Threats
Threats to the implementation of private military companies are public opinion and lack of budget for military spending. The challenge of public opinion can be founded in the way in which private military contractors are portrayed in the media and the high profile criminal investigations that have happened in the United States concerning the actions of a small minority of contractors. Similar to the current image of the Canadian Armed Forces, the actions of a small number of members can significantly impact the overall public opinion of a group. Even though the majority of military contractors have not been charged or found guilty of any crime, events such as the Nisur Square shooting will be used to weaken the argument for private
military contractors. Furthermore, the challenge of financial support will likely deter against investing in private military forces. It has been found that private military contractors can often be more expensive than a regular professional military. Since Canada does not currently meet its NATO funding obligations and continues to cut budgets, it is likely that the government will not allocate a significant amount of resources to contracts. Conclusion As the methods of conflict changed so too does the military tools available to the Government of Canada. One potential option for Canada is to employ a privatized military which can provide services as necessary and maintain complex capabilities. Arguably, a private military company could meet the expectations of the military more effectively but not necessarily more economical. The most significant weakness of a private option would be in the implication of foreign policy, including the questions of ethics and morals in utilizing private militaries. The Canadian government would need to determine how its allies would view the practice and where international organizations stand on the issue. With the budget constraints placed on the Canadian military and stagnation of equipment, presently, this is the most opportune time for trialing and implementing greater privatization in the armed forces. The challenge would be overcoming the political and bureaucratic barriers which would resist the change, especially public opinion which can be easily influenced by the small number of poor experiences had with contractors in the United States. Private military companies is a valid alternative solution for meeting the capability demands of Canada’s foreign policy but is not without its own domestic and international challenges. Many states may be hesitant to be the first to implement such a policy and the international community will need to consider the legality, ethics, and utility surrounding this industry before any significant decision can be made. Canada may benefit from establishing the standard for the world to follow.
Petersen, MJ. “To what extent is public opinion and its management key to success in contemporary operations?”. Defence Research Paper, JSCSC, 2008/2009.
During the Vietnam Conflict, many Americans held a poor view of the military and its political and military leadership. Protestors met returning soldiers at airports, train and bus stations, and in hometowns with open hostility. Following the conflict, and perhaps the maturing of the ‘60s generation, the view towards the military began to change somewhat. The hostility declined, but an appreciation for the military never really re-emerged during the ...
Denise Grady’s (2006) article sound a strong wake up call for the American government and for the American public to re-evaluate their guiding principles towards war in Iraq and the continued presence of the American soldiers in the Iraqi soil. Grady delineated the enormous damages the war had costs in not only monetary terms but also the future of thousands of promising young and talented men and women sent in the Iraq War; that had no clear benefits to them or the American people.
The United States Army, in its current state, is a profession of arms. In order to be considered a profession, the organization must have an ethical code rooted in values, strong trust with its clients, and be comprised of experts within the trade. These experts are constantly developing the trade for the present and the future and hold the same shared view of their trade culture.
As a Wall Street Journal Pentagon correspondent, Thomas E. Ricks is one of America’s elite military journalists. He has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and awarded a Society of Professional Journalists Award for his writings based on the Marines. Thomas E. Ricks lectures to military officers and was a member of Harvard University’s Senior Advisory Council on the project on U.S. Civil-Military Relations. As a Pentagon correspondent, he can access information where no other civilian can step foot—traveling with soldiers abroad, his eyes tell the tale of the life of a Marine.
Ever since World War II, the last war that garnered full American support, the percentage of American citizens enrolling in the U.S. Army has diminished significantly. The U.S. is a major military power in the present world; American soldiers are engaged in many multi-theater positions, consequently dispersing troops over various regions worldwide. As only one in ten citizens has served in the US Army, American knowledge of military conditions is rapidly lessening along with the national harmony that complements such knowledge. Therefore, the comprehension that American security is closely associated with a formidable military never resonated within the greater part of modern American citizens. Although antiwar activists may decry compulsory conscription as unconstitutional, it needs to be reinstated in order to solidify the meaning of being an American citizen, boost the economy by providing jobs, and unify the American people with enhanced homeland security.
Author Aaron Fichtelberg expresses how Engineering ethics and Army ethics are cohesive entities that are treated as polar bodies. The U.S. Army has been ever growing machine fueled by patriotism and what is known as the Industrial Military Complex (Fichtelberg 690,692). The author Aaron Fichtelberg is trying to decipher how private engineers who create weapons for the military are ethically and morally responsible for the weapons they create. In this article the author tries to bring light of the responsibilities engineers have as professionals. An engineer has moral obligations that s/he must oblige by to ensure the general safety of the public as defined by the NSPE Code
During the film, A Few Good Men, it is quite evident that the type of criminal court system portrayed in the movie deals with military court cases, rather than civilian matters. The story is a compelling one that describes how military tribunals are conducted within the United States, and how the legal system deals with affairs when it comes to court martials and criminal cases within the armed forces. The idea that this film is stressing, is that when it comes to following orders, who is responsible for the actions carried out? Is it the soldier, the commander, or both? This is the question that the prosecutors and defense attorneys battle in court in order to see justice done. Throughout this paper, I will go over the legitimization
In 2011, two former employees for the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and an official from a small business Eyak Technology LLC were indicted on federal charges that included bribery, wire fraud, money laundering and unlawful kickbacks. In order to help better understand the details of the charges against these men, a closer look at the responsibility the individuals involved held with regard to the federal government is paramount. The suspects from USACE; Alexander Michael and Kerry Khan were programs managers at the time of said crime. Alexander Michael who was employed with USACE since 1979, was responsible for the USACE Directorate of Contingency Operations and had authority to secure funding for the USACE projects, this included
...zation of police forces. Some feel that the militarization helps make police forces more successful while other see the militarization of police forces as a negative that is detrimental to the people living in the areas that are affected by the militarization. The recent unrest in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland has caused the issue the become a hot topic in the media. The Obama administration’s act of prohibiting federal agencies from providing police forces with grenade launchers, high-caliber weapons and bayonets is in response to the outcry from the media about the military equipment used in the unrest in Ferguson and Baltimore. Even with Obama riding police forces of that equipment, the question still remains should police forces still be able to purchase this equipment from private vendors. Should police forces be allowed any police equipment at all?
According to Charles Mahoney, the US military depended upon contractors to support counterinsurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of the tasks the military contractors conduct include drone missions to collect signals intelligence and assist foreign countries like Iraq and Afghanistan forces to fight insurgencies. There have been notable occurences of use of excessive force in violation of human right by companies such as CACI at Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq and Blackwater at Nisour Square. Iraq has made reference to the lack of monitoring the private military defenses on their grounds. “If the US government is going to work extensively with contractors, it requires a more robust oversight system, government agencies and courts also need assurances they can hold defense firms accountable if they break the law overseas”
The Army must reduce dependence on contractors to maintain the operational readiness required to accomplish its’ mission. According to an industry study on privatized military operations the author pointed out that the overreliance on contractors potentially erodes unit core competencies as organic knowledge, skills and abilities are lost from disuse. The use of contractors in mission critical areas prevents the transfer of actual experience and self-reliance necessary for successful operations. Placing a comparable amount of military personnel who normally perform a function with the contractor will help sustain operational capacity, institutional expertise and support more effective contract oversight. The ability to assess contractor reliability against standardized metrics will significantly reduce the risk to deployed forces who are highly dependent on the contractors for mission accomplishment.
Since this judgment was handed, Smith has been subject to a great deal of controversy and scrutiny. Legal scholars and lawyers, judges, the Ministry of Defence (MoD), its Service personnel, and, their families, have joined in on the debate. It is suggested that there is need of reform, sooner rather than later , as the Smith case “will have damaging consequences for military effectiveness” .
As I look at how we are evolving, I see the military as being run more and more like a business in terms of managing budgets and personnel, project management, operations, marketing and public relations. I have observed many career military professionals struggle with having the business skills and experiences to successfully evolve with the new military business model.
National defense being another example where the role of government is indispensable, because people do not pay for each unit the...