Private military and security companies (PMSCs) are a fast‐growing global industry. While the rise of PMSCs and their activities have attracted much media coverage and growing scholarly attention, little is known about their sourcing of masses of military labour from the global South. This exploratory study examines the case of Fiji, whose thousands of ex/current disciplinary force personnel and unemployed men have been contracted by PMSCs to provide security work in Iraq and other high‐conflict areas. The article shows this to be an instance of unequal core‐periphery military labour trade, outlining its scale, processes and impacts on the migrants. It also illuminates how the migrants’ collective agency is demonstrated even under powerful structural constraints.