Frag Out! Magazine

REPORT First oF all, let's answer the qu- estion who works in the Marsec branch and why? Most likely, in all merce- nary activities there are two backgrounds of the decision a contractor picks up the job. Money, cause we all have to make a living and adventure, cause we can't stay at home while some of us chose armed playground. You will not become a rich guy, even as a Team Leader, but the money are fair for the risk (usually around 2000-4000$ a month). Time has changed, and the big balloon blown with US Department of Defence's bucks finished with no turning back. Even in Iraq and Afghanistan the average PMC contract levels around 6000$, what is far from the stories we heard not that long time ago. The adventure is probably superior to the money and has much bigger magnetic image for the new comers than anything else. Can you imagine that beside being an ar- med sailor, you fly and sail in the most beauty full (and hostile) parts of the world on the account of your com- pany with hotels and food paid? Most of the guys would have never afford to spend some time on the beaches of Sri Lanka or Madagascar sipping rum accompanied by chocolate beauties that do not know the word "no." But is the job so sweet as given in the previous words? Not far from. Let's then put some eyewitness experience that was earned for the last couple years. We are not going to be full of objectivity. Let us give you our point of view. Primarly, we are Polish contractors working in the Mar Sec for different foreign companies. The biggest boom for our services exploded two years ago, when a very helpful security contractor passed a question of his friend on the Baghdad's airport "do you know any companies that can train Maritime Security Operatives"? From that moment till now, there we go with a hundred Pol- ish armed security contractors on the seas in High Risk Areas, including Indian Ocean, Somalia, Suez or Nigeria. The companies evolve, drop down prices and conquer with Eastern directions for new employees. There is a very big need of Polish Mar Sec contractors because of couple reasons. We are professional, we shoot better than many others, have no problem with being fit, know how to behave, do not care for expensive accommodation and maybe something most con- troversial – we do not drink like pigs and do not get high on the job. That is all for the national self-advertising. Let us go through the training process. The best candidates for the service are former police officers or soldiers with legal point of view, cold blood and acceptance for daily routine binocular inspection. The civies are also wel- comed if they fit the needs of soon to be employer. Courses last around 9 days and include full day schedule of many different subjects packed up tightly. The trainee becomes a real sailor with all needed certificates like 4 in 1 STCW (selfrescue, firefighting, communication and so on), piracy awareness and seeman's book. Beside standard MSO modules, there might be some changes in every provided course. For example zooming in two Polish companies that led such courses, let us present Tactical Risk Group and Paladin Tac Ltd, half of the course is backed up by Israelis with classes that prepare the students for the new job and at the very end of the course giving propositions to sign a Mar Sec contract. At these courses there are additional exercises with RIB fast boats on the sea, over standard shooting drills and gun maintenance as well "exotic countries savoir-vivre" that will provide the trainees with knowledge should be known to make the transit smooth (no porn in the cell phones in case someone will ask to check our elec- tronics in the countries we travel to, as well how to stop the most killing enemy – diarrhea). Intro- ductional exercises of the mari- t i m e operator tactics are led by experienced ex SF soldiers from the GROM Maritime Squadron. .

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