Mercenary Operations Manual Paperback – September 1, 1986

The book is outdated but still a good trip back to the days where mercenaries were actually that and not private security contractors.

Simple. Good print. The text is a little tricky to read, but nice quality.

The first thing you've got to keep in mind before you order this is it was written in 1986, well before the internet.Given how short it is, there's no way for the author to go into too much detail on any one subject. The tone is entertaining without resorting to bluster or "one time in Guatemala" stories, while still enough of a time piece to make people familiar with this period of history smile from time to time while reading it.The topics covered include things so basic as to be obvious such as "how to get a passport", but bear in mind that this book was written pre-internet when finding such information from scratch would mean asking around or finding another, separate book.The best part about this book is that its thorough...there are many topics that one might not have considered, such as how to move weapons and supplies with varying degrees of legality. This is not an "anarchist cookbook" style book involving ill-advised tips on how to do potentially illegal things for informational purposes only, but instead contains a fair number of well-reasoned warnings as to how to avoid becoming involved with people and schemes that will land you in jail or financial trouble.Mostly, I enjoyed this book as a period piece, but it touches on a broad enough set of topics so as to actually be (potentially) useful in planning mercenary operations.

Interesting but dated general info on being a private military professional. A good addition to my library for research but nothing here to help one get into the trade.

A lot of helpful tips

Wish there was a 2.5 star rating!Re-print of one of Frank Camper's several "books" mainly "booklets" published by secondary publishers mainly back in the 1980s.A lot of controversy on the individual himself also.Check out "Franklin J. Camper" at Wiki. Some references... but damn few (and no newer ones).A Google of "Frank Camper" - with some sifting - reveals some interests also.As a VN era Marine who later got into LE and SWAT, was always looking for different examples - different potential tools for "the toolbox". so over a period of time - and amongst other books - I bought this one and also same author's "L.R.R.P. The Professional" and "Merc: Professional" and "Live To Spend It"... all pretty much 2-star to 3-star ratings IMO.I would say that "African Merc Combat Manual" was / is a step better than this. And that "Rhodesian S.A.S. Combat Manual" is then a step yet above that. And up towards the top is "McAleese's Fighting Manual: The Definitive Soldier's Handbook".Whatever you do, stay away from any books by "Robert Stirling" (fake name, Walter-Mitty Wanna-Be' type who has pt out a couple "combat manual" type books that have a LOT of bad info in them! IMO.