Most of us have certainly heard of mercenary groups — “guns for hire.” The concept and practice have likely been around for as long as prostitution. They are both about getting you a satisfactory return so you will be a return customer at some point later. I don’t advocate or condone the morality of either. Russia’s most famous mercenary company is the Wagner Group, a private military company (PMC) that essentially functions as Putin’s secret military arm. “Guns for hire!”
This may nail it down for you a bit better:
“Marshall, the Oakridge Boys just busted out of jail — what are we gonna do?”
“We’re gonna hire us up a posse and deputize so they can legally go after them Oakridge bilge rats.”
“Hey, boys… Marshall Mathers just gave me this-here deputy badge.”
“Yeah, he gave me one too, heck… we all got badges — YEAH!” That was the day Oprah Winfrey rode into the town of Deadwood.
Related: Why you don’t want to be taken into secondary during airport security interrogation
A shadowy mercenary company
The powerful Wagner mercenary group is owned by Russian oligarch Yevgeniy Prigozhin who is loyal to Putin. It was founded in 2014 by intelligence officer Dmitry Utkin to back Ukrainian separatists from Donetsk and Luhansk in the Donbas region of Ukraine.
Wagner has since represented the interests of Russia and its allies across Africa and the Middle East, even showing loyalty to, and taking part in, the Syrian civil war in support of President Bashar al-Assad.
Putin has also dispatched the mercenaries to Libya’s civil war, exploiting the protracted and tumultuous conflict to forge out yet a new sphere of influence in North Africa.
Related: Al-Shabab resurfaces in Africa and invades Ethiopia
The Russian president employs them for all things including war crimes. According to reports, in the war in Ukraine, the Wagner Group participated in atrocities in the city of Bucha in the east Donbas region.
What does the group have to do with German composer Wilhelm Richard Wagner? When I first heard of the name Wagner I only ever could associate it with the German classical music composer. And I was beguiled to learn that Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group was in fact named after the famous German composer.
Related: Putin’s Playbook: The author of Putin’s failing foreign policy
The Wagner Group versus American firepower
My own short tenure doing mercenary work revealed that these organizations aren’t characterized by brotherhood or brotherly loyalty. It was, I tell you, every man for himself when the lead flew. Sometimes a certain language was part of the hiring criteria, sometimes not.
Now, the absence of real camaraderie makes for mayhem on a significant scale when faced with capable opponents.
For example, in May 2018, U.S. armed forces were attacked by a 500-man contingent of Wagner Group forces. The U.S. brought aircraft, ground-based artillery, and rocket artillery to bear on the Wagner mercenaries killing over 100 while not suffering a single casualty.
One could say that the American counterpart to Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group is former Navy SEAL Eric Princes’s Blackwater company, now known as Constellis, which is a mercenary organization by act and definition. Constellis is a private sector organization owned and operated by civilians, mostly retired military special operators.
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was the composer of the orchestral objet d’art. Who has not rumbled into combat with a loudspeaker blasting Wagner’s The Ride of The Valkyries?? That, friends, is the food of camaraderie.
By Almighty God and With Honor,
geo sends
Feature Image: Wagner Group mercenaries in Libya. (Wikimedia Commons)
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2018год был давно. Теперь у Вагнера есть практически весь спектр вооружения, кроме ядерного оружия и ОТРК. При равновесном огневом контакте морская пехота сша скорее всего будет смята как трава под подошвой ботинка, потому что опыт боев против слабовооруженных и слабоорганищованных противников – это недостаточный опыт, для полноценных боевых действий.
As always, I enjoy reading your articles. I am looking forward to being able to read more in the future.
I saw a news report pertaining to the use of conscription in Russia plus this group now that Ukraine has gained back some of its territory. Of course, I also read the Russian searches for “how to break your own arm” is a popular search right now too.
Lord willing Putin keeps away from his button. What’s your take (if it’s ok to ask) on some of this? Enjoy your work immensely.
Blessings to you and yours,
Mander.
TexJ3
Mander!!
Thank you for your chime in; as with every message you send I have to ask myself all over again: “Who the hell is TexJ3 again?”
Hey, I once went into a podcast blind, and the first question I was asked by the interviewer was: “Geo, where did we go wrong in Viet Nam?” I was legitimately mad by that — talk about walking into an ambush. I never had the prowess to answer such a politically sophisticated question, I have taught myself, however, to answer such high-level questions with a flare that says: I’m not a complete idiot; I’m an incomplete idiot — thank you.
To call this conflict another Vietnam is a failure to understand either conflict. Remember, ours in Vietnam was a conflict that lent itself smoothly to being described as a conflict to curb communism and shield democracy.
I have always referred to the Ukraïne conflict, since Putain insists it is not a war at all, as the “Special Military Operation of Russian aggression. A proxy war for the Western Unities and NATO, the queue of mostly western countries waiting to knock the block off of (and test their latest drone tech) the oppressive and maniacally war-mongering madman Vlad ‘the Poker Face’ Putain.
To celebrate the right answer to whether Putain will push ‘the button’ or not is one celebration that can never happen.
Mander, Delta has a version of the publication “How to break your own arm” titled: “How to kick yourself in the balls.”
With staunch affection and the utmost of respect,
geo sends
PS where did we go wrong in Viet Nam? — the Tonkin Gulf.
Sooooo, who needs the KGB when private mercenaries are at your beck and call and there’s no official link for blowback thru government or legal channels?
That is one of the distinct advantages of having a merc cutout. …you looking for a job, Ms. Joie?
geo sends
George,
“Mercenary” is sometimes a hard word to pin down. Sort of like the word “sovereign…” (which can be found somewhere in dictionaries between the words “sober” and “sozzled…”)
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The 1960s heydays of such interesting lights as “Mad Mike” Hoare, and Bob Denard…are long past. Like the tales of the Swiss mercenary companies.
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In parts of Vietnam the U.S. sometimes hired independent Cambodian mercenary companies… Often acted as “stiffeners” to local Vietnamese self-defense forces near the border. “Air America” was an American “creature” though its members sometimes *really* still on active duty…in the dark files of the Pentagon…others wild-eyed veterans.
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Rhodesia did not hire mercenaries…even if the Pope secretly told you that they did. Some former mercenaries served in the regular forces…and some former members of the forces wound up hiring out in some later dubious conflicts. Many Canadians served in the U.S. military during the Vietnam war…starting at $98. a month in my day… Members of the Rhodesian forces…especially at the entry grades…didn’t make much more than that.
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Wagner is Putin’s creature. At the end of the day it answers to him… He controls any slack that their day-to-day boss has.
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The word “mercenary” is like the words “politician…” and “lawyer…” Those words have been used to describe Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton… Also Abraham Lincoln.
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Sauve Qui Peut
-Yankee Papa-
YP,
It’s a downright honor to get this much time from you. My understanding of the word mercenary has taken on a new level of weakness after hearing you speak on the subject. I find I understand the word better as a noun rather than an adjective. As far as my bout holding down a merc post for the short time that I did, my ability to chat the subject wanes beyond the legal and financial models that enabled me to do the work that I did.
All due respect, soldier.
geo sends
Geo, This was very interesting! Thank you, I always learn from your articles, and they entice me to want to read more. In fact, I have bookmarked a few additional articles to read as time allows. All the best, my friend. I truly appreciate your writing.
MM,
I’m sure you are well aware of how much I value your friendship and dedication as an aficionado of the BOXX.
geo sends