This is a fascinating deal that came out while I was away. In October, Buzzfeed ran a story about Spear Operations Group LLC, a company based out of Delaware that was hired by the UAE to perform special operations services in Yemen. Specifically to go after 23 high value targets and kill them. This is definitely some offense industry and I have written about this type of thing in the past.
They were paid $25,000 a month and given a bonus per individual they killed. How much per individual I do not know. This kind of thing is not new to warfare and the Flying Tigers are an example of a company paying a bonus or bounty for every Japanese plane they shot down.
Below I have posted my Facebook thread about the article and I recommend reading that, and here is a link to the article itself. Another excellent deal to check out is SOFREP’s interview they did with one of the contractors of this company. On a side note, the contractor also discussed the Erik Prince Plan and his thoughts about it.
As to my personal input on the matter? This is the trend we are seeing in this industry. PMSC’s are being used more and more for the offense and not just for defense. Countries are using this industry as a tool to implement strategy or policy. Or they are using PMSC’s to provide a capability their military does not have. In this case, the UAE hired SOG LLC to perform a mission their Special Operations could not do. Based on the UAE’s history of outsourcing, I don’t think we will see the last of this kind of thing. –Matt
The men of Spear Operations Group LLC From Buzzfeed