Re: mercs

From: "John Atkinson" <johnmatkinson@yahoo.com>

> I can't recall a single instance of a modern naval or
> aviation (excepting Executive Outcomes with a handful
> of Hinds, bought cheap from the South African
> government after they captured them.) mercenary unit. 

Sandline was bringing in some Mil-24 Hind-Ds and Mil-8 Hip-Es
for use in Bougainville.
Their suppliers were supposed to deliver the more modern Mil-17s,
and some of the ammo from the Ukraine was actually rusty, in
poor condition.
How do we know? They trans-shipped them via Darwin, and the
Australian Govt was Not Amused. The ammo was safely disposed
of, the Hinds have been consigned to Museums, and I dunno what
happened to the Hips. "Return to Sender"??

There's also at least one individual mercenary unit operating
in Africa - a dozen or so people for maintenance, and one
lonely Hind Gunship. Very popular service by all accounts.

Hinds are preferred because they're cheap, spare parts are easy
to get, and although they require high maintenance, the maintenance
is easy to perform with unskilled personnel.