Seehund
Banned
In many Western countries there are difficulties understanding what Soviet and Russian Special Forces really was and still are. One of the reasons for this could be, that the Russian language has two words for the concept of military units with special training and special tasks: ”osobyy” and ”spetsialnyy”. The original term for these forces were ”Osobogo Naznacheniya”, (Unit with special purpose) in short OSNAZ, while the present (and more Western inspired?) term often is ”Voyska Spetsialnogo Naznacheniya” or just ”Spetsialnogo Naznacheniya”, in short SPETSNAZ which means forces with special tasks. And it gets worse if we focus more detailed on the individual Special Forces units. To create an overview maybe it would be practical to take a quick walk through the Spetsnaz environment.
He can move on to officers course at the Airborne Forces Officers Academy.
He can stay on as an enlisted man.
He can be transferred to the active reserve for a 5-years period.
The core gets a far better training than the reserve or the conscripts. Besides the normal training in parachute jumping, reconnaissance, hand to hand combat and weapons practice, they are taught foreign language, radio code techniques and silent killing.
The Army Spetsnaz units are called ooSpN (Otdelniy Otryad Spetzialniya Naznacheniya), Independent Special Operations Detachments. These detachments are company-sized, which means 75 – 150 soldiers. Units are numbered with 3-digits, for example like 173.ooSpN that was established in Afghanistan in 1980 and later on participated in the invasion of Chechniya. Units can be deployed by parachute, as a long-range recon patrol or as a disguided part of a regular army unit. Often small detachments are integrated in airborne formations in order to get the detachment unseen into their operations area.
Army Spetsnaz:
The central parts of Army Spetsnaz units are professionals, but the main bulk still is conscripts. Conscription is 2 years of very hard training, like the British SAS in the Territorial Army. After these two years the conscript can be demobilized (dembel in Russian), or choose from the following three options if he is qualified:He can move on to officers course at the Airborne Forces Officers Academy.
He can stay on as an enlisted man.
He can be transferred to the active reserve for a 5-years period.
The core gets a far better training than the reserve or the conscripts. Besides the normal training in parachute jumping, reconnaissance, hand to hand combat and weapons practice, they are taught foreign language, radio code techniques and silent killing.
Danish military experience with Russian Special Forces soldiers indicate, that their language skills are limited to reading of signs and roadmaps and some very limited use of the language. Even though one must presume that GRU – like a lot of other similar authorities – link the individual soldier to a geographical area, like the Nordic countries (Denmark, Sweden and Norway), their language skills are not well enough to enable them to pose as a native. But another consequence of this geographical system probably is that in every Russian Diplomatic Mission there is a Rezident (commanding officer) who takes care of GRU business in that particular country.
The Army Spetsnaz units are called ooSpN (Otdelniy Otryad Spetzialniya Naznacheniya), Independent Special Operations Detachments. These detachments are company-sized, which means 75 – 150 soldiers. Units are numbered with 3-digits, for example like 173.ooSpN that was established in Afghanistan in 1980 and later on participated in the invasion of Chechniya. Units can be deployed by parachute, as a long-range recon patrol or as a disguided part of a regular army unit. Often small detachments are integrated in airborne formations in order to get the detachment unseen into their operations area.
Next: Navy and Naval Spetsnaz.