Politics

[Big5]

 

[sgt_zim]

Maybe along with the Liar of the House Pelosi for giving her husband insider information for his stock investments?

from your lips to God's ears.

 

[lwaters]

 

[Tundra Tiger]

After seeing his notes today I can see where we are going about this all wrong. We need someone on the inside to slip him notes THAT MAKE SENSE and say SENSIBLE THINGS. Sure, the chances are he'll somehow still goof it up but at least it allows for the possibility of something decent coming out of his mouth. I mean, he'll not realize what he's saying and the WH is already walking pretty much everything back anyway so.... Just a thought.

 

[CoElkHunter]

After seeing his notes today I can see where we are going about this all wrong. We need someone on the inside to slip him notes THAT MAKE SENSE and say SENSIBLE THINGS. Sure, the chances are he'll somehow still goof it up but at least it allows for the possibility of something decent coming out of his mouth. I mean, he'll not realize what he's saying and the WH is already walking pretty much everything back anyway so.... Just a thought.

View attachment 459596

The problem IS there is NO ONE on the "inside" who isn't less clueless than Brandon? They just aren't embarrassing themselves on the world stage.

 

[spike.t]

Meanwhile.....

BBC News - China gains a foothold in Australia's backyard

China gains a foothold in Australia's backyard

A Pacific island's invitation to China's military threatens to destabilise Oceania.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Major Bonkers]

From: https://unherd.com/thepost/the-russian-armys-number-one-problem-hazing/

BY KATHERINE BAYFORD
Tuesday, 29
March 2022

The Russian army’s number one problem? Hazing​

Conscripts are poorly trained and face endless abuse​

Russian conscripts in the snow. (DANIL SEMYONOV/AFP via Getty Images)
The Russian army has a conscript problem. With a military that measures in at under a million strong, just over a quarter did not volunteer. These soldiers operate for a fixed, twelve-month term, resulting in little training and roughly five months (at best) of utilisation. Until the invasion of Ukraine, conscripts had generally not been deployed abroad, and suggestions to change this are deeply politically unpopular in the country.
Why is the foreign deployment of Russian conscripts so politically sensitive? Why is their training so basic, and why does Russia not just re-introduce a longer conscription term to inevitably create a better quality of troops? The answer to all of these questions lies in hazing.
Notoriously, the Red Army was beset by an extreme form of brutal, hierarchical hazing (named dedovshchina) that continued to haunt the post-Soviet army. The complete domination of junior soldiers by their elders resulted in a widespread culture of robbery, torture, and sexual assault. Fearing that the torturous conditions of military service would result in catastrophic levels of troop retention, Moscow offered significant incentives for draftees to re-enlist. Only 1% did so.
But after the Soviet Union’s fall, dedovshchina only increased in both prevalence and intensity.
During a twenty-four month conscription term, sleep deprivation, forced labour, theft, beatings, starvation and rape were imposed on new conscripts by their seniors. Junior officers, concerned with maintaining their livelihoods, were inclined to either ignore the hazings or, at worst, participate in the exploitation of their men. The poor amount of pay given to officers often meant that those who didn’t moonlight would rent out their conscripts as labourers or, in some extreme cases, as prostitutes.
Fear and resentment towards military conscription (and the wider Russian army) became increasingly prevalent. By the new millennium, nearly 90% of men eligible for conscription had some form of exemption from military service, with the remaining 10% often too poor to bribe their way out of the draft. Between January to March of 2004, fifteen soldiers were killed by extreme hazing, and two years later, 40% of deaths in the Russian military were attributed to suicide. That same year, one soldier was beaten so badly that the resulting gangrene resulted in his legs and genitals being amputated.
While the Russian army leadership maintain that dedovshchina is now all but wiped out, just eighteen months ago one conscript shot eight of his fellow soldiers dead after claiming that they had made his life “hell” and were planning to sexually assault him. In an effort to curtail dedovshchina, 2008 reforms reduced conscripted soldiers’ terms from two years to one. Such changes may have limited physical and sexual violence, but they have simultaneously created different problems for the army.
In contrast to the enlisted troops in Russia, who tend to have well-developed technical skills (if little broad leadership ability), their conscripted counterparts are generally less capable. They are often utilised in roles that require less training and expertise, such as logistics — a notable obstacle of progress in the Russian advance and one likely to be a deciding factor in the outcome of the invasion.
That conscripts have been deployed in Ukraine suggests that all might not be well for Russia, and President Zelensky has attempted to capitalise on the ghost of Russia’s historic problem by directly appealing to conscripts to surrender. For Russia, re-introducing a longer conscription period would result in a better quality of conscripted troops, but would also run the risk of the intra-troop brutality that could drain all cohesion and morale from within the military. Still, with so many ill-trained, nervous young conscripts seemingly contributing to Russia’s notorious logistical issues, Russia may find itself reconsidering its strategy.

 

[Zambezi]

From: https://unherd.com/thepost/the-russian-armys-number-one-problem-hazing/

BY KATHERINE BAYFORD
Tuesday, 29
March 2022

The Russian army’s number one problem? Hazing​

Conscripts are poorly trained and face endless abuse​

Russian conscripts in the snow. (DANIL SEMYONOV/AFP via Getty Images)
The Russian army has a conscript problem. With a military that measures in at under a million strong, just over a quarter did not volunteer. These soldiers operate for a fixed, twelve-month term, resulting in little training and roughly five months (at best) of utilisation. Until the invasion of Ukraine, conscripts had generally not been deployed abroad, and suggestions to change this are deeply politically unpopular in the country.
Why is the foreign deployment of Russian conscripts so politically sensitive? Why is their training so basic, and why does Russia not just re-introduce a longer conscription term to inevitably create a better quality of troops? The answer to all of these questions lies in hazing.
Notoriously, the Red Army was beset by an extreme form of brutal, hierarchical hazing (named dedovshchina) that continued to haunt the post-Soviet army. The complete domination of junior soldiers by their elders resulted in a widespread culture of robbery, torture, and sexual assault. Fearing that the torturous conditions of military service would result in catastrophic levels of troop retention, Moscow offered significant incentives for draftees to re-enlist. Only 1% did so.
But after the Soviet Union’s fall, dedovshchina only increased in both prevalence and intensity.
During a twenty-four month conscription term, sleep deprivation, forced labour, theft, beatings, starvation and rape were imposed on new conscripts by their seniors. Junior officers, concerned with maintaining their livelihoods, were inclined to either ignore the hazings or, at worst, participate in the exploitation of their men. The poor amount of pay given to officers often meant that those who didn’t moonlight would rent out their conscripts as labourers or, in some extreme cases, as prostitutes.
Fear and resentment towards military conscription (and the wider Russian army) became increasingly prevalent. By the new millennium, nearly 90% of men eligible for conscription had some form of exemption from military service, with the remaining 10% often too poor to bribe their way out of the draft. Between January to March of 2004, fifteen soldiers were killed by extreme hazing, and two years later, 40% of deaths in the Russian military were attributed to suicide. That same year, one soldier was beaten so badly that the resulting gangrene resulted in his legs and genitals being amputated.
While the Russian army leadership maintain that dedovshchina is now all but wiped out, just eighteen months ago one conscript shot eight of his fellow soldiers dead after claiming that they had made his life “hell” and were planning to sexually assault him. In an effort to curtail dedovshchina, 2008 reforms reduced conscripted soldiers’ terms from two years to one. Such changes may have limited physical and sexual violence, but they have simultaneously created different problems for the army.
In contrast to the enlisted troops in Russia, who tend to have well-developed technical skills (if little broad leadership ability), their conscripted counterparts are generally less capable. They are often utilised in roles that require less training and expertise, such as logistics — a notable obstacle of progress in the Russian advance and one likely to be a deciding factor in the outcome of the invasion.
That conscripts have been deployed in Ukraine suggests that all might not be well for Russia, and President Zelensky has attempted to capitalise on the ghost of Russia’s historic problem by directly appealing to conscripts to surrender. For Russia, re-introducing a longer conscription period would result in a better quality of conscripted troops, but would also run the risk of the intra-troop brutality that could drain all cohesion and morale from within the military. Still, with so many ill-trained, nervous young conscripts seemingly contributing to Russia’s notorious logistical issues, Russia may find itself reconsidering its strategy.

IF this is indeed true I'm speechless!

We got a lot of "op-foks" in the army but usually it was corrective drill or just plain old "run/exercise you until you throw up then run some more"... Never saw anyone get abused other than a kick to the ribs for anyone who was unsafe on the firing range!

Like some Russian conscripts have done in the past, I think I'd also go postal on anyone who treated me this way.

 

[Pheroze]

From: https://unherd.com/thepost/the-russian-armys-number-one-problem-hazing/

BY KATHERINE BAYFORD
Tuesday, 29
March 2022

The Russian army’s number one problem? Hazing​

Conscripts are poorly trained and face endless abuse​

Russian conscripts in the snow. (DANIL SEMYONOV/AFP via Getty Images)
The Russian army has a conscript problem. With a military that measures in at under a million strong, just over a quarter did not volunteer. These soldiers operate for a fixed, twelve-month term, resulting in little training and roughly five months (at best) of utilisation. Until the invasion of Ukraine, conscripts had generally not been deployed abroad, and suggestions to change this are deeply politically unpopular in the country.
Why is the foreign deployment of Russian conscripts so politically sensitive? Why is their training so basic, and why does Russia not just re-introduce a longer conscription term to inevitably create a better quality of troops? The answer to all of these questions lies in hazing.
Notoriously, the Red Army was beset by an extreme form of brutal, hierarchical hazing (named dedovshchina) that continued to haunt the post-Soviet army. The complete domination of junior soldiers by their elders resulted in a widespread culture of robbery, torture, and sexual assault. Fearing that the torturous conditions of military service would result in catastrophic levels of troop retention, Moscow offered significant incentives for draftees to re-enlist. Only 1% did so.
But after the Soviet Union’s fall, dedovshchina only increased in both prevalence and intensity.
During a twenty-four month conscription term, sleep deprivation, forced labour, theft, beatings, starvation and rape were imposed on new conscripts by their seniors. Junior officers, concerned with maintaining their livelihoods, were inclined to either ignore the hazings or, at worst, participate in the exploitation of their men. The poor amount of pay given to officers often meant that those who didn’t moonlight would rent out their conscripts as labourers or, in some extreme cases, as prostitutes.
Fear and resentment towards military conscription (and the wider Russian army) became increasingly prevalent. By the new millennium, nearly 90% of men eligible for conscription had some form of exemption from military service, with the remaining 10% often too poor to bribe their way out of the draft. Between January to March of 2004, fifteen soldiers were killed by extreme hazing, and two years later, 40% of deaths in the Russian military were attributed to suicide. That same year, one soldier was beaten so badly that the resulting gangrene resulted in his legs and genitals being amputated.
While the Russian army leadership maintain that dedovshchina is now all but wiped out, just eighteen months ago one conscript shot eight of his fellow soldiers dead after claiming that they had made his life “hell” and were planning to sexually assault him. In an effort to curtail dedovshchina, 2008 reforms reduced conscripted soldiers’ terms from two years to one. Such changes may have limited physical and sexual violence, but they have simultaneously created different problems for the army.
In contrast to the enlisted troops in Russia, who tend to have well-developed technical skills (if little broad leadership ability), their conscripted counterparts are generally less capable. They are often utilised in roles that require less training and expertise, such as logistics — a notable obstacle of progress in the Russian advance and one likely to be a deciding factor in the outcome of the invasion.
That conscripts have been deployed in Ukraine suggests that all might not be well for Russia, and President Zelensky has attempted to capitalise on the ghost of Russia’s historic problem by directly appealing to conscripts to surrender. For Russia, re-introducing a longer conscription period would result in a better quality of conscripted troops, but would also run the risk of the intra-troop brutality that could drain all cohesion and morale from within the military. Still, with so many ill-trained, nervous young conscripts seemingly contributing to Russia’s notorious logistical issues, Russia may find itself reconsidering its strategy.

If true that is horrific

 

[PARA45]

 

[PARA45]

 

[Major Bonkers]

I read elsewhere - although I cannot now find the reference - that those Russians who are caught protesting against the war and arrested are then fined and - just as they are leaving the Court - handed their conscription papers.

One doesn't imagine that their time in the Russian armed forces will be particularly pleasant or long-lived. Nor do I imagine that they are motivated to fight properly.

 

[cpr0312]

 

[spike.t]

Got sent by @Vanguard2279 and couldn't resist....a must watch

 

[Fred Gunner]

View attachment 459575

Ah the good old daze...Remembering the first public execution my father took me to...

 

[Fred Gunner]

Got sent by @Vanguard2279 and couldn't resist....a must watch

 

[Wheels]

 

[Rob404]

 

[Newboomer]

If true that is horrific

Their main purpose is cannon fodder and harassment to wear the enemy down. Doesn't seem to be doing much good. I wouldn't rule out a mass surrender. Probably better than what they have now.

 

[mark-hunter]

Actually,
Althoguh the bullyning and hazing may be present in Russian army, I find hard to belive it is overwhelming. Also the theory of cannon fodder. When you have an army of 100.000 or 150.000, invading the country, how many can you afford to use as a cannon fodder?
Open divisonal assault "over the top" with bayonets fixed, full charge was last time done in ww2. And maybe Korea on communist side.

Now, the recent history of russian "cannon fodder" doctrine says following, and quite opposite.

Since collapse of Soviet union, and start of Russian federation, so since 1991 till now:
Russian federation was involved in 10 armed conflicts (not counting Ukraina which is ongoing).
The only one lost was first Chechen war (1994-96). In that case they have 9/10 sucess rate, 90%

But the second chechen war (1999-2009) was won, and if we look at that one as continuation of first one then we have 9/9 ratio, which is 100% sucess of russian federation army.
It is not the record of poorly equipped, demorilised army, with half competent officers ass kissing their superiors with polished reports..

So far we are reading western media reporting vast losses on Russian side. So, be it.

But on Ukrainian side, we have no idea about losses, especially losses on armor, airplanes, and military infrastructure (which is continuoulsy bombed for over a month).

Both sides are recruting conscripts, for Russia we know, but on BBC I watched interview with two Ukranian soldiers aged 18, and 19 respectively. So, both sides are doing this.

Etc.

And then, recruting criminals, while we know that Russians are mobilisiang Sirian mercs:

experience in Balkan wars, tells us that recruiting criminals to war effort, brings only looting and war crimes on battle field,
But what do I know?

Zelensky says prisoners will be RELEASED to help defend Ukraine

Ukraine's leader, who has gained plaudits from around the globe for his response to Russian aggression, said the inmates will be able to 'compensate for their guilt in the hottest spots'

www.dailymail.co.uk

So, at this point of conflict, we cannot get proper assesemnt of true status, and future outcome of the war.
But based on history since 1991, I dont think mass surrender is something we will see, nor cannon fodder tactics. However there will be heavy losses for sure.