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WBY is sad to report the death of Major John Bennet, deputy Editor. John has been in the trade for a number of years, and over the last decade has continued to partake in active duty in-between his editorial post here at WBY.
John was involved in a firefight on New Years Eve, whilst serving in a counter insurgency unit in the ongoing hostilities on Valhalla. It would appear that his forcefield collapsed after being hit by a volley of small arms fire, and that one of the projectiles had sufficient energy to penetrate and strike him in the neck, just above the top of his body armour. He died instantly.
His loss comes as a salutary reminder of the risks faced in our profession. John was a consummate professional and will be sorely missed in the industry in general as well as here at WBY. He leaves a wife and four children.
This Issue is devoted to Universal Armed Services (UAS), the longest established Mercenary Cartel. Our reporter Sally McPherson interviewed their Director Of Public Relations, Major Harvey Davidson, to find out what is the current state of play in the franchise business.
SM: So Major, why don't you start by telling us a little bit about Universal Armed Services?
HD: Well, Sally, I'm sure that most of your readers already know quite a bit about UAS, but If I may I'll briefly run through the history of the company. We were formed a little over 16 years ago, in 282 AI, initially operating as an independent mercenary unit. After several years of campaigning we had established ourselves as a unit with a reputation for getting the job done. In 286 AI, that's 11 years ago, we has a big contract acting as a training cadre and this established us not only as a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield but also in the board room. We made good money in ''86, and used it to buy out several other less successful companies, 3 line mercenary units and a fledgling shipping company. The rest was all down to good management, with several units to call on we were usually able to put in a bid for any lucrative contract that came along, as opposed to the situation which smaller organisations find, where its either feast or famine. Also, we were able to swap personnel between units, in order to get the rights skill on board for the particular mission in question. Also, if one contract didn't end up being very profitable there were always the other units to smooth out the cash flow. Finally, our shipping company was guaranteed a steady supply of work, shifting our own units and supplies about.
From there its really gone from strength to strength, we went public in '88 and our share prices have been climbing steadily ever since. We've continued to expand, buying 2 more line companies, and several other support units, including our dedicated training & franchising company, and UAS now acts as a holding company owning the group members.
SM: Nowadays UAS is best known for its training & franchise business, how did the training side come about?
HD: Well it was the obvious way forward. We have always looked for ways to expand and diversify our business. O.K, there's no doubt about it, being a mercenary unit can make an awfully large amount of money, and of course we continue to do just that via the units we own, but Mercenary units themselves make good customers precisely because they often do have quite a lot of hard cash to spend. We noticed that when, as happens from time to time, people left us, they never had any trouble getting another job. You know, we even noticed some of the smaller independents hiring their people on with us, to get some experience and some skills, and then re-employing them! So it just seemed like too good an opportunity to miss. Rather than have it happening underhand we went to the companies in question and made them an offer - rather than us hiring their troops, they paid us. In return, we guaranteed that skills and training would be received. With it all being above board they could cycle as many people through us as they liked. And it was great! It was good business because it suited everybody! Then we just carried on running with the idea and started our Accredited Mercenary Course™ in '89, that was my idea by the way, and opened it up for all comers.
SM: Why did UAS decide to move into the franchising business?
HD: Again , it was simply a case of being the next logical step. By '91 the AMC was well established - our graduates were serving with many mercenary units, in fact even some regular forces had seconded personnel to us - politically sensitive but a good earner. We had really developed our credibility - people trusted our judgement, if we said a trooper was good enough for an AMC certificate, they knew he would be worth his salary. So, we said to ourselves, if our judgement is trusted for the individual, why shouldn't it be trusted for whole units? And that's how the franchising idea was born.
SM: So how exactly does the franchising process work?
HD: Well, the first thing is that a would be franchisee has to meet certain criteria. We call this Stage 1. I won't go into the details but basically the unit has to have a certain proportion of its personnel as AMC graduates, in particular the command staff. Additionally, the unit shouldn't have any legal problems , arrest warrants, that kind of thing. Basically, unless the unit meets these requirements, we won't even consider it. Stage 2 involves attaching some of our assessors to the unit, to look at its organisation and operating practices. The assessors prepare a report and this is the basis for Stage 3, where our training staff provide assistance solving any shortcoming that the unit may have. Then we just repeat stages 2 and 3 until the unit comes up to scratch. Of course the process isn't cheap, but it gives the unit the right to declare itself as a UAS franchisee, and that is a major plus when it comes to negotiating contracts with employers. UAS franchisee's command premium rates for their services, and they are worth every credit.
SM: And of course you take your cut of that as well don't you?
HD: Of course we do! But its very much in a units favour to be associated with us, and that's why so far in the 6 years we've been running the scheme 14 units have become franchise holders, and we have another 2 units going through the assessment right now. So our customers obviously think its a service worth paying for!
SM: Of course your competitors think so as well, over the last few years several other companies have started their own franchise schemes. How would you say that UAS are keeping ahead of the competition?
HD: Well, you've just said it yourself. Our competitors are just getting started in this business, where as we are well established. We're the market leaders, and I think these other companies will be playing 'catch up' for a long time yet. We're adding more courses all the time, teaching mercenaries how to stay ahead in business. Its one thing to win a firefight, its another thing altogether to turn a profit at the same time!
SM: Your critics say that your training and franchise schemes are an expensive luxury that a newly formed unit can ill afford. What would you say to that point of view?
HD: The crucial thing to remember about the mercenary trade is that people do it as a living, they are not fighting for a cause, for king and country or whatever, but to earn good money. Now the mercenary trade is just like any other - if you want to start a business you need to be properly financed. Lets say you wanted to start a hotel. You could scrape a living by converting a normal residential house, and having half a dozen rooms, but you'd never make any serious money. What you'd need to do is buy a site on the edge of a capital city starport, then build a thousand room hotel with conference centre, sports & shopping facilities, and then market it correctly. That's going to cost you a couple of hundred million, but once its running you're really going to rake it in. - You have to speculate to accumulate. If a business - any business mind you - , isn't properly financed it will be Mickey mouse, its as simple as that. Any serious unit will be see the sense of investing in our schemes. If they don't, they're Mickey mouse, that's all there is to it.
SM: Well, thank you for your point of view, Major. Do you have any final words of advice for our readers?
HD: Well apart from the obvious - namely to get in touch with us - the main advice I would give is to remind your readers that the outcome of most battles is determined before the first shot is fired. Gather information, be prepared, be aware of local legislation, and remember the old adage - "train hard, fight easy".
SM: Thank you very much.
Next Issue : Aerospace Operations in the Valhalla Campaign
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