Mercenaries go to war only for money. They can be hired by anyone as long as the other side bids high enough. Mercenaries do not fight for ideology or political beliefs, patriotism or moral principles.
1949 The Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts of August, 2002 12 gives the most widely accepted definition of a mercenary, which stipulates that:
Article 47 Foreign mercenaries
1. Foreign mercenaries should not have the right to be combatants or prisoners of war.
2. Mercenaries refer to:
(1) was specially recruited to participate in armed conflicts locally or abroad.
(2) actually directly participate in hostilities.
(3) The motive of participating in hostilities is mainly to pursue self-interest. In fact, the material rewards promised by one party to the conflict are much more than those promised or paid to combatants with similar ranks and responsibilities in the armed forces of that party.
(4) They are neither nationals of one party to the conflict nor residents of the territory controlled by one party to the conflict.
(5) Persons who are not members of the armed forces of a party to the conflict.
(6) Personnel sent by a country that is not a party to the conflict to perform official duties as members of its armed forces.
Extended data:
Mercenaries come from various sources. When recruiting mercenaries, we usually choose veterans (special forces are better).
Mercenaries are not all middle arms of the army, but pilots and marines are also hot items among mercenaries.
The salary of mercenaries can be divided into different grades according to the degree of danger of the task, the different arms and the different sources.
Recruitment targets include civilians, veterans and fugitives. You can join after passing the exam. No matter what you have done, you can join as long as you sign up and pass the examination. After joining, you can follow its training method and be assigned to various corps after training.
Mercenaries in the United States generally do not go through government organizations, but through various bodyguard companies, which are generally run by people with backgrounds, such as former US military officers.
American bodyguard companies are generally targeted recruiters, and the quality of personnel is relatively high. Generally, when cooperating with the US military's mission in a certain area, if there is anything inconvenient for the US military or the US government to come forward, it will be handed over to the bodyguard company. This is low risk, and once it fails, it can be denied.
Mercenaries in Afghanistan and Chechnya fight for money, and some extreme religious believers fight not for money but for their beliefs. These people's combat ability is relatively weak, and they generally have to be trained.
References:
Baidu encyclopedia-mercenaries