Do you run a PMC and you are looking for where to train mercenaries? If YES, here are 10 best private military contractor training courses.
Private Military Contractors are more or less former soldiers, working alongside conventional armed forces such as the US Army to offer a wide range of specialized security in line with military operations. Individual operators are mainly hired by large companies as part of their agreement with a specific MOD or Ministry of Interior.
They also work as private security and military for foreign governments, international corporations or rich individuals. Companies in this industry are known as Private Security Contractors, Private Military Corporations, Private Military Firms, Military Service Providers and the Private Military Industry.
The name Private Military Contractors tend to be quite misleading as rarely do PMC’s get in involved in real combat operations. Although the fact these companies have well-armed personnel like armed forces and hire only former military members (most of whom are combat veterans) only contributes to the name.
Currently in the United States, high-end training is seeing an incredible boom right now. Whether you are a Global War on Terror (GWOT) veteran looking to relive some of those glory days or just a red-blooded American looking to add a little spice to your life, training opportunities are plenty.
Best Private Military Contractor Training Courses
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Team O’Neil Rally School
Cars kill far more people every year than gunfire, so one of the best things you can do as a private military contractor is to acquire some advanced driver training to even those odds. The Team O’Neil Rally School has become one of the most prominent providers of advanced driver training to Department of Defence clients.
Note that their Tactical Mobility Package focuses on skills ranging from recognizing vehicle ambushes to high-speed loose surface training to skid pads — and even high-angle ascents and descents. If you are going to be driving a Hilux on a crappy road in the dark, Team O’Neil is where you need to go.
Cost
- Only on Request
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OC Helicopter PADI Heli-Scuba Course
As a private military contractor, you would do well to take your diving to the next level with helo-inserts. With this training course, just hold on to your security blanket and prepare for the airborne lifestyle. It is not cheap or easy, but you are up to the task. Besides, you can’t look down on the regular grunts doing grunt stuff if you are not Airborne.
Cost
- $1,250 per person
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HALO Loft
There are great skydiving instructors all over the country, but there is only one civilian High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) jump, and that’s HALO Loft. How high are we talking? Amazingly, 28,000 to 43,000 feet! If you want to claim those bragging rights, tuck your pants into your boots and get ready to regale the world with tales of airborne glory.
To do well as a private military contractor, you have to forge yourself into something better than you were, turning your body and will into steel. These are the skills that really set you apart from the pretenders — skills that have real-world, everyday applications for the safety and security of you and your clients.
Cost
- Only on Request
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GoRuck
Have it in mind that the lads over at GoRuck have been doing their thing for a while now, and the GoRuck Challenge has evolved into a multi-event destination. If you intend or want to have some ruck credibility, be prepared to complete the two-day H-T-L, a combination of their Heavy, Tough, and Light events.
Before you can be special, you are expected to be tough. GoRuck also offers Ascent, a three-day “adventure” that will immerse you in wilderness survival, first-aid, and mountaineering — minus the granola-eating hippie garbage from your REI wilderness survival classes.
Cost
- $1,332 per person
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Rogers Shooting School
This is one of the well known training courses of the tactical shooting world. Bill Rogers has been training military and police instructors from around the world for more than four decades. Note that this school is renowned as one of the most challenging shooting schools in the world and has humbled some of the best shooters from some of the most elite units.
Rogers and his cadre tolerate no crap; be ready to go out into the Georgia woods and come out a week later a whole new shooter. Focusing on targets that stay still for a maximum of one second, this advanced school is not for the easily defeated.
Cost
- About $1,720
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Greenline Tactical
According to reports, Don Edwards spent over 20 years in the Special Operations community fighting everywhere from Operation Just Cause (Panama) to Operation Enduring Freedom.
He spent this time perfecting the skill of fighting under night vision, and when he retired, he went to work consulting and teaching for TNVC, cementing himself as a go-to source for all things night vision. In terms of getting your night-jiggling on, no one speaks with more authority than Edwards.
Cost
- Only on Request
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Courses of Action
Leadership training is paramount in the military. Courses of Action, led by former U.S. Army Special Forces NCO Johnny Primo, offers a Small Unit Tactics course that focuses on rapid decision making, communication as a leader, and other essential skills in highly stressful situations.
Note that this four-day course is held in Texas and rotates students through leadership roles and at least 12 missions, always facing an opposing force. Regardless of the small unit you lead — family, work team, weekend softball league — you’ll learn effective skills that will impact every aspect of your life.
Cost
- Not Available
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PADI Open Water Diver
Note that a basic diving certificate is just the beginning — like any other skill, you have to keep improving. PADI provides classes and certifications all over the country, so don’t let a lack of an ocean get in your way. The Advanced Rebreather Diver is where all the cool kids are, so be prepared to put in the time to claim your throne as the King or Queen of Atlantis.
Cost
- Depending on Course and Certification
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ShivWorks ECQC, Extreme Close Quarter Concepts
Indeed there are a lot of people out there teaching great things, but Craig Douglas at ShivWorks has been teaching people how to work in close and nasty with blade work, weapon retention, clinching, ground fighting, and striking, mixed in with plenty of force-on-force.
His 20-hour ECQC course has been taught all over the world to all sorts of very special folks and is one of the most refined curriculums out there when it comes to getting it done up-close and personal. It doesn’t matter if you are a white belt or you’ve been sweeping the leg since the 1980s, you’ll learn something that will have an immediate impact on the way you live your life.
Cost
- $980 – $1,200
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Jerry Barnhart Training
Notably, there are various shooting programs ranging from very good to complete crap, but there is only one Jerry “The Burner” Barnhart. Even though The Burner has been teaching deploying units since 1987, his classes have become a rite of passage in the wake of the GWOT.
There are a lot of competition guys who have worked with these special warriors, but none have had an impact on the industry like Barnhart. From helping guys situate their kit to refining trigger presses, he’s next level. He doesn’t publish a training calendar (he doesn’t have to), but get a hold of him and get into a class.
Cost
- Only on Request