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the services and expertise cover those typically found in governmental military or police forces, but most often on a smaller scale. while pmcs often provide services to train or supplement official armed forces in service of governments, they are also employed by private firms. pmcs tend to be concentrated in areas of low intensity conflict, where deploying traditional armed forces might be too politically, diplomatically, or economically risky.[citation needed] however, contractors who use offensive force in a war zone could be considered unlawful combatants, thereby referring to the ”concept” being implicitly mentioned in the geneva convention and explicitly specified by the military commissions act.
pmcs are also known as security contractors, although this term usually refers to individuals employed or contracted by pmcs. services are mainly rendered for other business corporations, international and non-governmental organizations, and state forces.
private military companies are sometimes grouped into the general category of defense contractors. however, most defense contractors supply specialized hardware and perhaps also personnel to support and service that hardware, whereas pmcs supply personnel with specialized operational and tactical skills, which often include combat experience.
the 1949 third geneva convention (gciii) does not recognize the difference between defense contractors and pmcs; it defines a category called supply contractors. if the supply contractor has been issued with a valid identity card from the armed forces which they accompany, they are entitled to be treated as prisoners of war upon capture (gciii article 4.1.4). if, however, the contractor engages in combat, he/she can be classified as a mercenary by the captors under the 1977 protocol i additional to the geneva conventions (protocol i) article 47.c, unless falling under an exemption to this clause in article 47. if captured contractors are found to be mercenaries, they are unlawful combatants and lose the right to prisoner of war status. protocol i was not ratified by the united states because, among other issues, it does not require "freedom fighters" to obey the convention in order to be granted its protections.