Article

2002-08-19 Caucasus

Bad Guys shoot down helicopter in Chechnya, 74 dead...

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Posted by Fred Pruitt 2002-08-19 11:04 am|| || Front Page|| [7 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 104 servicemen and crew in a single helicopter? Talk about being a sardine. That sucker must be the size of a DC-9.

Regards,

Posted by Steve White 2002-08-19 12:24:30|| 2002-08-19 12:24:30|| Front Page Top

#2 Actually thermal imaging technology would help the Russians discover troop concentrations. If Bush would dump Pakistan and Saudi Arabia as so-called "allies", in favor of Russia and India, then shared technology and manpower would yield a cost-effective victory over the terrorists. No more oil-patch Presidents, please!

Posted by Allah the Dog Faced God 2002-08-19 18:21:18|| 2002-08-19 18:21:18|| Front Page Top

#3 In response to Mr. White. I saw a MI-26 in Somalia and can best describe it as a C-130 with rotor blades.

Posted by JP5 2002-08-19 19:30:29|| 2002-08-19 19:30:29|| Front Page Top

#4 Unless things have changed considerably since I knew something about the subject, the Russian army is made up of conscripts snagged for two years, most of them 18-year-olds. They rotate new kids in every six months. Senior NCOs are professionals but are underpaid and under-rated, and junior NCOs are bumped up from the draftee ranks. Officers seemed to split between very good and very bad - a large number of time servers and a smaller number of very competent professionals. I believe that was a function of the Soviet system. Line units performance in Afghanistan fighting the same kind of war was pretty much indifferent; it was my impression that the airborne troops were the actual fighting edge. Their technology wasn't all that great, but the real problem lay with the bloated staff structure and the fact that the kids in the line units weren't adequately trained and motivated.

That's the same weakness most draftee armies have. The Russers get around that, somewhat, by picking the best of the draftees for the airborne units, strategic rocket forces, and other positions that call for above-average smarts. That leaves the average for the artillery and tank corps, and the below average for the infantry. That doesn't make for good infantry. Professional armies get around that by being selective - they don't take the below-average in the first place.

I agree that the Russians and Indians are probably the natural American allies in the 21st century, assuming both countries can avoid falling apart for different reasons. I think it's something that'll grow naturally - keep in mind that 10 years ago the Russians and we were still eying each other suspiciously and occasionally still showing our fangs. And the Indos were busy being "neutrals" while implementing some gawd-awful version of socialism, and didn't really like us at all.

Posted by Fred 2002-08-19 20:54:09|| 2002-08-19 20:54:09|| Front Page Top

17:31 Flamebait93268
17:27 Frank G
17:19 Shipman
09:30 Fred
04:32 Anonymous
21:23 Frank Martin
20:54 Fred
19:30 JP5
18:26 Allah the Dog Faced God
18:21 Allah the Dog Faced God
17:23 Just John
16:11 Patrick Phillips
12:24 Steve White