In 2018, Platner returned to Kabul, Afghanistan, for about six months as a State Department security contractor with Constellis, where he provided diplomatic security to the US Ambassador to Afghanistan.
As much as I hate Blackwater (Constellis is the new name) not everyone that works for them is a mercenary, and what Platner did doesn’t even come close to meeting the definition of mercenary:
A mercenary (/ˈmɜːr.sə.nɛr.i/, MUR-sə-nerr-ee) is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military.[1][2] Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather than for political interests.
If you really want to know what you’re talking about, follow those linked sources [1] and [2] out: the word mercenary is not just a slur you throw at someone, it’s something that has been well definied since the end of WWII. Graham Platner doesn’t even come close.
Imagine defending literally anyone lacking in morals enough to do any fucking job at Blackwater.
I don’t care if all you do is answer the phones (and let’s be clear, Platner was a certified killer by the time he started working there, he wasn’t picking up fucking phones and I think you know this)
I don’t care if all you do is answer the phones (and let’s be clear, Platner was a certified killer by the time he started working there, he wasn’t picking up fucking phones and I think you know this)
No, I absolutely don’t know this. I don’t even understand what you think he’s done that differentiates him from any other US Marine and/or military contractor with combat tours under his belt.
Born and raised in coastal Maine, Platner enlisted in the Marine corps after graduating from high school. He served eight years, including three combat tours in Iraq as a Marine and one in Afghanistan with the Maryland Army National Guard. After his military service, he worked as a State Department security contractor in Afghanistan before returning to Maine and entering the oyster farming business. From there, he took over an operation in 2020, and became active in local government before announcing his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in August 2025.
In 2018, Platner returned to Kabul, Afghanistan, for about six months as a State Department security contractor with Constellis, where he provided diplomatic security to the US Ambassador to Afghanistan.
Everyone who has ever been on a combat tour for any military anywhere is a “certified killer,” lol. And he posted to Iraq the year AFTER the Abu Ghraib tortures were revealed, so that’s going to be a hard sell for me too.
These days he’s loudly against pointless and endless wars, so it doesn’t sound like he still wants to kill people. He’s also for unions, universal healthcare, anti-billionaire, anti-money-in-politics, and kind of surprisingly well-acquainted with US history and the politics of the New Deal.
So, you got anything more than how you personally think he wasn’t just answering the phones for the US Ambassador to Afghanistan? If you do, and I mean this sincerely, bring it. Not just conjecture, but something more than a Jolly Roger tat and nastified military slurs that imply being anything worse than the average grunt.
I should add, speaking solely for myself, that you missed the most obvious thing.
If you REALLY want me to hate the guy, just call him Susan Collins.
In a very well-sourced line, Wikipedia says,
As much as I hate Blackwater (Constellis is the new name) not everyone that works for them is a mercenary, and what Platner did doesn’t even come close to meeting the definition of mercenary:
If you really want to know what you’re talking about, follow those linked sources [1] and [2] out: the word mercenary is not just a slur you throw at someone, it’s something that has been well definied since the end of WWII. Graham Platner doesn’t even come close.
Imagine defending literally anyone lacking in morals enough to do any fucking job at Blackwater.
I don’t care if all you do is answer the phones (and let’s be clear, Platner was a certified killer by the time he started working there, he wasn’t picking up fucking phones and I think you know this)
No, I absolutely don’t know this. I don’t even understand what you think he’s done that differentiates him from any other US Marine and/or military contractor with combat tours under his belt.
Here’s what Wikipedia says:
Everyone who has ever been on a combat tour for any military anywhere is a “certified killer,” lol. And he posted to Iraq the year AFTER the Abu Ghraib tortures were revealed, so that’s going to be a hard sell for me too.
These days he’s loudly against pointless and endless wars, so it doesn’t sound like he still wants to kill people. He’s also for unions, universal healthcare, anti-billionaire, anti-money-in-politics, and kind of surprisingly well-acquainted with US history and the politics of the New Deal.
So, you got anything more than how you personally think he wasn’t just answering the phones for the US Ambassador to Afghanistan? If you do, and I mean this sincerely, bring it. Not just conjecture, but something more than a Jolly Roger tat and nastified military slurs that imply being anything worse than the average grunt.
I should add, speaking solely for myself, that you missed the most obvious thing.
If you REALLY want me to hate the guy, just call him Susan Collins.