Soldiers of fortune.

[rodwc]

Soldiers of fortune.

Mercenaries.

Arms dealers.

French Foreign Legion. ( where no French National is allowed ).

All could be considered a dirty business.

They all exist.

Political?

Clean up job? ( That no government wants to put it`s name to.)

What do all these mean to you ?

Like them or loath them , they all exist.

They will continue,

irrespective of what public opion thinks, underground or otherwise.

[FxrAndy]

I would not lump the FFL in with the rest, they are a very profesional army, with traditions going back centuries, yes they have been known in the past to harbor some unsavory types but the Army has been i hiding place for people like that since time began.

Mercenaries and private persons on "security" jobs are another matter

But are All soldiers not mercenarys they all get paid to do the Job just with the backing of a legitimate government.

[KB]

But are All soldiers not mercenary's they all get paid to do the Job just with the backing of a legitimate government.

excellent point.

Ken

[narikaa]

I think the accepted definition is a soldier who gets paid by anyone other than HIS legitimate government.

But in some circumstances the line is very blurred....

I met a lot of mercs in Rhodesia, but at what point do you rightfully get the name??

Many worked as 'farm security'...many saw less action than I did on my friends farm, but I dont consider myself to have been one.

Is the deciding factor Pay?

Is it fighting in a theater were your birth nation has not officially entered?

Is it just the Freelancer aspect?

.

[ryyannon]

[Dani]

is not the first post a quote from a documentary whit same title?

[jdkno]

But are All soldiers not mercenarys they all get paid to do the Job just with the backing of a legitimate government.

No, I honestly do not think you could even make a comparison there.

Mercinaries and such will fight for anyone no matter the cause or the enemy they will fight for the highest bidder. Mercinaries would fight against their own countrymen if the other side paid better.

As for the FFL, thats somewhat of a gray area considering they are under the control of the French Govt. While not "mercinaries" per se, in the past a large portion of their forces were probably made up of men that fell into that catagory.

I do find humor in the FFL myself that a country can set up specialized units to accept men that are not citizens of that country. They allow them to register and serve under assumed names, and up until recently had no form of backround check in place. Basicly that is trying to build your military by whatever means you can up to and including the enlistment of criminals. Here is another interesting thing that adds to the revolving door of the French military, after WWII there were quite a few former German soldiers enlisting into the FFL under assumed names. Hows that for their "we will take whatever we can get" policy, accepting soldiers that were just part of a military force occupying your country. You also have to love how the French Govt. were opposed to the US going into Iraq....anyone care to take a guess as to how many different areas of Africa the FFL are deployed to conducting "Prevention" and "Security" missions????