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Combat training ground near Luhansk?


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This is a vid I found via a Ukraine War search, and while it doesn't show any combat, it shows a great many militarily interesting things: a heavily camouflaged CP with CO in it (him in cammies with what I believe to be latest digital camo helmet cover), complete with panoramic photo of area to front, range card, fire sector markers and such, full-on fighting trenches, AFV fighting positions, MTLBs with tall pintles with MGs atop them, trucks towing mortars, a possible T-64, BMP-1s and a 2S1. HD footage of wonderful clarity. Sky is dark gray, and there's a brooding feel, too. As best I can tell, this is two parts making one program. What I find especially notable is how well these AFVs blend with the background, despite monotone paint jobs. Also, other than a little wind noise, when the T-64BV? (has remote controlled rooftop MG actively moving about) tanks are on the move in the second vid, there is no stupid music playing, only engines and environmental sounds, including birds. Likewise with the BMPs. Maybe someone can take advantage of that for sound mods? These tanks are pretty quiet on the move, but neither are they racing about. The BMPs are noisier than the tanks, and their tracks squeak. A further point of interest is that when the CP displaces, right behind the Komandir's MTLB is another one. With a MANPADS guy standing in the open hatch ready to go while the MTLB is on the move!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c35kRXK7pM#t=29

 

 

Regards,

 

John Kettler

Edited by John Kettler
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What I find interesting is the bright green camouflage netting covering the CP trenches. There does not seem to be anything green around the rest of the landscape, that CP area must stick out like a sore thumb. Obviously a training area deep within Russia, although you would think they would use appropriate camouflage.

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Nidan1,

 

In the T-90 doc, you'll see the right color camouflage in use. The green in this Luhansk training ground vid would be great in the spring. Clearly, the CO needs to fire the martial equivalent of his window dresser! Either that, or there's a budget crunch. Could you tell whether that was a Russian officer? He sure had command presence and impressive military bearing.

 

Regards,

 

John Kettler

Edited by John Kettler
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John, my bad, Luhansk is obviously in Ukraine, so those soldiers, equipment and emplacements must belong to Ukrainian National Forces.

I mistakenly said Russia. Still the camo is outrageously out of place.

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John, my bad, Luhansk is obviously in Ukraine, so those soldiers, equipment and emplacements must belong to Ukrainian National Forces.

I mistakenly said Russia. Still the camo is outrageously out of place.

... its a training vid from the separatists

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  • 2 weeks later...

Anyone know if it is true about Top U.S. Commander  Heather Cole under arrest for choosing not to comply with orders to fire nukes at Russia?  Seems like Hagel is using PAL program to stop WWIII technology, he left for her to use soon after he was canned if needed.  Well, she sure needed it.  But, now what? 

 

http://www.navytimes.com/story/military/2015/03/17/navy-tacamo-co-cole-fired-investigation-cultural/24915989/

 

Here are some more patches from Chevron's Russian Special Forces in Ukraine.  More evidence Russian Army in fact is there.  In the video, he is wearing one of these.

The article mentions many cities where they have been spotted (In the Donbass, Uglegorsk among many) also seen in Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia. 

 

Igor Girkin the Defence Minister of DNR is a FSB Colonel, reported by Russian Komsomolskaya Pravda.  See patches they are wearing at this site.    http://lostivan.com/news/FSB_Alfa_zasvetilas_v_Uglegorske.html  

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcW16sCIyck.

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"Anyone know if it is true about Top U.S. Commander  Heather Cole under arrest for choosing not to comply with orders to fire nukes at Russia?"

What on earth are you talking about? She was relieved for a bad command climate. That article said nothing about any sort of Nuclear first strike. She probably just ran a ****ty shop. She isn't the first and won't be the last. Also the (branch) Times newspapers have had shoddy reporting in the past, so grain of salt.

And is there a translation problem, or are you implying those guys were Chevron Oil Corporation Commandos? Because lol.

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LukeFF,

 

I really do wish you'd stop slamming me, both directly and indirectly. It's rude, abusive and cruel. Worse because you keep choosing to attack someone who's not only disabled but also recuperating from a serious injury. Your ongoing pattern of doing this also involves, based on my read, at least, multiple violations of the Forum Rules you agreed to as a condition of being a participant here, the same deal everyone else here made. I think you're grown up enough that you can express an opinion on your own--without having to drag me into it. Please do so. 

 

Do Right,

 

PAL is Permissive Action Link, and it's not a program you load into a computer. The link explains what a PAL is and how it works. As for patches, at 1:07 in the vid I see what used to be the patch for KGB Spetsnaz Alpha, now FSB Spetsnaz Alpha. The patch on the man's left shoulder which, even with my nil Russian, reads ANTITERROR, appears to me to be identical to the one in the upper right at the Lost Ivan link. Here's what I don't know. Is he the real deal, or is he wearing it because he's a member of some sort of separatist Spec Ops unit and/or as some sort of martial fashion statement? Having watched footage of Alpha in action, I'd say he's not the real deal. Those guys carry themselves considerably differently and well, send out a different vibe, for want to a better word. Girkin/Strelkov is a known (cough) retired FSB GRU Colonel. Later, in a since redacted interview posted online, he admitted he was an FSB colonel. 

Alpha in action!

 

Codename Duchess,

 

Is the periodical/site you sort of named some sort of sacred cow that you didn't name it completely? Regarding Captain Heather Cole, the quote I see here refers to "loss of confidence" in her ability to command. Is that the same as a bad command climate, or is that something else? The comments make interesting reading, for some are by people who served under her at other commands. They thought she was a good CO.

 

But directly pertinent to the issue Do Right raised about the purported refusal to launch nuclear weapons is the source of the story is evidently The European Union Times. A bit on that from the Southern Poverty Law Center which, from what I've seen, is extremist in its own way. I strongly suspect the unnamed principal is, in fact, Sorcha Faal aka David Booth. Once in three or four blue moons said "worthy" puts out a story that's actually true. But for all the flak I get here from some, I practically convulse with laughter after encountering one breathless story after another directly sourced to inside the GRU, by implication within the Aquarium. Say what you like about Suvorov/Rezun, but he was in it, and I totally believe what he said about its mania for secrecy. Were there such a source, I'd expect a very short productive period before there was no source, other than smoke from the on-site crematorium! Other commenters talk about the apparent explosion of command removals under Obama. 300 according to one. Nor does the section Relieved of Command make cheery reading. The depth and breadth of commands affected, to me, speaks to organizations under acute stress, with the Navy the hardest hit because it's the Navy as a service which is carrying, and has been carrying, the biggest load for the longest time, and it just keeps getting worse. I have no handle on what Obama's doing and why, other than that he has no respect for the military, can't be bothered to understand it, yet has no compunctions about  demanding ever more from it, regardless of the costs. Moving on.

General question

 

Can anyone say, one way of the other, whether the CO in the Luhansk training ground video is a Russian officer? Whoever he is, he sure has a ramrod straight spine, feet apart bestriding his domain, total confidence and positively radiates authority. He comes across as being used to command and relishes it. Also, I thought I heard the term "komandir brigada," which I took to mean Brigade Commander. If so, I would think, given the way I understand the separatists are organized, he'd be a very big deal indeed.

 

Regards,

 

John Kettler 

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I really do wish you'd stop slamming me, both directly and indirectly. It's rude, abusive and cruel. Worse because you keep choosing to attack someone who's not only disabled but also recuperating from a serious injury. Your ongoing pattern of doing this also involves, based on my read, at least, multiple violations of the Forum Rules you agreed to as a condition of being a participant here, the same deal everyone else here made. I think you're grown up enough that you can express an opinion on your own--without having to drag me into it. Please do so. 

 

When you stop jumping right to the nuclear weapons theory with all of your stories you've invented over the years, I'll stop bringing up your name. 

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When you stop jumping right to the nuclear weapons theory with all of your stories you've invented over the years, I'll stop bringing up your name. 

 

Actually, it was DoRight who mentioned nukes - you even quoted him.

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I was referring to the Army Times / Navy Times / Marine Corps Times / Air Force Times. (Branch) is easier. All are owned by the same company and not affiliated with the DoD. They're sold on base though. In the past they've had some pretty poor reporting jobs.

I remember reading somewhere that like 20 Navy COs per year have been relieved in the past few years (including the Blue Angels CO). The Navy has been very public about them in order to appear accountable, but a recent Navy survey found that it has actually been severely detrimental to morale in all parts of the fleet as no one wants to aspire to command anymore. The problem stems from the politicians running the Navy being far more focused on the politics of the branch rather than operational side.

Edited by Codename Duchess
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When you stop jumping right to the nuclear weapons theory with all of your stories you've invented over the years, I'll stop bringing up your name. 

The forum has rules.  Please familiarise yourself with them.  The abusive personalities section might interest you most:

 

7. Baiter - someone who purposefully goads another Member into a violation. People who make a habit of trying to needle someone into doing something they ordinarily wouldn't do are a detriment to the sense of community and therefore will be held accountable for their actions. That being said, Members are still responsible for how they respond to a Baiter, therefore it is possible that both parties will find themselves banned (though perhaps for different durations).

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LukeFF,

 

What an adroit sidestep to avoid responsibility for any of your actions, never mind the pointedly malevolent ones! Was that how you operated in the military? If not, why are you doing so here? You are in such a hurry to jump on me you go charging in without bothering to check whether I even said the latest thing you're on about. Additionally, were you to go do actual research, you'd see there  is burgeoning evidence, in places like the Daily Mail, which support my case and badly hurt yours. Presuming you bother to read, and your ongoing outrageous behavior toward me indicates this to be the case, you would know, for I've said it many times, there is a range of topics Steve has asked me not to bring up. I haven't. Which is precisely why you and Wicky delight in tormenting me and cudgeling me with them. Unlike you two, I can't afford to flout the Forum Rules with a campaign of harassment, intimidation, put downs, libel and character assassination, not to mention outright lies. You know there are zero consequences if you do, but if I slip once, I'll have two warnings, quite possibly a suspension. If I may make use of a particularly telling Russian word, your joint and several behavior is nekulturny.

 

Codename Duchess,

 

It's pretty bad when people who normally are driven to achieve to the heights are so profoundly disgusted with the status quo they don't want to because of pols and bureaucracy run amok. I recall reading something many years ago that something like this was happening in medicine and that those WASP types who would've gone to med school instead were opting for other careers. 

 

Razgovory,

 

Fortunately, I was done with my smoothie when I read your remark. Otherwise, I might've ruined my computer!

4TheFront,

 

Welcome aboard!

 

Regret to inform you that wasn't a joke. It was condemnation of and insult to Do Right via association with me. Additionally, it was a not so veiled warning. 

 

Regards,

 

John Kettler

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There has been a purge of military leadership based on political support for obama. I do not know if that is what she ran afoul of, or if there was a real problem. Morale is terrible, across the services, because of "national leadership" issues.

 

That plummeting morale has led to some deficits in command. Shortcuts, etc. Some of the firings are well-deserved. Others are just part of a political shaping of the US military which is unprecedented.

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None of the firings I've seen, apart from McChrystal, have been necessarily politically motivated. Its been everything from cheating scandals, sexual misconduct, or just a "poor command climate." I'm not opposed to firing bad leaders, but the publicity within the Navy has definitely hurt us as a whole. Fortunately apart from the Blue Angels CO (for pretty ****ty reasons too), the Aviation community has gotten away clean.

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There has been a purge of military leadership based on political support for obama. I do not know if that is what she ran afoul of, or if there was a real problem. Morale is terrible, across the services, because of "national leadership" issues.

 

That plummeting morale has led to some deficits in command. Shortcuts, etc. Some of the firings are well-deserved. Others are just part of a political shaping of the US military which is unprecedented.

 

Literally nothing in this post is true. I think the one firing that was politically related was McChrystal... but that was for blatant disrespect. We're not the sort of military where you can say the president is a ****ing idiot publicly and get away with it. President Bush had Admiral Fallon fired for less than that.

Edited by Apocal
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Anyone know if it is true about Top U.S. Commander  Heather Cole under arrest for choosing not to comply with orders to fire nukes at Russia?  Seems like Hagel is using PAL program to stop WWIII technology, he left for her to use soon after he was canned if needed.  Well, she sure needed it.  But, now what? 

 

 

 

It was all a misunderstanding. When Obama picked up the phone and ordered an abominable war-crime, his aides assumed he meant nuclear strike. Of course, he really meant to order a Dominos "pizza".

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... you and Wicky ...

 

FFS the pompous JK soap opera rolls on

 

Care to explain why you've invoked my name when I haven't even posted in this thread? and then procedeed to insult me in a derogatory way using Russian slang - especially as my family were made refugees due to Russian invasion.

 

Funny as to what you accuse me of you've received your infractions for committing them already yourself.

 

Do you fully comprehend and appreciate why you've recieved your infractions from Steve et al, if so why do you baulk and rail against them?

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Wicky,

 

You've been all over me of late, to include your deliberate baiting of me, despite numerous direct requests from me that you stop doing so, in a thread I started specifically to appease others who were complaining that I'd made too many posts. You knew full well when you did it that I wasn't allowed to so much as mention the things you brought up. Additionally it's readily demonstrable that you've been on me for years. I called you no name whatsoever. Rather, I addressed the behavior of both you and LukeFF. It's very ironic that you savage me over and over again with no thought whatsoever for me, my feelings, or even the effects your savage campaign has had on me and my creaky and fragile health. I'm not supposed to be stressed, you know this, yet you deliberately do things which cause me great stress. If you ever said something about your family and sensitivities related thereto, I must've missed it. That you should complain about being insulted after what you've been doing to me for a very long time is rich beyond words. Lying about me is okay with you. Slandering me is okay with you. Deliberately mischaracterizing me is okay with you. Conducting character assassination of me is okay with you. This set of observations must be true, because you've done, and continue to do, all those things and more. I've done everything but stand on my head to get you to behave appropriately toward me, but you won't do it. You might back off briefly, but that's all. Yet you're demonstrably capable of being socially appropriate with other Forumites. But you insist on coming at me like a rabid dog.

 

Now, let me set you straight. Steve never gave me an infraction. I got one from Moon over a year ago because you, in your typical perverse style, went over to a place I must not name, came back, made some outrageous set of accusations based on that, and I, placed once again in a situation in which I was under yet another vile attack from you, sought to defend myself by showing what was really said by me and got so worked up I inadvisedly posted a link to a certain place. That got me the Moon rocket, so to speak, because of the rule prohibiting commercial links. I worked my way eventually out of that. Steve has asked me in the past not to start posts on certain hot topics after you et al. went nuclear time and again in response to them. Nor have you ever let me off the hook for several technical mistakes I made regarding V-2 installations, mistakes I've several times publicly admitted. It has served you well in your endless efforts to discredit and humiliate me. You even went so far as to wreck a 2012 CMA thread in which several of us had a great discussion going on Russian lasers, one in which there was a serious military-technical discussion being conducted. Since any topic along the lines you know quite well automatically led to enormous Forum upheaval from you et al.,, Steve, in my estimation, decided to avoid future board explosions by not having certain things discussed. That's his prerogative. As the old SEAL Team Six saying goes "Thou hast not to like it, thou just hath to do it." Which is what I've been doing ever since.

 

Thus, I am in full compliance with the Forum Rules, and I rigorously honor Steve's request. Additionally, and with no rule existing requiring me to do so, I'm not allowed to so much as mention a certain endeavor of mine quite well known to you.  That's from ChrisND, I deem it unfair, but there's nothing I can do about it. So now, I'm under the Forum Rules plus two other strictures. I got the warning because, and again not from any rule violation, I dared to state that information of a category I'm not allowed to state anymore (unless, per Steve's statement, I publicly provide my sources) confirmed a certain widely viewed YT vid. Again, I violated no  Forum Rules and was shocked to get a Warning out of the blue. Thus, you go around breaking Forum Rules like twigs, go way out of your way to conduct a broad array of prohibited direct and indirect ad hominem attacks against me, make my life, both on the Forums and at home, very stressful and unpleasant. Because of you and your (insert strong pejorative here) ilk, I'm now forced to operate as though I'm walking in pitch black, on thin ice. Heavily mined thin ice. Practically afraid to sneeze. Unless and until someone at BFC starts subjecting you and certain others to the same standards which have practically stifled me for some time now, you get to operate without a care in the world while I, despite disabilities, a brain injury from which I'm recuperating, and a bunch of other things, have to always exercise profound care what I over say and how I say it. Else, I'll be gone, not you and your brethren. Which, I have to say, very much appears to be your real objective in assailing me the way you do

 

Frankly, Wicky, for you to come at me as an injured, aggrieved innocent party is like the boy who murdered everyone in his family and when arrested, brought to trial and convicted, threw himself on the mercy of the Court. Why? On the grounds he was now an orphan! You have led a very charmed life on the Forums, and by any reasonable review of the vast evidence of your ongoing malefactions, ought long ago, in my considered view, to have been banished for good. Why you're still here is a great mystery to me.

 

Regards,

 

John Kettler 

Edited by John Kettler
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