PMC

PMC:Private Military Contractors. PMC theme 1/6 figures was all the rage in 2007 with a flurry of box sets being released by HT, Barrack Sgt, TS, Dr. Figures etc. Today it remains a popular topic for 1/6 kitbashes due to the relative 'anything goes' load out of most PMC operators from the diversity of their attire to tactical gear & weapons. My two PMC kitbashes was also completed in 2007 with one of the figures drawing inspiration from a bash by Kaz featured in SpecFigures 2 magazine. PMC though a somewhat politically correct term in today had been called 'Mercenaries', 'The Dogs of War' to 'Soldiers of Fortune' in the past & glamorized in books like Frederick Forsyth's: The Dogs of War & movies like: The Wild Geese starring Richard Burton & Roger Moore. Today the mention of PMC immediately brings to mind the shadowy 'Blackwater USA' (aka Blackwater Worldwide) the largest of the US State Department's three private security contractors. It provides security services in Iraq from the guarding of installations/officials, training of Iraqi army/police personals to logistical support like convoy security etc. In recent years, the company was also embroiled in the controversial killing of innocent civilians in Iraq & in Feb 2009, the company had since changed it's name to 'Xe'(pronounced 'Zi') in an attempt to dis-associate the company's name from it's work in Iraq. Undeniablely, PMC comapnies had change the involvement of conventional troops in today's low intensity conflicts in the world's hot spots. However the long term effects & trends of PMC deployment remains to be seen.