Experiences with other militaries.

[AWP]

Were they able to keep their areas of responsibility secured? Looks like they suffered some casualties.

Casualties are neither indicative of success or failure, just dead people.

I can't speak to their overall battlespace, but considering I watched Afghans walk around FOB Ghazni, unescorted, taking pictures with cellphones, and performing a pace count?* And Ghazni was their brigade HQ? Or how they allowed a convoy to drive over a known IED? I don't have a lot of faith in their performance elsehwere. I have a list of behavior that would shock members of this forum and no, I'm not sharing.

* - Yes, it was reported and yes, it was ignored. KBR threatened to walk off the job. Their management told them if they did their next decision would be "chicken or pasta." Their turnover at that FOB was horrendous.

 

[RackMaster]

I turned in a couple Afghan worker's when we first got to Kabul. Dude was always standing with a shovel, never working, watching and counting vehicles as they left our annex. We also found the same vehicles had chalk marks on them the next day. They were sent to the Croat MP's for "questioning". Best psrt was the holding cell was an empty working dog pen between two other dog's. LOL I wanted to stay and watch.

Oh and 2 days later they caught a guy with a miniature map of the camp. And some time after we were rocketed.

 

[Kraut783]

A-stan:
British SAS: had a team living in our safe house for a bit in Gardez, great guys, crazy, and professional.
Australian LRRP: Good guys, friendly and knew their shit.
Germans SOF: good dudes, friendly, professional...and shared their beck's beer.

Iraq:
Ugandan (security): I know not military, but these guys were good, and did not play and were always respectful. Never had any off duty silliness from them, not like the other TCN's in the area.
Georgian: A bunch of thugs, we had opened cases on a bunch of them (theft from civilians, rape...etc), then they left the country to address the issue with Russia.

 

[BlackSmokeRisinG]

I worked around the British Desert Rats during Desert Storm. I can't say enough good about them. Hard chargers and they kicked serious ass out there. You would have thought we had known them our entire lives, and they were very honest about everything we asked them about. They really went out of their way to get to know us. Their infantry did a very good job clearing trenches from what I noticed as our advance party team sort of drifted into their sector by accident....

Good to hear. My grandfather was a Desert Rat, AA artileryman captured in Africa in 1939. Spent the next 4 years in a POW camp.

I turned in a couple Afghan worker's when we first got to Kabul....

Oh and 2 days later they caught a guy with a miniature map of the camp. And some time after we were rocketed.

Ahh, the old hand drawn FOB map LOL.

Iraqi Army- Most did their job pretty well when on missions and did a good job searching cars and people. They seemed to have a good relationship with the population and seemed to care about making Iraq a better place. Some of them would hustle, beg or steal from whomever they could. Several died while we were deployed.

Ugandan and Kenyan security force contractors- They seemed to love searching cars and people coming onto the FOB. Most were really polite and friendly. They didn't seem to be able to judge distance and direction for distant smoke plumes or incoming.

 

[BloodStripe]

I've worked with the Spanish Navy, Spanish Navy Marines, Royal Marines, Maldovia Army EOD, Iraqi Army, and various IDF units. Each had its positives and negatives.

Highlights: The Royal Marines had an awesome O course with livefire mixed in. Was made extra difficult on the mornings following nights of out drinking those wankers.

IDF were mostly Sayeret Egoz, and Duvdevan. They were all very professional and as a direct result of them I was promoted to squad leader. I did get my ass kicked by about 20 of them during a training event but then again, that was the point of it.

 

[Deleted member 12579]

I've worked with the Spanish Navy, Spanish Navy Marines, Royal Marines, Maldovia Army EOD, Iraqi Army, and various IDF units. Each had its positives and negatives.

Highlights: The Royal Marines had an awesome O course with livefire mixed in. Was made extra difficult on the mornings following nights of out drinking those wankers.

IDF were mostly Sayeret Egoz, and Duvdevan. They were all very professional and as a direct result of them I was promoted to squad leader. I did get my ass kicked by about 20 of them during a training event but then again, that was the point of it.

Those are supposedly very good Israeli units. Getting your ass kicked by them is no disgrace. I've never heard/read a bad thing said about the Royal Marines.

 

[Deleted member 2517]

How has no one mentioned the Royal Marine fascination with nudity in all manner of inappropriate times and places?

Or the lengths that they’ll go to for ‘gay chicken’ literally anywhere? I’m telling you- they’re the apex predator on the ‘fucked up stuff food chain’. It makes our own marines look like the Air Force in comparison...

SFSG/Paras are the most sexually ambiguous wild men on the planet. Rangers do some gay shit for laughs... those dudes make us look like Westboro Baptist.

 

[Devildoc]

I've worked with the Spanish Navy, Spanish Navy Marines, Royal Marines, Maldovia Army EOD, Iraqi Army, and various IDF units. Each had its positives and negatives.

Highlights: The Royal Marines had an awesome O course with livefire mixed in. Was made extra difficult on the mornings following nights of out drinking those wankers.

IDF were mostly Sayeret Egoz, and Duvdevan. They were all very professional and as a direct result of them I was promoted to squad leader. I did get my ass kicked by about 20 of them during a training event but then again, that was the point of it.

I have a friend, dual citizenship, was in Duvdevan. One of the best pistol shooters I have ever seen/known. Amazing unit.

 

[digrar]

A-stan:
Australian LRRP: Good guys, friendly and knew their shit.

We have guys that do that job in RAR Battalions (it's what I did for most of my time in 6RAR) and it's one of the main roles of SASR, but it's not a unit designation. I'm picking it was SASR?

 

[Gordus]

Georgian: A bunch of thugs, we had opened cases on a bunch of them (theft from civilians, rape...etc), then they left the country to address the issue with Russia.

This really hits hard, and it's not news to me. I've heard similar accusations from Italians, who claimed the only disciplined and clean professionals among the Georgians were the special forces. I really hope this isn't true, not just because of bad reputation, but the insult to those who sacrificed their lifes and health in that mission. I knew a few people who deployed to Iraq because they genuinely thought it was the right thing to do. Wheter to defend their country's interests or fight the good fight. What a shame.

 

[NovemberWhiskey]

Similar experience with Georgians (non SF, cannot speak to that / wasn't on friendly terms with)... but. You have to keep in mind their own government is giving them hell and the situation with Russia, culturally for a century and in the whole region, is a pretty thin ice on the best days.

I'm not saying it's not their fault, I'm saying they are in a complicated spot themselves.

Ditto, if you know paramilitaries or home defense in the area, families with former Air Force service and the like for points of contact, try those better.

The who flew the skies in the country and their families tend to be solid. Morals and everything else wise. Silent as the grave if you need that, too.

But don't mess around with the women or flirt up. They're very traditional society in that respect, it wouldn't read as friendly, it would kill trust as not having manners.

 

[Gordus]

You have to keep in mind ...

I suppose it's hard to understand from a non-Georgian perspective, but such facts hit very deep, despite being an issue inherited from Soviet times. Many people gave all their effort, some even their lives, just so Georgia would gain more recognition and spotlight on the world stage. So it's really painful when due to oversight or base neglect, a bunch of thugs end up in the army and think they can form a crime ring in a peacekeeping mission like it was their personal thug den in Greece or the streets of Tbilisi, and ruin the whole reputation of the men and women genuinely fighting for their country and serving a cause, laying down their lives. This isn't something that can be excused by historical circumstances, or anything. Thugs are thugs and don't belong in peacekeeping operations.

 

[NovemberWhiskey]

Yeah that's one thing...

But we could also have a long talk about how as long as there's any business, there's always going to be enterprising criminals using it, around or in that business. Crime is versatille like that.

Personally I'd prefer not giving them the morale victory - they can't ruin the op with their shenanigans, disrupt it perhaps but that's correct course and CM, and their thuggery sure as shit doesn't ruin efforts of good, patriotic, hard working men and women.

All they do is get bad press up, if it leaks or is a major blow, and mess around, but that's it... Just because they are visible doesn't mean they are winning on any lane.

Letting them down the morale of peacekeepers like yourself I see as way more a win to their approach to the cause. Don't lose a second of your hope for what you do for some foreign nationals losers.

 

[Gordus]

Letting them down the morale of peacekeepers like yourself

Just to clear any confusion, I'm not serving or a peacekeeper. Just a Georgian who happens to know others that served and are some of the finest people I've met. No matter how we twist it, such incidents put a bad rep on the very insitution and cause they devoted their lives to. I appreciate and respect your point of view, and you're absolutly right about not giving them any quarter, both physicaly and morally.

 

[NovemberWhiskey]

Ahh, thanks for explaining and apologies for the confusion @Gordus. ;)

I hope I didn't manage to insult your country as my stay at was a few months limited and one just doesn't get the subtleties as an outsider and from so short time in a place.

Thanks for sharing and here's to hoping your day goes well. Not sure how cold your land these days, either, Georgian colds are way something else and I have a huge respect to the people regularly surviving that climate, alone.

 

[AWP]

I'm strangely relieved to see the thread go in this direction instead of a big "fuck you" fest where the Stukas and banhammers start flying. Good job, guys.

 

[Kraut783]

This really hits hard, and it's not news to me. I've heard similar accusations from Italians, who claimed the only disciplined and clean professionals among the Georgians were the special forces. I really hope this isn't true, not just because of bad reputation, but the insult to those who sacrificed their lifes and health in that mission. I knew a few people who deployed to Iraq because they genuinely thought it was the right thing to do. Wheter to defend their country's interests or fight the good fight. What a shame.

Sorry @Gordus I just saw this post. Time period was 2008, 10th Mountain had complained of some of the incidents. Unfortunately, much of the reporting was true, but cases were closed when they left in August 2018 to fly back because of Russian issues. I will say it seemed to be confined to one company sized unit.

 

[Gordus]

I hope I didn't manage to insult your country as my stay at was a few months limited and one just doesn't get the subtleties as an outsider and from so short time in a place.

Not all all. It was a known issue that caused bad rep. Such problems should have been adressed and not swept under the rug. It's not just about reputation among Coalition forces but especialy local and civpop. Fortunatly it's not nearly as bad in Afghanistan, where petty little theft rings still occasionaly occur, but very rarely ( afaik ).

Thanks for sharing and here's to hoping your day goes well. Not sure how cold your land these days, either, Georgian colds are way something else and I have a huge respect to the people regularly surviving that climate, alone.

Same man. Stay safe and healthy. Oh yeah, summer and winter time can be extreme over there. But at least it snows in Georgia. I haven't seen proper snow in Germany for ages.

Sorry @Gordus I just saw this post. Time period was 2008, 10th Mountain had complained of some of the incidents. Unfortunately, much of the reporting was true, but cases were closed when they left in August 2018 to fly back because of Russian issues. I will say it seemed to be confined to one company sized unit.

I don't doubt that @Kraut783. There has to be truth to it when several forces make the same or a similar complaint. I will also not delude myself into believing it was just one unit or group of soliders causing all the trouble ( even if it were ), from among thousands who deployed over several years. It's something that clearly happened and cannot be denied.