“Who am I?” (with my best Derek Zoolander impression)
It is complicated, yet simple. I guess the one thing I think of is if we do not define who we are, someone else or even some ‘thing’ else will do it for us. From Wikipedia, to online forums, to journalists/authors, to academics, to just good ol’ Google search rankings, there are numerous sources for defining who we are and how we are viewed out there. So to me, it is up to us to jump into that discussion and try to fill the void of information to reach a more accurate conclusion.
I say Google, because it is certainly a factor we have to consider in this discussion. Every time I post on this blog, or gain another reader, we are now adding to that definition and ranking in Google. We become a source of information for the discussion, and I hope to get FJ up there as a source. Perhaps one day, when someone types in PMC or Private Military Company, Feral Jundi might be a first pager (kind of floating around the bottom, but still a genuine first pager), and that researcher might stumble upon the ideas on this site. Then I can point that researcher to others who can provide further insight, and so on, and we can start that process of defining or even re-defining who we are. And hey, if we are good influencers, we might even win a few over to some kind of positive consensus. Excellent article David and I hope this will further push the discussion along in the realm of PMC 2.0. –Matt
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Dogs of War: Media to Contractors: Who Are You Guys?
FEB 14, 2009
By DAVID ISENBERG
WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 (UPI) — Last week I wrote that obtaining information about private military and security contractors has never been easier than it is now. But if that is so, then why do so many private military and security contractors think news coverage of their activities ranges from poor to abysmal?
Some, echoing the old right-wing canard, think the media is hopelessly liberal and therefore has an ingrained bias toward anyone dealing with military or security issues, let alone someone who might actually carry a gun for a living.
This is far too simplistic, though. For example, the specialized trade press, with the likes of Defense News and Jane’s Defense Weekly, are hardly left wing, liberal, or promoting a pacifist agenda. Many of their reporters are military veterans who understand the challenges facing security contractors.
Though overall, reporters are like most Americans in that they don’t have firsthand military experience, this does not mean they are anti-military. It just means they don’t know the vocabulary that many contractors take for granted.
But it would be fair to say the news media in the main does not understand the industry. There are good reasons for that.
First, what is it? We know what the car industry is: It makes cars. But what is a private military or security contractor? As a semi-organized business sector it has barely been around 20 years. If we were to use the automobile industry as a reference, we would still be in the horseless carriage age. If PMCs are an industry, what is your International Organization for Standardization classification?