Learn the art of reincarnation and the language of your enemy
In both Afghanistan and Chechnya, in their raids on the rear of the special forces, soldiers sometimes suddenly faced the enemy face to face. In such cases, it is not very clear how to behave. To open fire at close range and to defeat - you will die yourself (the enemy will not wait for the code, you will shoot him, as in a dash). And what's the use of you, the dead, even if you collapse some kind of authoritative "spirit"? Just peacefully disperse - the righteous wrath of the authorities will fall upon your head: chickened out, scoundrel, did not kill the enemy, disgraced the epaulets! The authorities in their cozy offices always know better how to behave in such situations. Some very intelligent and promising specialists after a “peaceful expenditure” career collapsed to the level of the curb. Question: what to do?
First, you have to be prepared for this. What if you still see the enemy half a second earlier? Then you immediately have a magical chance. The second. Play "under your own." Let the opponent know that you are the same as he, you are one of them. How? All those who hunt in the woods, fields and deserts for their own kind, after a week of traveling really become similar to each other: dirty, ragged, with weekly stubble on the face. Often only one thing can expose you - your tongue. Therefore, learn the language of the enemy! For a while in an emergency you can pass for yours. This is enough for you to save your life and either evaporate or take the life of the enemy. At a minimum, study key phrases that are adequate to the moment (which specifically - non-public information). Learning them is easy. These saving phrases are literally five or six. But, on time and correctly said (accent, pronunciation here also play a key role), they will give you life. The enemy literally for a couple of seconds will doubt and ease the pressure of the finger on the trigger. That will be enough for you.
A living example from the Chechen war. The Basayev column before the assault on Budyonnovsk went through several dozen police posts without hindrance. Like a knife in butter. Satan’s plan (as Basayev called the Russian press) was brilliant. The column depicted Russian contract soldiers who were returning to their unit and carrying the bodies of their dead colleagues in the “coffins” (in fact, there were weapon and ammunition). The driver of one of the cars was a Russian prisoner. As for the Chechens, Satan picked up similar ones to the Russians (among the mountaineers such people are found, and often). It was possible to distinguish them only by accent, posture and behavior. All posts were bought on the folding legend and the look of terrorists.
But the police from Budyonnovsk "struck" terrorists. Everything was explained simply. In the regional center there was the largest market in the district, where Chechens were frequent guests. The Budennovsk militiamen studied their habits and anthropology features well and perfectly identified guests from the mountains visually. One of the policemen even knew a little Chechen language.
“Nohcha woo?” He asked one of the suspicious “contract soldiers”. He hesitated literally for a second. “I do not understand what you are carrying there!” He snapped. But the sergeant had already calculated it. And I realized that something was amiss here, and very much so. He detailed his suspicions to the authorities on the radio. The tragedy of the situation was that the leadership of the ROVD did not take the signal from the highway seriously enough. And ordered to just turn the column to the office - to clarify the situation. And paid a terrible price for it. That sergeant died - in a battle near the ROVD, the Chechens killed him first. But at the cost of his life, he broke plans for the bandits - their real purpose was the airport in Minvody. It is terrible to even imagine what they could have done there! And if the head of the ROVD reacted adequately and reported a suspicious convoy to the local FSB, and they, in turn, would also assess the whole danger of the situation, the picture would be different. By the way, formally the police chief had to do so. As he did in fact, we will never know.
Sad summary. If ALL of the sergeant who responded to the Chechen language had responded adequately, Satan, with all his fraternity, could be "locked up" in an open field, surrounded by troops and armored vehicles. There and leave. History, unfortunately, does not know the subjunctive mood. But can teach something.
The first to appreciate the benefits of language skills were the Vympel officers. And they included key, in their opinion, languages in the curriculum. In Chechnya, GRU special forces quickly arrived at the same thought. They have not been without a tragic mistake on this basis. One of the officers, a former “Afghan”, knew Afghan Dari and Farsi quite well. Seeing among ethnic Afghan militants in Chechnya, he decided not to bother to learn key phrases in Chechen and during the next raid he was legendary as a mercenary from Afghanistan. He looked like he was in the water: during one of the raids in the rear, his group face to face, under Argun, the Khattab militants. The officer immediately went to the contact, talking in Afghan. But neither his language, nor his appearance (he was in the Afghan cape) did not mislead the bandits. It ended not very cool. The major did not take into account that the Afghan mercenaries always went with local translators and were the first to never get in touch. Still, it was necessary to learn the language of the enemy, and not rely on the knowledge of the enemy of yesterday.
Little of. Even in Afghanistan, it was necessary to know the language of the very people on whose land you are fighting. If you speak Uzbek with a stranger who, unfortunately, turns out to be a Tajik, Hazara or Pashtun, a bullet sent to your head can become a logical continuation of such a conversation.
"Sochi English"
Unfortunately, practice and personal experience have shown that the study of a foreign language for our professional intelligence officers and saboteurs is a pleasure “with a sickle in a delicate place, and with a sweep and with a delay”. "I have no inclination to learn the Chechen language," every fighter, who knew how to "shoot like a cowboy and run like his horse." It was easier for them to run a march on 10 kilometers, than to learn ten key words in Chechen. Then I gave up on this matter. And in vain.
After 15 years, before the Olympics in Sochi, I realized how wrong I was then. At one of the meetings in the local police department, the deputy chief for work with personnel showed me a master class in convincing subordinates (then we tried to teach them key “tourist” phrases of the English language). “I have no inclination to learn English”, - we were gloomily taldychil like the special forces soldiers, workers of the Sochi faculty, many of whom, by the way, passed Chechnya at one time. “Do you have a tendency to receive a salary?” - Colonel asked meekly and cunningly. - And to receive the award? So, I can deprive you of this inclination ... You understand me? "
It immediately turned out that the personnel entrusted to him was a complete “understand”. All as one began to cram English. Some - with the help of wives and children. Others began to hire tutors. A couple of weeks each of the students passed the language test. Lost almost everything. And after the Olympics, they unanimously claimed how English helped them then. After that, one of them really went to Interpol.
See the enemy - do not be afraid
After the battle near the village of Ulus-Kurt, the paratroopers found a memo in English on the body of a dead Arab militant. The staff translators quickly translated it into Russian. There were such lines:
“When you see the enemy, do not be afraid of him.
Because it is not a fact that he sees you.
If he sees you - not the fact that he is armed.
If he is armed, not the fact that his machine is charged.
If it is charged - not the fact that he will have time to shoot.
If he shoots, it’s not a fact that he hits you.
If you fall - not the fact that he hurt you.
If it hurts, it's not a fact that it will kill. Wounding can be easy.
So go ahead and do not be afraid. "
Personally, I admired this memo. I invited the officers to make this text a “chest reminder” for all the personnel fighting in Chechnya. Multistar officers did not hear me. Eternally busy, for some reason they were the last to think about the moral and psychological state of the fighters. I was heard only by the commander of the marines brigade. I used to like the bitterness with which the sailors fought in Chechnya. They fully justified their proud title of the “black death”. The Marinesman commander himself explained this with the specifics of the conduct of the war with the “black berets”: “You are attacking the enemy from the ship. Under your feet and behind your back is the sea (or ocean). Waves - your grave. You can go, swim, run only forward. The faster, the more likely to get away from the water depth. If you are destined to die, it is better from the bullet of the enemy than to become fish food. On the shore waiting for you another sea - a sea of fire. If you want to survive and win - go with the enemy defenses. Your determination and your attack must be terrible. Throw the enemy without stopping. " Very good internal installation - I recommend to adopt, the marines will not be offended.
And they won. Or die. Chechens called them "polundra". During the two Chechen campaigns, not a single “half-ground” fighter surrendered to the militants (although they locked up in buildings and offered them to surrender militants quite often). The best trophy for the bandits was considered an automaton with a small pasted shark on the butt.
At night, along with the political officer in the dim light of the lantern on duty, several hundred such notes were written by hand for personnel. And in the morning they distributed to the sailors. The commander made every warrior read it several times. Some of the fighters (who had a bad memory) took the credit for knowing this memo personally.
I still quite sincerely consider this memo to be one of the best examples of ideological creativity in the war.
... When you find yourself in your war, do yourself the same. Write by hand and wear on your chest. And periodically re-read. Especially before the raid or before the fight. Or just remember - like a prayer.
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