1. Shinn

    Shinn Banned

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    Mercenaries

    Discussion in 'Research' started by Shinn, Sep 2, 2010.

    Hey all.

    In my script, I included Private Military Contractors and mercenaries as characters the boys meet, and Jimmy Greig dates, and eventually marries, a female PMC. I was just wondering if they would be relevant to the current war in Afghanistan?
     
  2. Lothgar

    Lothgar New Member

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    I could tell you...but then I'd have to kill you. :)

    Things of that nature are always classified. Private contractors do not advertise who they are, what they are doing or where they are doing it. You may see a news report of Blackwater operating in a city, but you won't be hearing about their personnel by name, who they are executive bodyguards for, etc.

    Since it is classified, nobody really knows what is going on or if its relevant to the current war in Afghanistan. Its a good bet that it "Probably" is relevant, as private contractor companies like Blackwater still have government contracts. In the end, it will be relevant if you write it that way.

    Mercenaries, on the other hand, are a slightly different animal. Many people lump private contractors in the same category as mercenaries (and indeed they do get paid for their tactical services), actual mercenaries tend to be more specialist oriented than your basic foot soldier on the ground. Most real world mercenaries tend to be skilled specialists like aircraft pilots, medics, logistical officers and personnel for tactical planning. Typically, most of the mercenaries on the ground doing the actual shooting in third world countries tend to be the cheaper local talent, not Ex Green Beret types (Who charge considerable fees for their services).

    Occasionally, you will see examples like the incident in 1970s where the Iranians stormed the US Embassy in Iran. American billionaire H. Ross Perot hired a team of American Ex Special Forces personnel to specifically fly into Iran and extract his business executives from their offices in Iran. U.S. Law takes a dim view of launching hostile military actions from U.S. Soil, by private citizens, but "Rescue Operations" are another matter.
     
  3. arron89

    arron89 Banned

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    Jeremy Scahill has a pretty good book on the role of Blackwater in the war in Iraq (I'm not sure if they are involved in Afghanistan) and the rise of PMCs in general. It might make a good starting point for research.

    Although the fact that you are writing about them without actually knowing if they are involved in the war you're writing about makes me worry. America is famously opposed, for whatever reason, to watching films or tv shows about the war in the Middle East: there's barely a market for exceptionally written, well researched and superbly made films about the conflict; there is 0 for poorly researched scripts. Make sure you have read EVERYTHING you can, make sure everything you write is accurate as well as compelling if you want any hope of getting your script picked up.
     
  4. Shinn

    Shinn Banned

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    So it would be okay to have a fictional mercenary company in the storyline? :)
     
  5. Lothgar

    Lothgar New Member

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    In a fictional storyline, why wouldn't it be okay to have a fictional mercenary company?

    Honestly as far as Afghanistan goes, you've numerous rival tribes with armed militias, you have the official Afghan Army, you have civilian Afghan security and police forces, you have elements of Al Queda terrorist cells, you have Taliban forces, you have NATO forces, you have business executives and political leaders with private security (Blackwater) and even though NOBODY admits it, everyone KNOWS that the Americans (and possibly other NATO allies) have those black bag operations that are carried out by people that don't officially exist, assigned to units that don't officially exist and running missions that never officially happened.

    Why would anyone question the credibility of one more fictional mercenary unit in your storyline? I say go for it :)
     
  6. Unit7

    Unit7 Contributor Contributor

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    This I would highly recommend. Mostly because it gives you more flexibility but also... well if you were to use an actual PMC you wouldn't want to risk getting on their bad side... I mean. When you say 'You and what army?' they just jerk their heads behind them and you go 'Oh... right.' If its fictional you can pretty much make them whatever you want. As brutal and uncaring as you want or make them whichever way you want. :)
     
  7. Elgaisma

    Elgaisma Contributor Contributor

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    I agree with the others that imagination is king on this one lol
     
  8. Shinn

    Shinn Banned

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    You hit it on the nail Lothgar :)

    I created a "Black bag" group of female PMCs; Lone Wolf Security that will feature heavily in the script, mostly because their leader has a thing for my MC.
     
  9. Lothgar

    Lothgar New Member

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    Good for you Shinn, glad to see you motivated and running with your idea. :)
     
  10. GrimStories

    GrimStories New Member

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    This doesn't need to be theoretical.

    I live near Ft. Lewis/McCord. There are enough former combat arms guys who later hired on to other companies near bigger military posts. This isn't any big secret and people will talk about this legal work. This conflict has been going on a long time and there are people who can be reached.

    For example:

    On jury duty, the guy we selected as jury foreman had just recently come back from doing merc work in Afghanistan.

    One of my staff members' husband was a merc, she was spending his money like crazy.

    One of my staff members was a former merc. Got out of the army and did this for the Saudis for a while.

    Another of my peers spent time in Afghanistan teaching their police and others how to shoot. Made a bunch of money.


    Heck, these folks come back and not all live by military posts.

    You can simply put our a personal, you'll buy them dinner just to talk to them and get a feel for character.
     
  11. Shinn

    Shinn Banned

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    Interesting story GS :) Thanks!
     

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