Have gun, will travel
Have gun, will travel
Executive Options is a bona fide business corporation involved in the security industry. We are a reputable firm, not gung ho cowboys.
— Despite impressions.
We were contracted by the Papua New Guinea government — we were employed by that government in the same way you would hire a carpenter to fix a fence — to return order and good government to the island of Bougainville. That's our job. As our motto says: Have gun, will travel.
— But you kill and maim for a profit.
Of course we do. War is not a Sunday picnic. People get hurt. No pain, no gain, I always say. You must arm to harm. War is hell — but it makes for remarkably good business.
— I see.
Do you? We are hired to do a job, and we are then condemned because we are good at it! Can't you see that? Can't you see how unfair it is? A man's got a right to make a living with his own hands.
— Killing people.
Killing smilling! You don't go around abusing your own soldiers the same way, do you? But what do you think their job is? Tell me that! You have this huge standing army doing what? Standing around. You have to feed, house and clothe it; train it; arm and pay it — 365 days per year, year in year out on the off chance it may come in use some day. That's not good economics. A company like ours is at the cutting edge of industrial reform. Instead of relying on a permanent work force with all its outgoing costs, we're ready when you are.
— You're on call.
Exactly. There's no superannuation to keep up, no holiday or sick pay to cover. In line with the present industrial climate, Executive Options merely applies contracting principles to military matters. Such is its sweet logic.
— Doesn't it amount to contract killing?
Crudely put. We're not hit men working for the Mob. What we do is legal. That's the difference.
— Isn't it ethically suspect?
I can't see why. Someone's got to do it. If it's us, we make sure there's a little extra in it for ourselves — that's all. At Executive Options everything is up front and personal.
— What ever happened to fighting for a cause?
Haven't you noticed: there ain't any good causes left. When I'm on a search and destroy mission, I'm not looking for meaning in what I do. I just want a quick kill.
— At least you're honest.
Of course I am. I call it as I see it. I think it's the hunter in me. When your life is on the line, you can't afford to kid yourself about what you are doing there. Like anyone else doing a job, I'm in it for the money.
— Just an employee.
That's what I am — I'm the hired hand.
— Under contract.
Yeah. And besides, I love killing kaffirs.
Dave Riley
E-mail: dhell@ozeamil.com.au