Will there be a Special Operations Command in Russia?
More recently, the American media have posted on their resources information about the plans of the US Administration to significantly increase the number of secret special operations abroad. Based on the analysis of this information, it follows that the CIA and the Pentagon are charged with preparing and sending hundreds of new employees abroad.
These plans could not go unnoticed by the Russian Ministry of Defense. In the depths of the defense department they started talking about the urgent formation of the Russian Special Operations Command (CSR).
It must be said that military experts in 2008 year justified the need for the creation of a single center for the management of Russian special forces. They also began to develop a concrete plan and submitted it to the former defense minister A. Serdyukov, who rejected all proposals on this issue. A group of officers from the General Staff, together with colleagues from the GRU, turned to the new Minister of Defense, S. Shoigu, with a project to create CSR.
The GRU, like other power structures of the Russian Federation (the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB), could not safely survive the hardest perestroika period and the chaos of the nineties. And although structural changes in the GRU were minimal, the reform that was carried out caused significant damage to the force component of the intelligence directorate - the GRU special forces. When reforming, combat-capable special forces brigades were reduced, and the remaining units were subordinated to the command of military districts. The officers, who considered it their duty to protect the most effective world intelligence from destruction, to the special forces of which even opponents were treated with due respect, could not accept this situation.
Most of the military believe that now there is a chance not only to return everything to its place, but also to raise the level of control system of military special operations.
Experts are confident that the withdrawal of special forces units from the GRU was a fatal mistake and caused damage to the country's strategic intelligence unit. The ill-conceived transformation of one of the most important power units of the state led to the fact that the structure engaged in sabotage work on the territory of the enemy was practically eliminated. The main part of this formation was the brigade of special forces, which were intended to act in the rear of the enemy, regardless of the geographical position of its territory. Now that a potential theater of military operations may be at a rather large distance from the borders of Russia (Africa, Asia), it is necessary to have a structure that could operate effectively in remote areas. Therefore, right now, according to experts, the time has come to create the command of special operations forces.
The developers of the project to create a single command of special units believe that the new structure will significantly improve the coordination of interaction between the various special forces groups. As shown by the combat experience of the Caucasian counter-terrorist operation, in which special units of the FSB, the GRU, the Ministry of Internal Affairs took part, even with high professionalism, these units were not always able to effectively carry out their tasks due to inconsistent actions.
The USA has a similar negative experience of uncoordinated actions. For example, the operation to free hostages who were in the building of the US Embassy in Tehran (1980 year) is considered a failure of the American special services. Special forces units of various types of troops took part in the liberation: Air Force, Navy and Marines. As a result of the raid, eight servicemen were killed, secret documentation, losses in equipment were lost: several helicopters and a plane. During the investigation of this unsuccessful operation, the experts came to the conclusion that the main cause of the catastrophe was the lack of a single center that manages the actions of various special forces. We must pay tribute to the Americans quickly eliminated the source of failure. In 1987, Ronald Reagan, while in office as the US president, supported the decision to establish a US special operations command. Now this structure controls the activities of the special forces of the Navy, Air Force, as well as the marines and "green berets."
The fact that the time has come to create a single coordinating center for special operations is also evidenced by other international experience. For example, the decision taken by the German leadership regarding its elite unit.
The German Special Purpose Combat Group (KSK) is designed to perform special operations outside of Germany. It is faced with the tasks of conducting reconnaissance on the territory of the enemy, for example: establishing the actual location and approaches to particularly important objects, dislocating the enemy’s combat units.
The German Bundeswehr, following its American counterparts in 2001, formed a division of special operations (DSO) in the process of reorganization. It consists of all mobile units and rapid-response units, as well as the KSK special forces combat group.
In order to ensure the security of the Russian state, as well as to fulfill the most complex combat tasks, it is vital for the country to have mobile special purpose combat groups. Special Forces must be ready for action in any region of the world, have the necessary equipment and weapons, and most importantly, be equipped with the most up-to-date communication tools to manage any operation in real time.
The spetsnaz GRU has a huge and unique experience in conducting operations abroad. In the proposed management project for the formation of a unified control center for special operations, it is proposed to introduce, in addition to the special forces brigade, a special unit “Senezh”, a squadron of helicopters and a squadron of IL-76 transport aircraft. It is also planned to introduce the 45 th reconnaissance regiment of the Airborne Forces into the new structure.
While this is a project. It is possible that in the process of implementing the plan, decisions will be made to expand the composition at the expense of the special forces of the Navy, marines and other combat units of the Russian army. It remains to hope that the decision on the formation of Russian CSR will be made in the near future.
Materials used:
http://rus.ruvr.ru/2012_12_03/Rossijskij-specnaz-vernut-na-operativnij-prostor/
http://kanchukov-sa.livejournal.com/372015.html
http://www.peacekeeper.ru/ru/?module=news&action=view&id=16564
http://www.allrussia.ru/country/121127160003.html
Information