On ‘Radio Times’: The difference between mercenaries and soldiers

On Friday’s Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane, Marty was joined by Sean McFate, who has a nuanced position on the matter as both a former military contractor and former Army paratrooper.

The Afghan War has entered its 16th year. The Trump administration has a chance to change our approach to ending the fighting there, but they have yet to agree on a new plan. Among the suggestions is outsourcing the war to private contractors. Erik Prince, founder of the private military group Blackwater, recently suggested this in a much-discussed op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, and has been an unofficial advisor to the President on military matters.

On Friday’s Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane, Marty was joined by Sean McFate, who has a nuanced position on the matter as both a former military contractor and former Army paratrooper.

His main issue with the outsourcing war is that the mercenaries are not beholden to the same rules and regulations of engagement as the armed forces. They are able to “go rogue” as he said. Because of this, McFate says “there are villainous mercenaries who can do great harm, and can also be some heroic ones too.”

Listen to the full interview on Radio Times.