Private Military Contractors: Difference between revisions
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* In the 17th-19th centuries, many countries would downsize their militaries during peacetime, but keep the excess officers on "half pay": these officers were paid half of their normal wage as a retainer, but released from any duties and permitted to pursue a private profession. However, as most countries at this time were monarchies, and it was considered that they were members of the royal military, not that of a nation-state in a modern sense... it was considered acceptable for these officers to serve ''in the military of another country'' if a war should be in progress in which their own country was neutral. This would be similar to the "Hessian" situation, except that these officers were directly employed by the foreign country on an individual basis, without the involvement of their home country. The most famous examples are of German, Polish, and French officers who served with the Continental Army during the American War of Independence (such as the Marquis de la Fayette); there were also American officers who did this during the Napoleonic Wars and various European and American officers who did this in the post-1815 period in various wars of independence in Latin America. |
* In the 17th-19th centuries, many countries would downsize their militaries during peacetime, but keep the excess officers on "half pay": these officers were paid half of their normal wage as a retainer, but released from any duties and permitted to pursue a private profession. However, as most countries at this time were monarchies, and it was considered that they were members of the royal military, not that of a nation-state in a modern sense... it was considered acceptable for these officers to serve ''in the military of another country'' if a war should be in progress in which their own country was neutral. This would be similar to the "Hessian" situation, except that these officers were directly employed by the foreign country on an individual basis, without the involvement of their home country. The most famous examples are of German, Polish, and French officers who served with the Continental Army during the American War of Independence (such as the Marquis de la Fayette); there were also American officers who did this during the Napoleonic Wars and various European and American officers who did this in the post-1815 period in various wars of independence in Latin America. |
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* Early in World War I, many American civilian pilots joined the British and French air forces individually, while the United States remained neutral. They were generally organized into segregated units under British or French officers; in Britain, these were known as "Eagle Squadrons", and in the French case, the "Escadrille Lafayette" (Lafayette Squadron; the subject of the film ''Flyboys''). |
* Early in World War I, many American civilian pilots joined the British and French air forces individually, while the United States remained neutral. They were generally organized into segregated units under British or French officers; in Britain, these were known as "Eagle Squadrons", and in the French case, the "Escadrille Lafayette" (Lafayette Squadron; the subject of the film ''Flyboys''). |
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* It was common in early American and Canadian history for a business establishment to have what amounted to a private army. Usually it meant some combination the militia of the nearest company town or the crew of a ship, [[Cattle Drive]], or trade caravan, plus a few gunslingers here or there, plus some perks that only capital and industrialization could afford like fieldpieces or fortification (it is no accident that trading posts were once called fort this or fort that even though they were not army bases at all). In other words they were stronger then what any neighboring native chief could field but not overwhelmingly so. Usually they were comparable to modern security guards though the frontier being the frontier, it was known to use such things to corrupt political procedure, wage private feuds, etc. |
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**More dramatically in India the East India Company had an army that was indistinguishable from a European one. |
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