flamming_python Thu Jul 09, 2015 2:36 pm
VladimirSahin wrote: flamming_python wrote: VladimirSahin wrote:Cool stuff, Yeah usually conscripts do not get promoted too high. In the VDV I was in a air assault division then I transferred to recon then back to assault. Looking forward to more chats with you even though we've been acquainted for a while now
Sure, anytime - I think we served in the same period no? 2010-2011?
Did you sign a contract? Hard to believe that they would bother transferring a 1-year conscript twice - but then the whole military was messed up at that time and chaos reigned supreme; in fact my base didn't actually receive any money whatsoever from the MoD during this period because there was confusion about whether we were actually subordinated to Northern Fleet Naval HQ in Severomorsk, or directly to Moscow. Needless to say, with no money - our unit was full of improvisation
I signed a 4 year contract 2008-2012, I was moved around alot, During 2008-2010 I was in Tula, Then sometime just before 2011 I was transferred to Pskov. After the Georgian war and I finished training, I was sent to South Ossetia for a 2 month period as a "MC"(peacekeeper), I basically was deployed to a checkpoint and did some patrols, I got to meet with some Georgian soldiers, And some foreign observers. And yeah I know what you conscripts go through
service is full of improvisation. But that aside, You probably got to see some cool ships, Did you get to participate in a military drill?
I got to board a hospital ship for a flourograph (X-Ray).
I was in Severomorsk (Northern Fleet HQ) and Murmansk a number of times; I got to a lot of ships such as I think the Pyotr Velikyj was there was right among the quays, perhaps the Leonov too, definately did see the Kuznetsov 2-3 kms out in the bay; it looked positively huge even from that distance.
Another time was when we visited Severomorsk for the Navy Day celebrations in late July - we were treated to an exercise involving Marines and Landing Ships, together with a couple frigates providing firing support from their large-calibre autocannons - it was difficult to figure out what was going on really. But definately; saw the BDKs, the BTR-80s swimming away from their clamshell doors and so on.
We had some drills of our own; mostly it was anti-terror alarms/drills; they were conducted almost every night but rarely did we do anything other than have to drop what we were doing, grab our chemical gear and run to the HQ all in under 3 minutes; whereupon we'd practise getting our chemical suits on, or just get asked to take some files back to the barracks. On occasion we had to do something more involved/tactical.
A couple times those anti-terror alerts were actually real, because of a terrorist attack in another part of the country - we were put on alert too for a short while.
There was also a 3-day exercise which was organized for the entire base; whereby we were mostly patrolling around, standing guard and conducting anti-terror drills for 2 days; sleeping very little and only with our rifles; nearly got busted smoking weed when I was suddenly called up by an anti-terror alarm - pretty close call. Then we got to take part in a few assaults on radio transmission sites and so on.
But 95% of service wasn't the cool tactical stuff; it was just shovelling snow, sweeping the grounds, standing on duty in barracks, catching some sleep in the generator room, kitchen duty, cleaning potatoes, collecting berries and mushrooms in the forest, exercise, football, pushups and so on.