However, there are instances of intelligence agencies that are hiring PMCs in order to extract some of their personnel who have gotten stuck in Ukraine amidst the conflict. These operations are among the most complex because they involve contractual work on behalf of foreign governments.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government said last week it would make provisions to offer Ukrainian citizenship to international volunteers who join the ranks of its military. Ukraine’s Deputy Interior Minister, Yevhen Yemen, said in an interview that a special Ukrainian “military passport” will be given to international volunteers. The passport will replace the need for a visa, and can potentially be replaced with a Ukrainian passport for those who wish to acquire citizenship. On the same day, a number of African countries, among them Senegal, Nigeria, and Algeria, cautioned their citizens against traveling to Ukraine to fight in the war in exchange for money or citizenship.

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How The Private Military Industry Went Global

February 20, 2022 | OVERSEAS INTEL, The Danger Zone

private military contractor

The private military security business in the U.S. is a massive industry employing hundreds of thousands of people. These firms can range from security contracts at shopping malls, to former U.S. special forces soldiers who guard diplomats.

Private security is expected to grow to an $81 billion industry by 2023, and that’s just in the United States, according to the Freedonia Group. It goes way beyond security guards hired to protect industrial areas, commercial areas, and residential areas. And the industry is now going global.

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