Free Republic

According to reports, the U.S. and Russian military will be engaging in an anti-terrorism exercise that will involve Russian paratroopers using U.S. weapons to “take and hold” the main facilities of the CIA and Denver International Airport in Colorado and the National Security Agency in Utah. (Related: Learn about the hypothetical ‘war games’ the U.S. and China have been playing) The European Union Times has more on the report announcing this exercise from the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation: Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Colonel Alexander Kucherenko publically announced this 24-21 May “anti-terror drill” this Friday past noting that this...

In any war, there are units that distinguish themselves and others that become symbolic of failure. The 331st Guards Parachute Regiment had high hopes of being the first, but now represents the disintegration of Russia's plan for a quick war. ... The men in the 331st regarded themselves as the pick of Russia's army. In a video posted online last May, a general tells soldiers of the 331st Parachute Regiment that they are "the best of the best". The unit served in the Balkans, Chechnya, and the 2014 Russian intervention in the Donbas region of Ukraine, and regularly took part...

A rock band made up of Russian former paratroopers has scored a surprise hit with a song that labels Vladimir Putin a "tyrant", registering half a million hits on YouTube. Beefy, tattooed, wearing berets and military decorations on their chests, two singers and three back-up musicians let rip at Putin, the prime minister who is seeking to return to the presidency in March 4 elections. "You've destroyed the military, the army is broken and you've spat on the soldiers and sent the officers packing," they sing. "We're asking you nicely: Go, tyrant!"

Last night I watched the movie 9th Company on Netflix. This is an outstanding war movie that in my opinion is not to be missed by war movie aficionados. It's a riveting, true account of a group of young enlisted Soviet paratroopers. In the beginning, you follow this group of young men through the rigors of bootcamp where they eventually develop a close camaraderie. They're mentored by a tough, stomach-punching drill sergeant who's the lone survivor of his unit from the Afghan conflict. Even though he's tough as nails, he cares about his soldiers he mentors and wishes he could...