War elephants

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The story of the employees of the "Alpha" group about their business trips to Afghanistan. This is a story about the resilience and endurance of a Russian soldier in difficult conditions. War is hard work, but in spite of everything, the Russian warrior was able to survive, adapt and win.

From the story of Igor Orekhov: “We had no illusions about what awaited us on this business trip. We were far from being recruits. The employees who had visited Afghanistan before us shared their experience. They taught everything, from tactical examples to how to properly sew the "unloading" for automatic magazines.

As usual, I said something calming to my wife Natalya, something like “don’t worry, we are going to mountain training”. But, as a "Chekist" wife, she guessed everything. I remember the first time I tried to calm her down after returning from Tbilisi. Said he was at the Field Training Center. During the assault on the plane, he received burns and cuts: "Don't worry, it was in the Center that he accidentally ran into barbed wire." And my wife had a friend whose husband worked in the award department. And when the documents for my awarding came, everything became known. Every time, going on such a business trip, I came up with another legend. Moreover, we were forbidden to write from Afghanistan - as well as to be photographed.

The group was based in the Kerkin detachment. It was to act together with the airborne assault group of this detachment, as well as with the Mardian and Shiberdan motor-maneuverable groups. Our predecessors have proven themselves to be excellent. The border guards knew who we were, what we were capable of. Nevertheless, before entering Afghan territory, they conducted shooting training for us. The Kerkinsky detachment had an excellent shooting range with a length of several kilometers. We had to run a lot, but we were perfectly prepared. I remember that the border guards were surprised that we performed all the training exercises in body armor and helmets. For endurance, they called us "war elephants."

In addition to the usual tasks, the group was to participate in the so-called KGB operations. During one of them, for the first time, I had the opportunity to take part in a combined-arms night battle. This happened in the area of the village of Barmaziet, where a gang was blocked. In addition to border guards and us, army units participated in the operation. The bandits were surrounded by a dense ring, but nevertheless continued to resist. Every now and then they probed our defenses, looking for joints, trying to break through.

The weather was disgusting: winter, cold, wind and sand. Somewhere the "signal" was triggered and a firefight immediately began. Flashes flashed in the darkness, tracers flashed by. As a military man, I will say: I have not seen anything more beautiful than a night battle. At first, of course, there was a feeling of increased danger, it was difficult to navigate, although there were comrades in arms, border guards nearby. But, of course, we, the "alphas", did not sit with our eyes wide open with horror - we acted as it should be.

Most of the tasks were related to the control of roads and gas pipelines, which the spirits tried to undermine every now and then. In this case, the group usually acted autonomously, in isolation from the main forces. Usually fifteen Alpha fighters and the same number of border guards on three armored personnel carriers moved to a given area. Sometimes, the reconnaissance and combat groups included the Afghan military - the Tsarandoi or the Khadians, who acted as guides and translators.

Outwardly, we were no different from the border guards, except for German-made helmets. No one should have even suspected we were here. They took with them up to 50 kilograms of equipment: ammunition, water, food, even felt boots, for the nights in Afghanistan are very cold. This is especially noticeable when you had to act on foot. Then the fighters of the country's most elite special forces were no different from their mother infantry. There was no particular hope for the equipment - the old armored personnel carriers were completely broken and could fail at any moment.

During the search for a caravan with weapons, we had to move frequently, making it impossible to track our location. It was like playing cat and mouse, but stealth was the key to success. During the day, the group was in ambush, and at night was looking for a suitable shelter. Usually it was a dilapidated barn, of which there were quite a few. In the shelter, the defense was engaged: armored personnel carriers were displayed with an "asterisk", and a mortar was placed in the center. The whole night shift was on duty: observers with NSPU (night sights), on the armor, the rest - at the loopholes. We were able to sleep no more than two hours per night.

War is hard work. Here many trials fall not only for the soul, but also for the body. We had a chance to go through a true school of survival in Afghanistan. I had to be in the most difficult conditions: heat, cold, all-pervading dust and dirt, lack of food and water. I remember how, when blocking one village, the spirits cut off our water. The gang settled in the village. Our units surrounded it with a ring. Water flowed through a single irrigation ditch from the village, and then they blocked it. I had to be content with the remaining puddles. We got a puddle in the place where we washed. From there they took water and boiled it thoroughly. But tea made with this water still had the taste of Arbat toothpaste.

I was always amazed at the steadfastness and endurance of a Russian soldier in these unthinkable conditions. Despite everything, he was able to survive, adapt and win. Once, at one of the posts, the border guards treated us to pies cooked on a fire from canned jam. How much useful and necessary we, representatives of one of the most elite units in the world, have taken over from ordinary soldiers, workers of war! This even applied to everyday little things. Later I had to meet with representatives of foreign armies and special services. So, they cannot compare with our soldiers!

I have no regrets that I went through Afghanistan. Our group received invaluable experience, which was useful to us in the future. Sukhumi, Baku, Yerevan, Vilnius, etc. were waiting for "Alpha" ahead."

Fragment of the book by A. Filatov "Baptized by Heaven"