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Cercetasii - Scouting - |
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The Scouting/Reconaissance structures were the Romanian over-all SOF units, until the establishment of the integrated special forces battalion. US Equivalents: Navy SEALs, Army Green Berets, Army Rangers, Delta Force
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The Scouts - Intelligence specialists The great victories in the history of warfare were only possible thanks to correct decisions made on the battlefield. These decisions were based upon recoinassance missions in enemy teritorry.
Called Recon in the US doctrine, and Scouting in Romania, this form of gathering field intelligence with the usage of elite soldiers, specifically trained and equipped for this type of missions, has become a must in today's combat scenarios. |
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A Scout has to be able to perform missions in any terrain, and under any circumstances. | |
A Scout has a parachutist license, in case he needs to be inserted into enemy teritorry by air. He also has a diving license, in order to be able to fight in underwater conditions or to perform an amphibious attack. The Scout also has a mountain climber license, as mountains are often present in war theaters. After all these, he must also acquire a transmissionist license. What is a man present in enemy teritorry good for, when he can not send information back to headquarters. After these four licenses, which are compulsatory, there are dozens of courses for Scouts, ranging from anti-terrorist and closed quarters battle, to mountain special operations and combat divers. As all the Scouts must be specifically trained for all fighting environments, they also have to chose a number of specialities in which they would become experts. Every Scouting team is composed before an operation of men with skills best fitted for the specific needs of that operation. One transmissionist, one doctor, two mountain climbers and two anti-terrorist experts would be chosen to form a team of six men which has to rescue hostages from a mountain resort, for example. |
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Two members of the 404th Scouting Center in Buzau during an application, 30.10.2001 |
It takes seven to eight years to train a Romanian Scout, but when that training is complete, he worths more than an entire army. |
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The life of a Scout is sometimes beautiful and most of the times hard Scout from the 119th Scouting battalion, Oradea
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And how true that statement really is! Life as a Scout can be full of rewards: you get to climb difficult mountain peaks, jump from an airplane, dive, and learn a lot of things. But at the same time it can be very rough, when you have to camp out in the snow at -25 degrees and spend weeks at a time hunting the "enemy" in war games, while normal people stay in the warmth of their houses, watching TV. You also spend weeks of survival sessions in remote areas, feeding with whatever is available, while being harassed by mock enemy forces and performing undercover missions, while your civilian friends are out at a barbecue or visiting the seaside. |
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One day after the September 11th attacks, the General Chief of Staff of the Romanian Armed Forces emitted an order, according to which the training of all the Scouting formations will also incorporate anti-terrorist elements. |
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May it be a cold winter or a hot summer, a dangerous mountain peak or a swamp, a parachute drop from 10,000 feet or a dive at high depths, the Scouts must be ready to perform and successfully complete the mission. |
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In the winter of 2002, a platoon from the 119th Scouting battalion from Oradea (Western Romania) was performing a typical forrest survival and observation training session. |
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A Scout has to keep a certain capability level at all times, otherwise he will be transferred to other types of units until he can get to the necessary level again. |
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A professional Scout from the 404th Scouting Center in Buzau, winter, 2002 | Professionals from the 404th Scouting Center during a winter exercise, 2002 | |
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Conscripts from the 404th center, detailing a mission plan | Combat patrol through the mountainous region, north of Buzau |
Scouting formations around the country use the AKM, a Romanian improved version of the classic AK-47 Kalashnikov, as the main weapon of choice. However, Romanian-made Dragunov models, as well as 9mm Glock pistols, PSG-1 rifles and MP5A3's are employed by the Scouts. |
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The Hamster terrain vehicle, fully designed and produced in Romania, parachutable from An-26 and C-130 |
Each battalion has a scouting platoon. Each regiment has a scouting detachment, while each brigade has a scouting company. Respectively, each division or army corps has one scouting battalion. For example, the IVth Territorial Corps "Marshall Constantin Prezan", which is assigned with protecting Romania's Northern territory, has the 119th Scouting battalion which is located in Oradea. The last information I have about it stated the battalion commander was colonel Constantin Stiop. |
The Scouting formations in Romania have yearly and seasonaly internal competitions. Usually, the winners are from the 404th center in Buzau and the 119th battalion in Oradea, but many times the members of the 528th battalion in Braila had very good results as well. Also, the Scouting formations participate in the Ground Forces yearly competitions.
Internal applications, such as the combined application Nord 2002, specifically designed for observation and early warning forces, are often staged in Romania. Between the 14th of october and the 14th of november 2002, Nord 2002 had special phases, designed only for the scouting battalions and subunits. Nord 2002 included demonstrations of the detection and anihilation of terrorist training camps, and the countering of terrorist threats within the national teritorry. Nord 2002 was organized together with DPDM and the Jandarmery Special Intervention Brigade. |
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The 1989 Revolution |
Albania, Angola, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq |
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The 404th Scouting Center |
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Daily training A team from the 404th Center Date: 30.10.2001 Location: Buzau Photo by: Petrica Mihalache
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Carrying out a wounded team mate, using only improvised devices |
In peace time, one of the many missions for the Recon teams is to test the vigilence of fellow Armed Forces personnel. Thus, Scouts from the 404th Center are known to be sent in various military units and perform specific tasks. Such was the case once when a member from the Center was sent to a unit in Piatra Neamt (North-Central Romania), where, posing as an officer, he took a whole platoon on the field "for instructions". After 10 minutes, a unit commander realized what was going on and his cover was blown. In such exercises, the Scouts are usually prevented from accessing ammunition dumps. The 404th Center also has a combat diving team since 1992. Although brand-new communication equipment was purchased, such as the Panther and Jaguar mobile stations, they often do not work in mountaineous regions. "You couldn't even imagine what it would mean for Romania to have its own satelitte", says an officer from the Center. Members of the 404th Center have various skills, such as explosives and demolition training, boobey-traps, making and using hide-outs, or making a delicious meal out of a snake or a frog that's been jumping around too much. "We're training with things and methods known ever since Decebal", says a soldier. (Decebal - Dacian leader around 100 AD; fought four wars against the Roman Empire in a time when Dacia was the only country in Europe that could not be conquered by it)
Frog meat tastes good, better even than chicken, but it's also best to eat it raw, that way it has more proteins. Hedgehog meat is also known to be delicious, however a solder stated that after he had one at home as a pet, he can't eat hedgehog meat anymore.
Besides the usual stuff, Scouts also carry 7 condoms around. Not for "the usual purposes", but for combat needs. Two are for holding and transporting precious water and five are for surgical needs. - The best 100 - Between the 12th and the 23rd of june 2000, a special training exercise was staged in Buzau. The best 100 Scouts from all the Scouting battalions, Airborne, Mountain and Naval brigades, as well as the special forces from what was at that time the Guard Brigade gathered here for a unique training session.
This special detachment was composed of the best men in all of the Scouting formations in the Armed Forces. They were heavily selected according to their skills, training, IQ and tactical abilities. The detachment performed infiltrations, rapelling from helicopters, parachute jumps, hand to hand combat and other such tasks together. In addition, live firing exercises, mountain climbs and survival sessions were also executed. Several foreign military atachees were invited to witness these training sessions, as well as a mock mission in which members of this detachment attacked a "terrorist camp" and recovered a "stolen Romanian ground-to-ground missile" from the "terrorists". According to the scenario, a rebel base was located in the Calneu Valley; the rebels were also holding hostages and a stolen ground to ground missile. An advance reconaissance team was rapelled from a IAR-330 Puma helicopter in order to perform CTR on the base. The following day, an unmarked IAR-330 H Puma helicopter, identified by the terrorists' as being their own supply helicopter, approached the camp. But instead of supplies, several Scouts rapelled down from the helicopter and killed all the terrorists before they could launch the missile. No hostages were harmed, and the whole operation lasted only 3 minutes from start to end. After the end of the rescue operation, the same Scouts drove the hostages away in captured APC's and tanks from the rebels, which proves that they are also qualified to drive that type of vechiles. After this demonstration, the detachment will hold another application, which would last three days. |
Carrying for the wounded member, after evacuation from the combat area
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Conscripts used to be drawn into the 404th Scouting Center, but not anymore.
This conscript is performing a mission during the winter |
Carreer officers now make up for 100% of the composition of the Center. Unlike in American movies, nobody jokes around when dealing with terrorism |
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The special detachment, composed of Romania's best 100 Reconaissance troops in the year 2000
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Members from the former 404th Scouting Center in Buzau, during a winter application
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The 404 Family
They can not be seen nor heard. Although they are extremely mobile, they don't leave any traces behind. "Nil mortalibus ardui est". That means Nothing is impossible to the mortals. The men from the 404th center keep away from the curious eyes of the public. Some say its a bad habbit, however, the special forces consider they are not movie stars. |
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