Quote:
Originally Posted by undercoverbrother
You know what #### 'em.
Having worked with former eastern block military, I don't fear them. While they do have high end kit, much of their stuff is rudimentary and used by men that don't want to be in uniform.
This may have changed, but judging by the actions of The USSR recently, I bet not.
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I remember when I was in in the late 80's and we were trained that the Soviet Soldier or as they called themselves "The new Soviet Man" were 10 feet tall and brutal, they lived off of their reputation in World War 2 for a long time when they were considered to be an hard army shaped by the invasion by Germany and learned lessons that allowed them to become a ruthless horde.
Afghanistan had the same effect on the Russians' that Vietnam had on the American Military. It knocked a lot of the shine off of them, and whereas it forced the American's to professionalize their military and realize that a conscripted force was doomed to failure, The Russians went straight into their collapse and continue to use conscription to fill their ranks. However they did reduce the term of service to 12 months, which to me is funky because it takes more then 12 months to teach soldiering.
One of the other issues with the Russians were their reliance on the old ranks system in the NCO ranks. It just doesn't work because it doesn't treat Sergeants as what they should be experienced career soldiers. Instead a Sergeant is basically a conscript picked for his loyalty and intelligence and shipped off to a special school for more advanced training. The sergeant is the backbone on the NCO ranks and usually has significant experience and expertise that can be handed down to lower ranks.
However to give credit to Putin. He did spend a lot of money on upgrading the military equipment wise and that's good for morale, they also are spending a lot more money on training, and things like basic comforts. The brutalization of lower ranks was also ended. The Russians are trying to professionalize their army but that's an ongoing struggle.
In terms of a recent poll done in Russia, the support for the Military has general increased which is also good for morale of the average soldier. On top of that, right now they are fighting on a winning side for a change. The Russian Military has basically through their actions in Crimea made NATO and the American's back down, so they are having that "Russia frack ya" moment in their military.
Right now in terms of the Ukraine and Russian Federation Ground Forces, they are fighting on a winning side, they have a short supply line, they have fresh equipment so I would say their morale is high. In terms of the Navy, I think they are actually thinking that in terms of unit on unit against the American's that they have closed the gap.
I don't doubt that there are conscripts that don't want to be there, but I think they feel better about their chances of surviving their conscription period and that's helpful to morale as well.