Force for Hire
Episode 22: 'Mercenary Mum' talks leaving military, joining contracting world
Stars and Stripes
October 2, 2019
In this episode, Neryl Joyce talks about her experiences working with two military contracting firms, her time in Iraq and what it was like being a woman in the private military contracting world. (Neryl Joyce )
In this penultimate episode of Force for Hire, we welcome on air Neryl Joyce, an Australian servicemember who turned to contracting when she wasn’t allowed to deploy with her fellow soldiers.
She soon found out that what kept her from deploying with the Australian military was one of her greatest assets in the private sector.
Joyce worked with a couple of different private military contractors, one of which was the infamous Blackwater. She wrote a book about her experiences, "Mercenary Mum: My Journey from Young Mother to Baghdad Bodyguard." In this episode, she talks about her experiences with both, her time in Iraq and what it was like being a woman in the PMC world.
Next week, we’ll be wrapping up Force for Hire with a look back at the biggest issues facing the private security and contacting worlds. We hope you’ll join us.
The full transcript of the podcast can be found here.