Everything about Executive Outcomes totally explained
Executive Outcomes was a
private military company founded in
South Africa by
Lieutenant-Colonel Eeben Barlow in 1989. It was controlled by the South Africa-based
holding company Strategic Resource Corporation.
Executive Outcomes provided military personnel, training and logistical support to officially recognized governments only. They were however often accused of providing the military strength for
corporations to control
natural resources in
failed states or conflict-ridden areas, because these governments mostly paid for their services with mining concessions.
History
Mission statement
Executive Outcome's
mission statement was described by the company as:
Background
In 1989, following the conclusion of
South African Border Wars in
Angola and
Namibia, the
apartheid regime in South Africa was beginning to dissolve. The
South African Defence Force was looking at broad cuts in its personnel.
African National Congress leader
Nelson Mandela demanded that then South African President
Frederik Willem de Klerk dismantle some of the South African and South-West African Special Forces units such as
32 Battalion,
Koevoet and the
Reconnaissance Regiments. One of these was the
Civil Cooperation Bureau (CCB), a unit that carried out covert assassinations of government opponents, and worked to bypass the
United Nations apartheid sanctions by setting up overseas
front companies.
Only Koevoet — being part of the
South West African Police (SWAPOL) — was disbanded as part of independence negotiations for
South-West Africa (now
Namibia). Many members of the other units, or simply former national servicemen, were recruited by Executive Outcomes (EO).
Formation
Eeben Barlow, formerly in charge of the Western European section of the
CCB, became the first leader of Executive Outcomes, and the company went on to recruit many of its personnel from these units. Within a short period, EO could boast of having 500 military advisers and over 3000 highly-trained military personnel at its disposal. Through the CCB, Barlow gained extensive corporate connections, among which were
Tony Buckingham and
Simon Mann who helped set up the company. In 1993, the three registered Executive Outcomes in the
United Kingdom.
As is characteristic of one of the first Private Military Companies (PMCs), Executive Outcomes was directly involved militarily in Angola and Sierra Leone. The company was notable in its ability to provide all aspects of a highly-trained modern army to the less professional government forces of Sierra Leone and Angola. For instance, in Sierra Leone, Executive Outcomes fielded not only professional fighting men, but armor and support aircraft such as the Mi-24 Hind and Mi-8 Hip helicopters, and the BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle. It also possessed medevac capabilities for the wounded to airlift out of combat zones via Boeing 707 aircraft. These were bought from lucrative sources in the worldwide arms trade within Africa as well as Eastern Europe. .
Executive Outcomes had
contracts with
transnational corporations such as
De Beers,
Chevron,
Rio Tinto Zinc and
Texaco. The governments of
Angola, Sierra Leone, and
Indonesia were also clients. Additionally they provided military training in
Malawi,
Botswana,
Madagascar, and
Algeria.
Key personnel
Apart from Eeben Barlow, other Executive Outcomes personnel were reported to be Nic van der Berg,
Tony Buckingham, Michael Grunberg, D.H. Parker, and
Simon Mann.
However, the company's personnel most likely continued their activities under the names of Lifeguard, Saracen, or another private military company with links to Executive Outcomes, albeit with a much reduced level of visibility.
Sandline International
Executive Outcomes was closely linked to the
United Kingdom private military company
Sandline International. Sandline was founded by Simon Mann and Eeben Barlow, and added to the web of companies behind Executive Outcomes.
Tim Spicer, a retired
Scots Guards officer, was recruited to lead the company. In December 1996, Sandline was officially incorporated by Tony Buckingham, Simon Mann, Eeben Barlow, Tim Spicer, Michael Grunberg, and Nic van der Berg, Barlow's successor at Executive Outcomes. Both companies were controlled by fronts, Plaza 107 in the United Kingdom and the Strategic Resources Corporation in South Africa.
[Further Information]
Get more info on 'Executive Outcomes'.
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