register<\/a><\/h3>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Military Is the US ready for the rising tide of mercenaries? War is getting sneakier. And mercenaries could be changing war in ways that the US might not be prepared for.… You must be logged in to view this content. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131481,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[32,36],"tags":[130,136],"class_list":["post-37521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mercenaries","category-outsourcingprivatization","tag-mercenaries","tag-outsourcingprivatization"],"yoast_head":"\nIs the US ready for the rising tide of mercenaries? - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is the US ready for the rising tide of mercenaries? - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Military Is the US ready for the rising tide of mercenaries? War is getting sneakier. And mercenaries could be changing war in ways that the US might not be prepared for.… You must be logged in to view this content. … Continue reading →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-06-25T21:02:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/media.pri.org\/s3fs-public\/styles\/w2304\/public\/images\/2020\/06\/2020-06-17-ukraine.jpg?itok=0pR_HIV0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Isenberg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Isenberg\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"David Isenberg\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b60308e3aa40f89495fde6cf0bded668\"},\"headline\":\"Is the US ready for the rising tide of mercenaries?\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-25T21:02:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1526,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media.pri.org\\\/s3fs-public\\\/styles\\\/w2304\\\/public\\\/images\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/2020-06-17-ukraine.jpg?itok=0pR_HIV0\",\"keywords\":[\"Mercenaries\",\"Outsourcing\\\/Privatization\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Mercenaries\",\"Outsourcing\\\/Privatization\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\\\/\",\"name\":\"Is the US ready for the rising tide of mercenaries? - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media.pri.org\\\/s3fs-public\\\/styles\\\/w2304\\\/public\\\/images\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/2020-06-17-ukraine.jpg?itok=0pR_HIV0\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-25T21:02:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b60308e3aa40f89495fde6cf0bded668\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media.pri.org\\\/s3fs-public\\\/styles\\\/w2304\\\/public\\\/images\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/2020-06-17-ukraine.jpg?itok=0pR_HIV0\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media.pri.org\\\/s3fs-public\\\/styles\\\/w2304\\\/public\\\/images\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/2020-06-17-ukraine.jpg?itok=0pR_HIV0\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Is the US ready for the rising tide of mercenaries?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/\",\"name\":\"Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire\",\"description\":\"Unpacking the Private Military Complex\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b60308e3aa40f89495fde6cf0bded668\",\"name\":\"David Isenberg\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0a2e33ccc43220f0bd5c218a05e6495b12a424b99c963810cfe2108faf9f3755?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0a2e33ccc43220f0bd5c218a05e6495b12a424b99c963810cfe2108faf9f3755?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0a2e33ccc43220f0bd5c218a05e6495b12a424b99c963810cfe2108faf9f3755?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"David Isenberg\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iissonline.net\\\/2026\\\/author\\\/worden35\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Is the US ready for the rising tide of mercenaries? - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Is the US ready for the rising tide of mercenaries? - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","og_description":"Military Is the US ready for the rising tide of mercenaries? War is getting sneakier. And mercenaries could be changing war in ways that the US might not be prepared for.… You must be logged in to view this content. … Continue reading →","og_url":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\/","og_site_name":"Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","article_published_time":"2020-06-25T21:02:07+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/media.pri.org\/s3fs-public\/styles\/w2304\/public\/images\/2020\/06\/2020-06-17-ukraine.jpg?itok=0pR_HIV0","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"David Isenberg","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"David Isenberg","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\/"},"author":{"name":"David Isenberg","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#\/schema\/person\/b60308e3aa40f89495fde6cf0bded668"},"headline":"Is the US ready for the rising tide of mercenaries?","datePublished":"2020-06-25T21:02:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\/"},"wordCount":1526,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/media.pri.org\/s3fs-public\/styles\/w2304\/public\/images\/2020\/06\/2020-06-17-ukraine.jpg?itok=0pR_HIV0","keywords":["Mercenaries","Outsourcing\/Privatization"],"articleSection":["Mercenaries","Outsourcing\/Privatization"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\/","url":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\/","name":"Is the US ready for the rising tide of mercenaries? - Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/media.pri.org\/s3fs-public\/styles\/w2304\/public\/images\/2020\/06\/2020-06-17-ukraine.jpg?itok=0pR_HIV0","datePublished":"2020-06-25T21:02:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#\/schema\/person\/b60308e3aa40f89495fde6cf0bded668"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/media.pri.org\/s3fs-public\/styles\/w2304\/public\/images\/2020\/06\/2020-06-17-ukraine.jpg?itok=0pR_HIV0","contentUrl":"https:\/\/media.pri.org\/s3fs-public\/styles\/w2304\/public\/images\/2020\/06\/2020-06-17-ukraine.jpg?itok=0pR_HIV0"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/is-the-us-ready-for-the-rising-tide-of-mercenaries\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Is the US ready for the rising tide of mercenaries?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#website","url":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/","name":"Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire","description":"Unpacking the Private Military Complex","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/#\/schema\/person\/b60308e3aa40f89495fde6cf0bded668","name":"David Isenberg","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0a2e33ccc43220f0bd5c218a05e6495b12a424b99c963810cfe2108faf9f3755?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0a2e33ccc43220f0bd5c218a05e6495b12a424b99c963810cfe2108faf9f3755?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0a2e33ccc43220f0bd5c218a05e6495b12a424b99c963810cfe2108faf9f3755?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"David Isenberg"},"url":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/author\/worden35\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phczRl-9Lb","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131481"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37521\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iissonline.net\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}