Photo: Vasily Shaposhnikov

Last week, the joint Russian-American exercises "Torgau-2005" ended in Bavaria. American peacekeepers fought with a conditional enemy with Russian weapons, and Russians - American. As a new combat community was smuggled, the correspondent of "power" Ivan Safronov observed.

The Americans wanted to conduct joint maneuvers for a long time, but for the first time this was possible only in May last year. The results were modest: as the head of the exercises from the Russian side told me Lieutenant General Alexei Potapov, during these maneuvers it turned out that Russia and the USA "had nothing to do with planning, preparing and ensuring the military operations of the Armed Forces." Even the system of conventional signs for designations on the maps differed - there could be no question of coordinated joint actions.
Therefore, both sides were carefully prepared for the exercises "Torgau-2005". Americans, for example, created a computer program for identifying Russian and American symbols. But during maneuvers, the differences between Americans and Russians still stubbornly made their way out.

Photo: Vasily Shaposhnikov Teaching "Torgau-2005" allowed the former alleged opponents (in the photo) to fight the general conditional

The main difference was the selection of participants. The Americans sent 52 officers of the European Command of the Ground Forces of the United States and 87 troops of the consolidated motorized infantry company who had just returned from Iraq - ordinary soldiers of the usual unit.
The Russian army has peacekeeping units, equipped exclusively by contractors. But the Ministry of Defense did not dare to show them to the Americans. In order not to hit the mud in the mud, Torgau-2005 decided to attract specially selected third-year students of the Moscow Higher Combined Arms and Kolomensky Higher Artillery School. “It’s more convenient, and more expediently,” General Potapov explained. “They will suffer the experience in the troops, and the practice of interacting with the Americans for future officers of the Russian army will be useful.” What was convenience and expediency, the general did not specify. However, even without clarification, it is clear how a specially prepared cadet differs from an ordinary contractor.

The first stage of the exercises "Torgau-2005" began in the suburbs, at the training ground "Shot" near Solnechnogorsk. According to the legend of maneuvers, their participants had to force the conditional state of Bodaria to the world, which terrorized the neighboring conditional state of Atropy. On May 27, at the training center "Shot", a battle between the Bodar terrorists, attacking the defenseless atropy, and defending it by the Russian-American contingent of the UN, unfolded. The earth shuddered from the shots of howitzers and anti -tank guns, the surroundings were announced by the roar of tanks, armored personnel carriers and infantry combat vehicles. The calculations of the guns and carriages of the machines were American, Russian and mixed. From the American side, women who along with men in helmets and bulletproof vests themselves climbed into combat vehicles also participated in the exercises. The Russians saw this for the first time.

Photo: Vasily Shaposhnikov at the training center "shot" of the war in Iraqi, the Americans were waiting for not yet experienced acute sensations - to stay in the skin of a Russian tanker (in the photo)

In the midst of battles with the Bodarians in the UN troops, a smoke break is announced. While the Americans are trying to pronounce this word in Russian, our cadets rush to the tent where the buffet is located. There is already a turn of journalists. “Skip, I just take Coca-Cola,” the cadet asks. "Yes, take it!" - journalists are frivolously agree. "I take all!" - Immediately announces the cadet to the seller and, in front of the dumbfounded queue, pays for five packages of the drink. "You would at least leave their native water to the Americans!" - The line is worried. “Do not worry,” the cadet replies, and together with four fighters takes bottles into the street. The word of the future Russian officer is indestructible: in a minute, the American sergeant calls his subordinates from the buffet to the street, where the Russians treat the Americans Coca-Cola. Cadets are difficult, but still communicate with colleagues in English-it turns out that a few months before the exercises they began to teach an enhanced course.
While there is a smoke break, several Americans get the same mobile phones. “They gave us all these. I can call home for free,” the sergeant named Andrew boasts. Russian cadets sigh with envy. They also have phones, of course,. And they use them not only when they call home, but also in order to keep in touch on the exercises - standard pre -perestroika radio stations work poorly. But the expenses, of course, no one compensates. “I have said for seven dollars in two days,” one of the cadets complains. The Americans say that they have no such problems - for communication at the training ground they brought with them portable radio stations of Motorola. They also use the GPS/GLONASS navigation system receivers. "What, what?" - the Russians are asked.
On May 28, on the last day of the maneuvers, it turned out that the Americans got used to Russia to look for romantic adventures, and three soldiers went to one of the city restaurants to achieve the favor of Solnechnogorsk girls. The girls, however, rejected courtship and called local guys to help. American fighters tried to escape, but unsuccessfully: one of the soldiers who passed the entire Iraqi campaign unharmed received a concussion, the other was wounded by a knife in the buttock. Only the third, who turned out to be a good runner, managed to slip away. “They will tell you that they suffered from friendly fire,” Russian officers said sarcastically the next day. By the way, in explanatory notes to their command, all three Americans together wrote that they entered into an unequal battle with terrorism in the Samovolka, in which they received fighting wounds.

Photo: Vasily Shaposhnikov on May 29 after protracted defensive battles, Russian-American peacekeepers left Solnechnogorsk

On May 29, the transfer of the American and Russian military to Germany began, where the second phase of the exercises took place.
As soon as the IL-76, transporting the Russian contingent, landed at the Ramstein air base in the west of Germany, the American base personnel suggested that the arrived Russians exchange vodka for whiskey at the rate of half a liter of vodka for 0.7 liters of whiskey. Five Russian officers immediately agreed to the proposed conditions.
Then it was necessary to fly to the graphenver training ground in Bavaria. The Russians announced that the import of pornography, vegetables, fruits and meat is prohibited in Germany - all this should be thrown into a special yellow container. "Can I sausage?" - the lieutenant colonel standing next to me asked hopefully. “It is impossible, only canned food,” followed the inexorable answer.

Photo: Vasily Shaposhnikov

Executive cadets began to eat the sandwiches, cucumbers and tomatoes remaining after the flight. And the lieutenant colonel was not going to give up. Looking with uncertainty at the loaf of smoked sausage (not to throw it away!) He put it in the trousers. German customs officers tactfully pretended not to notice anything.
After arriving in Grafenver, registration and resettlement at three o’clock, the chips followed, and already at 5.00 at the command of the commander of the consolidated cadet company, Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Kazarov, the cadets rose for charging. And then we are building a company with the song "Victory Day" went through the town for breakfast. Those Americans who were not in Solnechnogorsk and saw the Russians for the first time were amazed - they themselves do not go in the dining room and do not sing songs.
But the Russians were struck in the dining room. “This is like in a good restaurant at a three -star hotel,” one of the cadets admired, who, obviously, had distinct ideas about luxury. The dining room offered the “Swedish table”, common to soldiers, sergeants and officers, both Russians and Americans, and this really differed favorably with Solnechnogorsk. “There, the Americans also gave juices to the Americans, and we have a horseradish horseradish,” the cadet complained, laying a full plate. “And here how many times can you approach and take food?!”

Photo: Reuters at the Grafenver training ground, Russian cadets tried not to hit the mud in the mud

The first two days in Grafenver were devoted to the study of American weapons cadets. If in Russia such classes were conducted by officers with the rank of major, or even a lieutenant colonel, then instructors in the study of American rifles, carbines, machine guns, BMPs, tanks and self -propelled guns were exclusively sergeants. However, they got diligent students - at the shooting range all Russian cadets successfully fulfilled American standards, regularly striking targets as a weapon with a laser sight and without it. But the Americans refused to hit the target without optics. And this is natural: Russian weapons are not equipped with such optics as the Americans.
In the course of the case, the participants in the exercises compared Russian weapons with the American. The Americans recalled how in Solnechnogorsk they shot from howitzers created more than half a century ago. “You guys are just suicide bombers,” they said to Russian artillerymen. And they explained that a stationary standing heavy gun after the first shot will be discovered and destroyed before the second was able to make.
“But our PKM weighs only seven kilos, and your M145 is thirteen,” the Russians said. Moving with a heavy machine gun of 19-20-year-old Russian cadets was really much more difficult than 28-30-year-old American contractors. But the younger Russians noticeably exceeded the Americans in agility, faster taking places in tanks and BMP and much more energetically moving around the football field in his free time from the exercises. Maybe that's why the American military abandoned comradely football matches, volleyball and basketball. “It's just that the Americans are afraid to lose us,” our cadets said confidently. “They do not like to lose.” “We have joint exercises, therefore, sports teams should be joint, that is, mixed,” the Americans answered this.
The next day, the study of technology ended, and the Russian-American peacekeeping contingent went on the offensive. The war against the conditional country of Bodaria ended victorious.

Magazine "Kommersant Power" No. 22 dated 06.06.2005, p. 24

Authors:

Ivan Safronov

"You guys are just suicide bombers"