Today a change

Unlike when snow begins to fall in the high latitudes of Moscow, the Mozambique Channel is still a hot summer surrounded by warm ocean currents, and the blazing sun makes it impossible to open your eyes. So much so that the GRU soldiers, who had previously trained in the Siberian winter and were accustomed to the harsh winter climate, were a little uncomfortable with the scorching heat in such temperatures.

Sergeant Gordon was one of those who set foot on this island nation, and as a victim of this far-eastern disarmament, he had no choice but to leave his homeland and join the so-called private military contracting group to go to Africa to participate in the so-called mineral resource development and security work. Gordon is the only man in the family, and his wife and daughter need Gordon to earn money to survive.

While the price offered by private military contracting companies was $30 a day, which was undoubtedly an enviable salary for Soviet soldiers, it is no wonder that some people risked their lives to travel to the southern tip of the earth to work as security in places of regional conflict.

There is no need to carry a heavy helmet in this place, but a peaked cap with brown bear paws printed on it, and the person in charge said that they only need to wear civilian casual clothes, a hat issued by the company and an identification card to move around the area.

Gordon took off his hat, glanced at the picture of him with his daughter and wife, and then carefully tucked it into the gap of the cap and put it on his head.

"Lisa, my dear darling, Daddy will be back safely." Recalling the cute appearance of his daughter Lisa before leaving, Gordon couldn't help but smile, waiting for the cruise ship to dock and preparing to embark on the unknown world he had never been to, and after successfully completing the mission, he returned home with a large amount of money.

"Welcome to TIA, and hope this place doesn't become your nightmare, Sergeant Gordon. As a young father, you still have a long way to go. The team leader with a cold expression stood beside him, and this guy who looked about the same age as Gordon was the instructor in charge of leading the newcomers.

"What does TIA mean? Captain Alkasha. Sergeant Gordon asked.

The captain, known as Alkasha, turned his head, his straight eyebrows thrust into the bridge of his nose like sharp blades, looking resolute and heroic, and he explained, familiar with African history, "English, the initials of the phrase ThisisAFRICA, means that this land is a paradise for adventurers. And Gordon, you have to remember one thing for me. ”

"What's the matter?" Gordon asked.

"It's a symbol of backwardness and barbarism, and it's also the birthplace of gold jewelry, and the name changes depending on how you look at it." Alcasha said with a slight mystery, as if to reveal a deep mystery to Gordon.

After the cruise ship came to rest at the shore port, the soldiers, who had been tossed for more than two weeks, finally had a chance to land on their feet, and they rushed off the tanker to have a special meeting with this strange continent. Only Gordon noticed the soldiers standing near the container with guns in their arms, guarding the security around them.

"It seems that this place is not very peaceful, and the guards deployed around it have reached the point of exaggeration." Gordon cautiously looked around the harbor, the six or seven pickup trucks that could be found everywhere on the continent, and the lonely African soldiers in camouflage uniforms, and he thought of the soldiers who had returned from Afghanistan, and only those who had just lost the war would see such a dejected expression.

"Don't look, the National Independence Movement (MNM) attacked the port a few days ago, killing three people and seriously wounding two people, and then the Mozambican government blockaded the port, and it is clear that the rebels have begun to slowly infiltrate the southern provinces."

Holding a cigarette in his left hand, Alcasha told Gordon about the current situation in Mozambique: "Now the opposition controls most of the provinces in the north, and in the south they are taking advantage of the riots to slowly infiltrate the capital. In addition to defending the mines, one of our other tasks is to keep the law and order in the big city, and then wait until our counteroffensive signal begins. ”

The rest of the group boarded the bus on the side of the road and drove under heavy escort to the camp that had been deployed a week earlier, and along the way the Mozambican cities showed no less depression than the 1984 devastated Lebanon, with bullet holes in the white walls, barbed wire cordons, hostile government soldiers with Kalashnikov rifles, and black civilians running down alleys at the sight of the convoy, and looking back at them with a humiliating gesture.

On the bus, Alkasha introduced the others to the completely different laws of war in Africa.

"The rules of engagement here are very simple, when the opponent threatens your personal safety with a weapon, you can shoot back, in short, wait until he shoots first, and then we have a reason to fight back. So you have to change your thinking as soon as possible, the situation here is even more complicated than in Afghanistan, every civilian armed with a gun can be an enemy of the opposition. ”

"And don't have mercy when you meet a child soldier with a gun, or you'll be the next to die. The opposition will not be relentless in the killing machines that the 14-year-olds have been trained to be. For them, a bullet shot from a child's hand is more deadly than a bullet shot from a middle-aged man's hand. ”

After explaining the brutal and brutal rules of engagement in Africa, Alkasha asked, "Are there any more questions?" ”

"I have." Gordon raised his hand and asked, "When will we be able to destroy the enemy and then go home?" ”

"According to the information we have, there will be a decapitation operation next week. If successful, we can dismantle the vast majority of the opposition's top figures. It is even easier to break through the rabble that have lost their leadership one by one. Alkasha scratched his hair and said in a typical Soviet simple and crude style, "If I want to say why send ground troops over, just drop a few thermobaric bombs and be done, it's even easier." ”

"We are nominally here to maintain law and order, and fighting the war is just a part-time job." Gordon kindly reminded Alkasha not to speak too much, otherwise he would be caught. But the others didn't care much, they came all the way here, didn't they just want to kill people?

Soon the bus arrived at the camp, codenamed "Correction", escorted by armed pickup trucks, and Gordon poked his head out to see that in addition to an armored vehicle stationed at the entrance of the camp, there was a sentry equipped with PKM heavy machine guns, and they aimed their guns at black Africans except whites.

As the vehicle drove into the camp, Gordon realized that the camp was no less than an overseas Soviet military base, with three parked Hind helicopter gunships being inspected, and a row of composite armored BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles ready to go, which was undoubtedly a terrible weapon of mass destruction in a country without heavy firepower.

The thinking of the USSR was very simple, when the other side did not have enough firepower to fight itself, it did not matter to minimize the losses, and just crushed them with the tracks of the tank. Presumably, the rebels who are active in the dark alleyways are not aware that they are about to face a formidable enemy nicknamed the Red Polar Bear.