The Problem with Mercs

"Our job is to get them off the X - the preplanned ambush site where the bad guys have planned to kill you,"

That was Blackwater's boss yesterday. I am a negotiator by training and so the first thing I look for in any situation is the interests of the parties.

For mercenaries their interest is fundamentally making money. Making money requires having soldiers and winning contracts. Both of those things require above all else that the people in your convoy do not get killed under any circumstances.

Marines do not like to die either. But the key difference is that if a unit thinks it is about to get ambushed and decides to mow down everyone on that block the tactical commander get in trouble.