As to the *substance* or his arguments, I frankly can't understand them. For example, he seems to be saying he sees no advantage to using higher tech gravitics over lower tech gravitics . . . which is simply ludicrous.

He also seems to be saying that Patrons don't regard mercenaries as expendable. The way a Patron would see it, mercenaries (especially interstellar mercenaries) are the definition of expendable. Mercenaries don't vote for or against you, you don't have to worry about them if they become casualties (that's what their own insurance is for), their families don't depend upon you for pensions if they're killed, mercenaries can be expected to have no moral qualms about whatever mission they are assigned to do (or they wouldn't have become mercenaries in the first place), etc.

Mercenaries come in, they do the job and then they leave again.

In theory.

It's seldom *really* like that, outside Traveller or some similar fictional universe. There certainly are no "bonded mercenary tickets" in the real world, past or present.

But I'm really tired of Greg, so I don't think I'll be responding to any of his posts any longer. In fact, can someone tell me how to block his posts? I suspect others have already done so, based upon the narrow range of responses above. I've never had cause to block anyone before and have no idea how it's done.