An interview of a Spetsnaz Afganistan vet. Very good reading

[Viper shtf]

I found it while surfing another site, this place. http://www.angelfire.com/art/enchanter/title3.html
The interview is a very interesting read, the Soviet interviewed was at one point a Spetsnaz sniper.

Link here. http://web.archive.org/web/200902250752 ... soviet.htm

Edited to add: Mods, not sure where to put this. Move it as you see fit.

[Laager]

I've always thought this pretty much summed up any battlefield in that area of the world and possibly others as well.

When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
So-oldier of the Queen!


Thanks for the link, it was an interesting read.

[Viper shtf]

Yeah, that pretty much covers the, "What to do if faced with capture in Afganistan" topic. No problem, just wanted to share.

[Kutter_0311]

Good article so far, I'll finish it in the morning...

[Tetra Grammaton Cleric]

Interesting read, the interviewee was refreshingly blunt though his assessment of teh soviet might vs teh afghan guerillas lacked some "we were pwnt by teh chechen guerillas further down the track" perspective imho (but to be fair it was well outside the scope of the interview).

He was also very clear when he was speaking outside his direct experience as well, which was nice.

Good stuff though. Favourited.

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[Niblick]

Fun read. I don't know why but I thought the gear that the spetsnaz would have used would be much better.

[raxar]

Fun read. I don't know why but I thought the gear that the spetsnaz would have used would be much better.

the soviets aren't exactly known for good quality anything, except for booze maybe.

[FLW_FTW]

That was very interesting. If you guys are interested in the topic, the book Afghan Guerrilla Warfare is very interesting; its a collection of war stories told by Mujaheddin fighters that actually conducted operations against Soviet forces. Gives the opposing view of the war with very detailed descriptions of ambushes and operations carried out by local forces, the weapons they used, how they set up operations, what they targeted, etc.

[Ten Eight]

Good read. I think part of the last sentence says it all, "....those people will not be ruled."

[DarkScythe]

Fun read. I don't know why but I thought the gear that the spetsnaz would have used would be much better.

the soviets aren't exactly known for good quality anything, except for booze maybe.

But their gear, weapons, planes etc have killed more Americans than any other country. Hell their weapon designs in total probably have killed more humans period in war than any other country.

[booger_viper]

I believe the vet is Marco Vorobiev (some more of his writings - http://www.shotgunnews.com/tag/vorobiev/)

He is a great guy, good teacher, and a lot of his stories sounded similar. Also the interviewer Dave Fortier and Mark started running a training school in KS together a few years back..

[huntingohio]

Yes he dose have a few classes having taken one they are a blast and his a no bs badass

[raxar]

But their gear, weapons, planes etc have killed more Americans than any other country. Hell their weapon designs in total probably have killed more humans period in war than any other country.

It doesn't take good quality to kill someone, ask any japanese solider from 1943-1945. But I'm not really sure what your point is. I will simply suggest you take a real life look at some russian made military equipment next to some western made, there is a clear difference in quality. I didn't say function or performance, quality.

[DarkScythe]

But their gear, weapons, planes etc have killed more Americans than any other country. Hell their weapon designs in total probably have killed more humans period in war than any other country.

It doesn't take good quality to kill someone, ask any japanese solider from 1943-1945. But I'm not really sure what your point is. I will simply suggest you take a real life look at some russian made military equipment next to some western made, there is a clear difference in quality. I didn't say function or performance, quality.

They have had plenty of quality designs especially from the 80's on.

[raxar]

They have had plenty of quality designs especially from the 80's on.

good design and quality of manufacture are not the same

[smiffy]

Fun read. I don't know why but I thought the gear that the spetsnaz would have used would be much better.

the soviets aren't exactly known for good quality anything, except for booze maybe.

Vodka is the simplest of distilled liquors. It requires no herbs, as gin does, nor pot-stilling and ageing in wooden casks as brandy and whisky/whiskey do. (I'm leaving rum out as there are both un-aged clear rums(much like vodka, only made from sugar instead of grain) and casked dark rums).

What's damning is that when russian conscripts don't get their vodka ration, or decide the supply wasn't enough, they start drinking the coolant out of the tank engine or the brake fluid, with fairly awful consequences.

As Stalin reputedly said: Quantity has a quality all of its own!
The russian troops certainly think it is lacking in this type of quality!

[smiffy]

(1) But their [the soviets] gear, weapons, planes etc have killed more Americans than any other country.

(2)Hell their weapon designs in total probably have killed more humans period in war than any other country.

Point (1) Is demonstrably untrue I'm afraid.
If we assume all the weapons used by the communist-allied sides in the Korean and Vietnam were built in and supplied from the USSR (i.e. we're intentionally ignoring Chinese-built AKs, guns left over by the French in their Indo-Chine war, Nagant rifles built in Tsarist-times and dropped US kit being picked-up & used against the GIs), the total US war dead in both of these conflicts is a whisker under 95,000 (Source: Wiki).
US Deaths for World War 2 are about 420,000 (Source: Wiki).
If we assume a 50:50 split between guys dying in Europe and guys dying in the Pacific, this gives us:
210,000 being killed by German designed & built weapons & munitions
210,000 being killed by Japanese designed & built weapons & munitions
and only 95,000 being killed by USSR designed & built weapons & munitions

Sorry to be a knacker-sack, but what you said didn't sound right and the numbers talk for themselves.

Not sure about Point (2). Accurate figures for all those bush-wars in Africa (where the AK is predominant) are hard to pin down, but a lot of those little African countries are quite sparsely populated compared to Asia

[Penfist]

"....those people will not be ruled."

Yep, not even by common sense. Worst drivers I've EVER seen. They love to smack into each other and fight in the streets.