April 2, 2016

Duty. Honor. Country. -- Transcript of Final Moments of Russian Spetznaz Officer

arussianhero.jpg

Russian 'Rambo' called in airstrikes on HIMSELF when surrounded by ISIS fighters

Trapped behind enemy lines, surrounded by jihadists and with no possible means of escape, Alexander Prokhorenko, 25, took the decision to end his own life by calling in Russian warplanes to obliterate his location. The special forces soldier, on a secret mission in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, has since been hailed as a hero in his native Russia. His wife Ekaterina, who is pregnant with their first child, today revealed she had no idea he was fighting in Syria.

And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap...
-- Henry V.

Officer: They are outside, conduct the airstrike now please hurry, this is the end, tell my family I love them and I died fighting for my motherland.

Command: Negative return to green line

Officer: I can’t command, I am surrounded, they are outside, I don’t want them to take me and parade me, conduct the airstrike, they will make a mockery of me and this uniform. I want to die with dignity and take all these bastards with me. please my last wish, conduct the airstrike, they will kill me either way.

Command: please confirm your request

Officer: They are outside, this is the end commander, thank you, tell my family and my country I love them. Tell them I was brave and I fought until I could no longer. Please take care of my family, avenge my death, good bye commander, tell my family I love them

Command: No response, orders the airstrike.

russian-jets-hitting-a-targ.jpg

[Via Never Yet Melted サ ]

Brave and valiant men like this -- Russian, American or other -- always fill a lesser man such as myself with respect and abiding admiration. What did Alexander Prokhorenko sacrifice for duty, honor, and country? Everything....

Posted by gerardvanderleun at April 2, 2016 8:21 AM
Bookmark and Share

Comments:

HOME

"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.

R.I.P Brave Soldier.

Posted by: RM at April 2, 2016 10:18 AM

He understood everything. What a hero.

Posted by: Jewel at April 2, 2016 10:19 AM

Memory Eternal.

Posted by: Skorpion at April 2, 2016 12:06 PM

Courageous, yes. I met a guy who had done this in Vietnam. Except he had his battalion get small first, and the battle went for him. DSC for that.

But, as much as I like Russians individually, I don't trust the mission they are on in Syria. If your enemy (or your rival at least) performs an act of courage, do we credit him as a hero? Isn't there some moral credit to heroism?

My 2 cents. His nads were size ten, if it did go down that way.

Posted by: Casey Klahn at April 2, 2016 1:07 PM

Story in the Daily Mail, the Syrian city of Palmyra was liberated from ISIS, the mass graves of over fifty civilians were found. That was his fight. A honorable cause, a meaningful death.

If the civilized world would get it's act together we wouldn't be fighting this on our back foot.

Posted by: John The River at April 2, 2016 2:55 PM

It used to be that American Catholics prayed the rosary for the conversion of Russia from leftism. Are the Russians now praying for conversion of America?

Posted by: Doug at April 2, 2016 3:49 PM

Russia has no intention of improving things in the Mid East. They are not working to stop Islamic terrorism. Syria has no real friend in the Russians. They are there strictly for self interest (which is fine, but it doesn't comfort me).
Look at your map. All of their incursions and invasions cope a circle around Istanbul. Are you ready to refight the Crimean War? You'd best get ready, because (here I get to fully use the word and mean it) Putin is a revanchist. Excuse me: motherfucking revanchist.

Posted by: Casey Klahn at April 2, 2016 5:19 PM

Is that a Seattle grunge band? If not, it ought to be.

Posted by: Casey Klahn at April 2, 2016 5:20 PM

IF the story is real, the guy is a hero in my books. It does not matter if he is a Russian or not. If he was fighting ISIS and took a few of those MF's with him then God Bless Him. I don't care about Putin. Lot's of our guys/gals are doing heric things and we have Tango-four-putt as a leader. Right?

Posted by: John at April 2, 2016 6:49 PM

He is a hero. Rest In Peace. Bless.

Posted by: Kristin DeBacco at April 2, 2016 9:04 PM

Astonishing!!!

Thanks, Gerard.

Posted by: Hangtown Bob at April 3, 2016 8:54 AM

Y'all are entirely too credulous, believing either the Russians or the ISIS sources on this.

Everything I've seen from the Russians says that this officer was on a solo mission, acting as some kind of uber-Rambo spotter. News flash: Nobody in the world does that. Nobody. If he actually was spotting for the Syrian Army, where the hell was/is the rest of his team? The narrative, at best, is incomplete.

The Russians lie as a matter of course. So does ISIS. There is more to this story, and I find it amazing that anyone is taking what's in the media reports at face value. Realistically speaking, there should have been at least three or four other soldiers involved in this, and even then, that's a really foolish use of highly trained men, whose lives and expertise should be conserved. Minimum, such a forward air control team should have had many other men in it, and been tied in to the elements they were coordinating air support for. No mention is made of this, in any of the reports I've seen on this--They all speak as though Prokhorenko was the Lone Ranger, without even Tonto along as backup. This is not how a modern military operates, at all. Which speaks volumes as to the veracity of the tale, and whether or not we're even getting the full story, here. If you know what you're looking at, this is a very, very suspect story.

Posted by: Kirk at April 3, 2016 10:39 AM

"If your enemy (or your rival at least) performs an act of courage, do we credit him as a hero? Isn't there some moral credit to heroism?"

My brother-in-law did two tours in Vietnam, 1st Lieutenant, search and destroy (bait and switch).
He said the most valiant man he ever saw was a single NVA soldier they had cornered, and to this day he holds no greater admiration for any man. We will never know what terrible acts he may have committed during his time in the south. This was a moment in time, and his last.

Posted by: james wilson at April 3, 2016 10:59 AM

I admire a mouse that once turned to fight me as I had him cornered with an African lion spear against the chimney. I still kilt him.

I also admire the Germans who fought my dad in Italy, as he did and told me in detail why he admired them. We won. I really admire us. A lot.

Enemies of mine are, by definition, evil sons of bitches. What animal do I admire the most? The coyote. He is an animal not really of this world; his skill set will always and ever amaze me. Doesn't stop me from offing them. Ever.

Russians may or may not act like lone rangers, but the comment above about SOP is fully correct. Learn from Crimea, friends. Who the hell where those little green men in Russian uniforms but no insignia? That really fooled me (for exactly zero seconds). Russia seems to be especially good at surprise. Expect that, now.

Get ready for a fight. I know. How neoconny of me! I'm a big neocon. Whatever that is! All I know is, Tolstoy wrote that "you may not be interested in war, but it is interested in you." Fuk your isolationism. Nobody cares about your cute sympathies. I want more than anything to avoid a war with Russia. I want to do it the proven way: be mean and alert.

Tell me which war philosopher and theorist espouses staying in barracks until the absolute last minute? I'll wait.

Posted by: Casey Klahn at April 3, 2016 1:39 PM

I am not a soldier. If I were, I probably would not be as brave as this man. I am shamed by that some....... some, because what he did was so absolutely heroic as to put any potential act of heroism, by a normal man, to shame. What he "knowingly" lost was astounding; love and his home. He lost all that he loves, and they lost him. In one nano second he lost all that brought him comfort and nurturing. Lost is the wrong word. He GAVE those things up. Willingly. Knowing he would never experience them again, and knowing too, that it was the right thing to do. I am an American. I wish I personally knew this Russian; this man.

Posted by: john at April 3, 2016 4:53 PM

"For it's Tommy this an' Tommy that, and "Chuck 'im out, the brute." But it's "Savior of 'is country," when the guns begin to shoot." - Rudyard Kipling

Posted by: I.C.Nielsen at April 3, 2016 5:27 PM

Russian Captain: "General, I think we may have fuqued up. When we left that last position, we lost contact with one of our guys and he got left behind."

Russian General: "So? Just go back and get him or wait for him to show up. What's the problem?"

Captain: "Well, you see, it's kind of like this...
When we pulled out of that area, ISIS forces were advancing, so we put in an air-strike...and...we think...he might have been in the target area."

General: "No, young Captain. That is most definitely NOT what happened. Here is what ACTUALLY happened. That man died heroically in a tragic last stand. Bravely facing the overwhelming odds, and in keeping with the finest traditions of the Russian army, he knowingly and willfully, called in the strike on his own position, thereby killing vast numbers of the enemy in a final selfless act of courage."

Captain: "Yes Sir! Excellent story, Sir! It'll play well with the masses! That's why you get the big rubles, Sir!"

General: "Yes, Captain. Yes it is."

Posted by: Александр Смирно́в at April 12, 2016 11:51 PM

RIP.

Posted by: EndOFPatience at April 13, 2016 4:08 AM

Reports like these always make one wonder how we might perform in such fell circumstances. As a veteran, I've seen my share of casualties... "Duty, Honor, Country" truly are far more than words.

May the devil take these DAESH murderers and all their kin.

Posted by: John Blake at April 13, 2016 7:01 AM

I like what you guys are up too. This kind of clever work and reporting!
Keep up the excellent works guys I've you guys to my blogroll.

Posted by: mydomain.com at April 15, 2016 1:23 PM