Mercs or Private Military Companies

Or why we probably won't be bothered with a draft. Recruitment effort in Latin America was predictable. A multinational corporate wet dream: Latino men roll up their hammocks and head overseas, while the women work the factories at home.

International Peace Operations Association sounds kinder and gentler. IPOA's mission is to end wars (yawn). A 501 (c)(6) non-profit organization of companies, individuals and non-governmental organizations who provide services related to conflict alleviation and avoidance, post-conflict reconstruction, and emergency humanitarian rescue worldwide. PMC (private military companies). Members include:

AirScan
ArmorGroup
Blackwater USA
Demining Enterprises International (DEI) (Pty) Ltd and CIT Security Consultants (CITSC)
ICI of Oregon
J-3 Global Services
Main Street Supply
MPRI
Medical Support Solutions Limited (MSS)
Pacific Architects and Engineers (PAE)
SOC-SMG, Inc.
Triple Canopy
O'Gara-Hess & Eisenhardt

A few suggested changes from a Fistful of Contractors, a lengthy report from the British American Security Information Council:

1. Congress should bring in auditors from other governmental agencies, such as the inspector general offices of the various military services or the Defense Contract Audit Agency, to handle the increased oversight responsibilities.
2. The burden is not only on the PMC, but also on the client, in this case mainly the U.S. government, to guard its own interests and make sure the job is done right. Higher standards and greater clarity need to be brought to bear on current and future U.S. military outsourcing decisions.
3. Some of the provisions in the draft U.S. National Defense Authorization bill are worthy and should be passed into law. In addition, PMCs should take steps to ensure that the personnel recruited from third countries receive the same notification and training as those recruited from the PMC home country. And PMCs should pre-screen far more people than they currently do, even if it means added expense. The role of government in screening also needs to be reviewed and strengthened.
4. The loopholes in the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) need to be closed.
5. Industry-wide standards need to be established and enforced.
6. The U.S. government needs to:

* Increase the number of contracting officer deployments to a theater where PMCs operate;
* Require competition rather than sole sourcing for future contracts;
* Punish former government contracting officers who violate regulations on proper process; and
* Ban the hiring of firms that have been found to have overcharged government in the past or have committed crimes in the contracting process.

Rest assured that D.C. is on top of it. And rest assured that these PMCs are working hard to bring tactical safety to the world, enhance security, justice and well-being, defeat the threat of violence where ever that leads them, more powerful than a consortium, faster than a wire transfer, able to leap bankers in a single bound, look, it's supermercs.