Soviet Intelligence: Inside the Aquarium

by Victor Suvorov

THE SPETSNAZ SOLDIER

The spetsnaz soldier is the elite of the soviet reconnaissance forces. Sort of the green beret equivalent.

Starting from the ground up here is the typical equipment of the spetsnaz soldier.

The most important item of the soldier is his footwear, apart from his parachute of course. The foorwear are J-B'S (jump boots), a form of footwear that is neither boot nor shoe but a hybrid combo of both. The boots are made of thick soft ox-hide and weigh a good deal less than they appear to on first sight. there are lots of straps and clasps on each boot; two straps around the heel one around the sole and two around the calf. The straps are also very soft. Every boot is the result of thousand of years of experience. Each sole is made up of three layers very similar to the layers used in bullet proof vest. These layers however are to protect the soldiers feet from being punctured by stakes and other less visible but more painful things likely to be found wHere he is not wanted.

Only one type of sock is used with the spetsnaz boots, a very thick sock made of pure wool. The spetsnaz soldier always wears the same type of sock wherever he goes wether it be high mountains, low plains, steaming desert or frozen tundra.

As for the rest of the spetsnaz soldiers clothing, his undergarment is made of a thick linen. Over the thin undergarment he wears a vest made of a thick string, so that there is always a layer of air about the soldiers body. this is quite important as it allows the soldier to avoid mosquito and other insect bites by keeping the surface of the vest a qUarter inch of him the probiscus will never touch skin. The space also provides excellent ventilation in heat or cold.

Over the string vest he wears trousers and and a tunic of green cotton material. all seams are treble tiched for added strength. The tunic and trousers are soft but hard-wearing. At the elbows, knees and shoulders the material itself is trebled for great strength an extra padding.

On his head the soldier wears a helmet (Duh!). In winter this is made of fur with a silk lining, in summer from cotton. It consists of two parts the helmet proper and the mask. The helmet must not leave his head in any circumstances, even in the course of a parachute jump. It must have no clasps, straps or projections on the outside, because at the time of the jump it is right near the parachute. During operations, or when the weather is particularly bad the soldier can pull down the mask over eyes nose and mouth for safety or extra camo.

The sabotuer also wears an outer garment like an anorak. it is thick, warm, light and waterproof. In this ingeniuos garment one can lay for hours in a thick marsh without getting wet or sleep in the snow without freezing.

The whole of the soldiers equipment is carried in his field back pack. Like all clothes and other equipment it is light gray in color.

Wherever the soldier goes he takes only 810 grams of water with him, apart from that he has a little bottle of water cleansing pills which generate clean but foul tasting water. The soldier carries 2,765 grams of HIGH PROTREIN food. In the course of an operation food may be dropped fro aircraft but when it cannot the soldier must hunt and live off of the land.

Apart from that he carries in his backpack four boxes of waterproof matches, one hundred tablets of dry spirit. Also in his backpack are twenty other tablets (medicinal to kill most common field ailments). There is also one towel, a safety razor, a tube of liquid soap, afish hook and line, and a needle and cotton.

As for weapons there are two choices the full complement of the lightwight issue. Due to limited space I will only describe the heavy issue here (light issue is basically just a pistol and some knives). A kalishnakov automatic AKMS and 300 rounds. Some automatics are equiped with a silencer and flame suppreser. He also carries a p-8 silenced pistol and 32 rounds for smaller needs. Apart from that he carries on his right calf a huge knife for cutting parachute lines, and on the left calf four spare blades. This knife is no ordinary knife it is the type of knife that I, you, me and the local anarchist would kill for. It has a powerful spring in it so that when you remove the catch the blade will shoot as far as twenty-five meters, if it hits a tree the chances of being able to pull it out are nil. he must reload. Also in addition to the above he also has in his pack 6 grenades, plastic explosive, another heavy weapon.

TIDBITS

Sleep

A neAt little trick to fall asleep is to stretch out on your back, relax as best as you possibly can, calm your mind, and close your eyes. Roll your eyes to looking up. This is the natural sleep position, if you practice this soon you will be able to sleep instantly.

Falling

This one i a bit more scary than the above but try it anyway. In order to kill your natural fear of falling rock in a chair and let yourself fall backwards. This (beleive it or not) is less painful than jumping onto your feet as the back is a large area and will absorb the force you will feel almost nothing.

Train Jumping

This is the most dangerous I would never try it, but it is to say the least interesting so I will mention it here. When jumping off a fast moving train one doesnt just jump and roll like some 10 year olds think. You jump backwards (yes backwards) and you do not let your hands touch the ground. As soon as you make ground contact spring forward and runyour ass off or else fall on it and die. Like i said dont try this.

This file was take from INSIDE THE AQUARIUM by Viktor Suvorov