I was a Russian Special Forces Soldier for 5 years - (Reddit Ask Me Anything)

read it ask me anything I have been a Special Forces soldier for five years my name is Daniel and I was a soldier of the Russian Special Forces from 2014 to 2019 I participated in counter-terrorist operations in the North Caucasus and also was in Syria for nine months in 2017 during my service I was a gunner machine gunner sniper and squad leader ask your questions what made you leave and do you have any regrets I got PTSD and bipolar disorder yes I'm regret I went to Syria the war there is absolutely inhuman I saw too much [ __ ] there what was the worst - of my drunken colleagues moved to armored personnel carriers through a taxi with people they were not punished in any way what is your opinion on Putin I do not like Putin I do not like his politics I have never voted for him and I'm not going to did you get to observe any Special Forces soldiers from any other countries any comments you can make about soldiers from other countries thanks for doing and asked me anything I never interacted with Special Forces of other countries but I know how ordinary American soldiers fight in Syria they are great and they have a good preparation what was Syria like very hot everywhere spiders and snakes problems with water and food constant dysentery everything around is allowed people are poor I think that somehow when you say everything aloud what do you mean by that I interpreted that as it's truly lawless what was difficult and an easy decision you had to make during your service something that you're allowed to tell us I shot a teenager with a rifle who shot at our convoy he was about 14 years old and I shot him with a sniper rifle the simplest thing I did was shoot at people who were definitely involved in executions no regrets my section killed the 15 year old Afghan boy who kept trying to drive by on his Mobe later found out that a local Taliban leader was paying him $20 to go empty his OK at us it's a [ __ ] situation how duct up does a country get where teenagers will take $20 to attempt to kill several heavily armed men which has a 98% chance of ending in his own death ducking a man I mean that happens in the u.s. too with gangs hell they'll make the teenagers do it for free what's the most beautiful place you've seen on the job I saw the old castles of the Crusaders in Syria it was amazing does Russia take care of their veterans do they provide money and health insurance after you retire oh yes I already get 50 dollars every month lol but there are many benefits such as the absence of a tax on a car etc damn that's it yep that's it what do you think was the most dangerous situation you found yourself in did you know it was going to be like that or did it turn bad are there things most people don't think are dangerous about you are wary of I was an armored personnel carrier in the place of the shooter although I should not have been there our convoy was attacked and I shot a cannon in a tower suddenly she jammed and I could see in the sight of a guy with an RPG who then shot at us he hit the tower I got a concussion a shoulder wound multiple shrapnel wounds to my hands and my body armor melted to my shoulder what is the worst thing your superiors made you do during your formation we fired on a ship that was moving towards our base it was simply riddled with all that is possible the crew did not answer on the radio did not respond to signals and warning shots it turned out that it was a ship from another country that brought a load off model in general no one was left alive on this ship and he was not subsequently removed he was stuck on the coastal cliffs and tipped so he stayed there until the end of my deployment what kind of relationship did you have with Americans was it like a love-hate relationship we treated them like soldiers like us ordinary guys who are stuck there too what was the most dangerous counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus region that you participated in we defused one guy in the house who then took a makeshift explosive device there were so many explosives that the house just shattered into pieces fragments of the house flew everywhere but none of us was hurt surprisingly what do you do for fun at the end of my deployment we threw the toilet with hand grenades this damn toilet was on a hill in a good position for shooting so we had to go there in body armor and in helmets I hated this toilet if I'm reading this right you had a toilet that was in a bad place where you could be killed while using the toilet so you blow it up with grenades after you were done with your deployment that's so awesome how Special Forces soldiers trained to perform at their best did you ever see one of your guys do something that amazed you whether it was something athletic mentally surprising at the firing range endurance et Cie what is your opinion on the use of Spetsnaz typically being used as the bad guys in western film and books additionally in Russia by US Special Forces stereotype to be bad guys as well thanks in advance if you answer this hope you're staying safe with everything going around right now well this is all an echo of the Cold War yes in Russian films the bad guys are sometimes Americans there is a film about countering Russian special forces and American special forces amazing ask me anything what was your most grueling physical exercise for training or Special Forces selection running in full uniform with a rifle and full ammunition in body armor and a helmet in the mountains hell I hate running but now I know how to do it very well I am still Spezza Nats row by ducking butchered that word seriously though how amusing to Russians is Dolph London's accent his accent is too crude I would say but yes I know that even just speaking calmly in English it seems to others that I am a gangster who is discussing something criminal approximately how many MRE bags have you shat into how much I ate them you mean no but I take that as none for Americans if we set up observation listening posts with the main mission is not being detected we often had to poop in our MRE bags and carry them back with us ah ha ha ha I understand what you are talking about yes there are different situations we were allowed to put on diapers if you needed to heart never thought about diapers off subject a little bit but looking back how many of your actions were influenced by propaganda do you feel disillusioned with war slash geopolitics now this is something that hit me very hard about five or so years after I got out of course I was subject to propaganda in terms of you are the last hope of the nation son and all this [ __ ] but I really fought terrorism disappointment came already in Syria as for geopolitics I think they all just make money the fight against terrorism is just an excuse what's your favorite military movie Full Metal Jacket being in Syria did you find yourself in tense situations between US forces and Russian forces also what's your opinion on USSF compared to Russian SF I have never personally met with American soldiers my friends met well I saw them at a distance of about 3 kilometers there were no conflicts between us I think that the American special forces are also real professionals I saw a film about the training of SEAL it was cool howdy Russian citizens view Russian soldiers usually good enough all my friends believe that I am a hero not enough strength to dissuade them all my friends believe that I am a hero not enough strength to dissuade them this is an astoundingly poetic statement despite English not being your first language thanks for your answers your name is Daniel and you're part of Russian Special Forces how'd that happen in general my name is rather Donnell Daniel but in English this is such a variation of my name makes sense what made you want to join up two reasons firstly I grew up in a region with high terrorist activity and witness the terrorists attacked when I was 17 so I wanted to fight this secondly I had problems with the law and in the army all this could be hushed up so how come you left last year had you just had enough and wanted to go back to civilian life or was there another reason well I got PTSD and bipolar disorder so one day I wanted to stick my rifle barrel in my mouth and shoot but my mother talked me out of the phone and made an appointment with a psychiatrist after that I realized that I had enough good on you for sticking around what have you been up to since you left well I drank use drugs and drove drunk while driving and I was treated by a psychiatrist and now I am much better I had money left after the army so I could afford such a lifestyle now I am a trader on the stock exchange what do you think of the bombings of hospitals in Syria I think that this is similar to why I was disappointed in the Army when you become a Special Forces soldier do you receive a special training to improve your fast thinking also do Special Forces soldiers are the very best in hand combat no guns yes you are taught to shoot in any stressful situation I don't think we are the best at this but we can fight well thanks a lot for taking the time to share your experiences with us is there anything in particular that you would like to talk about your life as a specop I would like to say only one thing think about whether you want to live such a life can you live with the blood of others on your hands this is not a Call of Duty everything is real here how will the kurono pandemic affect the military I do not think that this will somehow affect the military in the military diseases are not taken so seriously what are the simple things that you enjoy in life like food hobbies a place to be or something simpler thank you for doing this ask me anything one of the most grounded and interesting ones I've seen in a while it's hard for me to enjoy something now I'm still sick I guess I like alcohol at the moment I drink constantly well I also love to drive in my car but now I do not make it drunk wish you get out of that hole I know it is stupid advice but alcohol is not a medicine and it will just break you slowly same with the other painkillers we seek drugs gambling bullying etc a hobby work people with whom you can just talk your [ __ ] out are things which will ground you back lol I am NOT your therapist but just wish you all the good hold on there did you always know and understand the context in the largest scheme of worldwide politics at your individual missions were apart of did you do you always believe as your leaders do how do you reconcile any differences relating to moral objections found after the fact I always understood that there was more than just to fight against terrorism but it turned out that this was not a very important goal the main thing is money and political influence which I realized later in the war I did not feel anything I did not care for the most part awareness of everything that happened came after whenever I hear Special Forces I always think of super serious badass soldiers have you ever had any really funny moments with your squad members one of our guys went out to shoot at targets in full uniform usually we shot everything he looked cool in all this garbage and so he takes the magazine from the rifle drops it tries to pick it up but kicks it with his foot and the magazine flies away if you could take it all back and choose a different path in life would you or would you do it all over again yes I would never join the military if I could return to the past and what career choice do you think you would have made if you hadn't joined the military I don't even know if I would settle down as an office plankton it sounds better to me than the army I have never met them I think that they are the same professionals as any other modern army what's the view of the US military in the Russian s are you guys like duck those guys can't wait to get a shot at them it's always interesting to hear what people in other countries Armed Forces think of each other also I hate to double up on questions but what are your combat medicine guidelines like we always treated them well the same soldiers as we are always carry an analgesic with you Pramod all etc when I was wounded no one had it I received it only a few hours later at the base hi Daniel in the US Army when we train the optho we fight against is depicted as using Soviet Russian equipment weapons and tactics then a lot of our training still has an anti-soviet focus as a relic of the Cold War for example the silhouette targets we shoot at on the rifle range are nicknamed Ivan when Russian forces trained what kind of forces are you basing your enemy on is it primarily US base weapons and doctrine or more of an EU focus or do you train to fight against old Soviet era weapons as well since that's what we face mostly in places like the Middle East yes you're right we also have the main targets of American prototypes the main tanks that are taught to shoot grenade launchers are abrams and bradley hi Daniel thank you for posting this and much respect to you for your service I have a question regarding your equipment particularly as a sniper what was an average days kit like for you I have a bit of a fascination with Russian weaponry you guys make good stuff so definitely curious Thanks my rifle ammunition for it several sites including night-vision a rangefinder a device for measuring wind strength binoculars a first-aid kit a knife an intercom smoke grenades hand grenades a gun full ammunition for it hell I can't remember everything I worked with a spotter he also had a lot of equipment what are your thoughts on the war in Donbass your thoughts on Russian involvement in the conflict I think this is another dirty policy no one needs this war I think that Russia should not have participated in this conflict at all whoa you made it to the end you're ducking Beast I'll cut you a deal smash like and subscribe for more 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Id: mZWkYepfEhY

Length: 15min 27sec (927 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 27 2020