camo_kazamir_ODON

"...The soldiers of division carried out special tasks in the regions of international conflicts in highland Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Fergana, Leninakan, North Osetia and Ingushetii. Today the soldiers of division accomplish official- combat tasks in the course of counter-terrorist operations in the territory of the Chechen republic. Soldiers and officers of internal troops always occur, where be required their courage, durability, high combat training.

During February 1994 the connection is renamed into individual of the Order of Lenins and of October Revolution, red banner division of the operational designation (ODON) of the internal troop of Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia."

I wanted to do an impression of these special operators for some time. This page marks the first of it's kind with an almost "illustrative story" approach. Along with my comrade Kazamir, we got some good photos and what I will consider a test of this type of impression page. As it got closer to skirmish time, we ran short on the minutes and had to hurry along so I didn't get as many posed shots as I'd hoped for. Still, I got an adequate number of photos to post. Hope you enjoy them.

They keep low and move slowly. Quick movement might compromise them - especially on a daytime mission. 2 pics at far right show the correct way to stop and communicate. Each man covers the others back. Talking is kept low and to a minimum.

This is, without question, an excellent loadout. The berezka pattern is completely under-rated and there were several times throughout the day when I lost sight of Kazamir completely. The M23 pioneer chest rig does a great job of carrying all the nice little extras along with plenty of mags and such.

A simple snap-closure pouch is added as a dump pouch works great for tossing in spent mags. The beat up appearance of the AK is very nice. The PBS-1 suppressor is scratchbuilt by Kazamir.

I especially like the VDV landing force pants. The color is fantastic and the pants sport pads already located in the knees. This whole set is perfect for almost any environment and can be used for almost any season and terrain.

The telnyashka (striped shirt) is a really nice touch as is the OD bandana. Great job!

A good deal of Kazamir's camo and gear can be purchased from Red Soldier.

Needless to say, on a real mission, patches would most likely not be present. We added them to our uniforms based on the photos veiwed from various sources on the net and from books. I am quite sure that these would be left off the uniform - especially during a daytime manuever.

I chose the Rex Designs M7 BDU in Kamysh (tiger) and a V-95 vest in flora. Unlike my other V-95 vests, this one has an integrated belt at the waist: A very nice feature. This vest is really excellent. You would think I'd favor the more modern and heavy nylon type vests but for some reason, I seem to gravitate towards this style.

As you can see from the photo, all back pouches were tasked with carrying water. I carried my square US type hard shell canteen in the middle and 2 store-bought water bottles (Poland Spring, I think) in both the right and left. It was very hot and the extra water was welcomed.

Yes, I painted the bolt on my AK-74. Yay for me!

The approach on the target is a slow and cautious one. At a distance, the 2 operators get what they came for: confirmation of enemy presence and containers of unknown origin and substance. Somehow the 2 guards are alerted and focus their attention at what may have been a compromise.

While the senior man gets his photos as per orders, his partner leaves a little something special for the 2 guards. Should they choose to pursue, they may stumble upon this old US style fragmentation grenade.

Not within the spectrum of the mission orders but certainly an effective way to buy some time.

I would like to thank Mr. Dmitry Hubert from Russianarms.info who's support of wargear has been fantastic. His permission was given for the use of these photos from his site and he is always very helpful when I need details regarding Russian militaria. His photos serve as constant inspiration for my impressions and keep me excited about Russian gear in general.