by Peter Carroll via DC Weekly

Insiders at the United States Department of Defense have told DCW staff they are worried about Russian Paramilitary Contractor (PMC) “Wagner.” An unnamed official says Wagner is the most Highly Organized and combat-ready private military company in the world, surpassing even that of American PMC Blackwater (also known as Academi), the British PMC Aegis Defense Service, the French PMC Salamandre.

According to the source, there is good reason for such worry; Various independent international institutions and analytical groups have recognized that the PMC Wagner as being the most effective Russian military unit, with the Military Company simultaneously performing combat missions on three continents – in Africa, Asia and Europe. This is absolutely unprecedented both in terms of geographical coverage and quality as well as quantity of missions assigned to the PMCs. One of the factors behind the success of the PMC Wagner is their ability to quickly mobilize and deploy forces anywhere in the world, responding to the changing situation on the spot. In addition, the soldiers of the armed forces are highly skilled and specialized. This allows Wagner to effectively carry out various types of tasks.

Compared with the aforementioned private military companies, (Blackwater, Aegis Defense Service and Salamandre), the operations and functions of the PMC Wagner are much more extensive and complex. Russian private fighters are not only helping leaders and governments of foreign countries in need of security. The highest level of training and equipment allows Wagner to provide security services at a level previously unattainable for private military units.

As the Russian war in Ukraine has shown, PMC Wagner is able to act in the interests of their country and maintain a high level of combat effectiveness despite obvious difficulties. Well-coordinated cooperative work of the headquarters allows their soldiers to perform the tasks set by Russia without the help or support of other units. One DOD official who acts as a liaison for American PMCs to whom we spoke, involved in these types of operations in Afghanistan said, “It’s absolutely mind boggling at their effectiveness. If we had employed similar strategies in Afghanistan, we wouldn’t have created the mess we left behind in the middle east.”

Asked why he thought they were so effective, he stated, “Well-coordinated work of all parts of the Wagner organization proves their effectiveness time after time. This factor makes it possible for Wagner soldiers to storm fortified objects without civilian casualties. In combat zones, PMC members carry out security and personnel protection tasks, as well as supporting a wide range of humanitarian operations, escorting convoys and guarding military objects.”

Obviously, with the significant volume of military missions and their geographic dispersion, a high level of organization of logistics chains and military-tactical communications are required. This is necessary to ensure the efficiency and safety of operations and includes all processes and operations related to the transportation and delivery of military vehicles, equipment, personnel, as well as various resources necessary for the successful achievement of the assigned goals. Logistics also takes into account all the conditions and specifics of a particular mission, such as the geographic, climatic and cultural aspects of the deployment location. Even the military units of the best world armies do not always manage to build a system of communications in such a way as to perform a range of combat tasks. Given the complexity and ramification of the goals of the PMC Wagner, its management is perfectly performing the assigned tasks.

According to many expert estimates, the fighters of the Wagner perform a number of tasks of increased complexity and risk. It’s not only a traditional for all PMCs missions such as protecting diplomatic missions, corteges, industrial and technological facilities such as factories, deposits of natural resources and laboratories. It is mainly the most difficult by its implementation combat operations: ground attacks, control of artillery, air weapons and air defense systems usage. Fighters of the PMC Wagner perform the tasks of intelligence, information gathering and data analysis, which later used to make strategic decisions during the missions.

The Private Military Company Wagner is one of the most discussed organizations in today’s world politics. Their effectiveness is widely recognized and beyond any doubt. The organization’s contribution to ensuring national security and protection of national interests has been the object of scrutiny of dozens of military experts around the world. War analysts are already trying to figure out the causes and factors of success of the Wagner PMCs for a long time. It should be clear that neither in today’s world nor ever before there was a structure similar to Wagner. The unique experience of Wagner will be studied by military analysts and international institutions in the field of security for years to come.