• jack [he/him, comrade/them]
    ·
    edit-2
    5 months ago

    Critical support to Biden in his effort to turn western mercenaries into mush

    Do y'all remember what happened when US vets fought in Ukraine? These goons are toast against a real military.

    • ChaosMaterialist [he/him]
      ·
      5 months ago

      Do y'all remember what happened when US vets fought in Ukraine? These goons are toast against a real military.

      I have bits and pieces of news (ironically) but I don't have a whole picture of their fate.

      • SacredExcrement [any, comrade/them]
        ·
        edit-2
        5 months ago

        Broadly speaking, many of them went in with the tacit assumption that the propaganda was all true (Russians 'astounded' by paved roads, constantly deserting, poorly equipped, etc), then when they actually started fighting they realized

        A. That was horseshit (obviously) and

        B. What happens when they're on the side that doesn't have air and armor superiority

        There was a big post back when it started by some reddit-logo American pmc clown that posted about how his 'barracks' got bombed and how a ton of them were dead

        • ChaosMaterialist [he/him]
          ·
          5 months ago

          I remember the chud barracks incident, but it's hard to dig up actual links from so long ago. reddit-logo search being slopping piles of manure doesn't help.

          • Leon_Grotsky [comrade/them]
            ·
            edit-2
            5 months ago

            I think this is the guy, although the account is long deleted. he had Medic or something in his username He was going by u/spindokto and made a few posts over the Reddit Brigade saga

            https://old.reddit.com/r/volunteersForUkraine/comments/tdmxqs/proof_for_everyone_in_denial/

            (new and improved link; you lose all the dumbass reddit comments, but you can look at the pics he posted and his profile using waybackmachine link)

            https://web.archive.org/web/20220314023107/https://old.reddit.com/r/volunteersForUkraine/comments/tdmxqs/proof_for_everyone_in_denial/

            This was the 3rd or 4th post IIRC, directly after the Foreign Legion barracks got Iskander'd (or was it Kinzhal'd? I don't remember) and he was telling people to stay the fuck away because these weren't "a bunch of insurgents with AKs and Toyotas"

            E) and for future reference, sometimes it's easier to search here for reddit posts as they get submitted to dunktank or whatever. That's how I got here, searching Hexbear comments for "Reddit Brigade" to find relevant thread, then look for reddit links in those threads.

            E2) IIRC the next parts of his saga were admitting on reddit he and some other guys were going to disguise themselves as red cross to sneak out of the country. I don't think anyone here ever really kept tabs on them after that. Haven't been able to track down newer posts so far but I'm also losing interest so shrug-outta-hecks )

        • RyanGosling [none/use name]
          ·
          5 months ago

          The reddit volunteers that got blown up were just random idiots with no experience I believe. Whereas the ex military and mercenaries who realized they were too weak were smart enough to go back home to their comfortable lives after the first bomb dropped

          • wtypstanaccount04 [he/him]
            ·
            edit-2
            5 months ago

            A real Reddit post from 2022

            I want to fight for Ukraine. I have no military background and some live firearm experience. I do have over 100 hours of airsoft milsim experience though. It’s the closest thing to actual war. I’m familiar with military lingo and protocols (not sure if applicable cause I’m fighting for a foreign country). Knowledge on how to operate a variety of weaponry. I use high-end airsoft guns which are 1:1 or almost identical to the real thing. I did many roles in the milsim from combat medic to Forward observers and operated in a two-man sniper team.

            I have my own gear (cammies, plate-carrier, plates, medkit, supplies). I have money for the trip and money for basic necessities. I will not leech off the UAF I will have my own stuff except a gun and ammunition.

            I know basic Russian words, but will still need assistance or translation for any complex movements or tactical battle plans.

            • RyanGosling [none/use name]
              ·
              5 months ago

              Its so funny that some angloid (i presume) thinks his rudimentary Russian skills will be useful to a bunch of people who have intermingled with Russia for centuries.

              I have no military background and some live firearm experience. I do have over 100 hours of airsoft milsim experience though. It’s the closest thing to actual war.

              This is basically how Taiwan is training their civilian militias lol. The term “reddit island” now makes more sense

              • coolusername@lemmy.ml
                ·
                5 months ago

                Taiwan isn't doing it. It's some private venture. Literally no one here thinks China is going to invade. Nobody starts a war for face reasons.

          • Leon_Grotsky [comrade/them]
            ·
            5 months ago

            There were alot of those guys yeah but also US vets in various capacity trying to find themselves another war. The guy I posted below was on of them and he mentions there being other US vets there "volunteering" with him.

      • D61 [any]
        ·
        5 months ago

        No air superiority and fighting a peer adversary makes being a mercenary less like a video game and more like WW1 trench fighting.

      • RyanGosling [none/use name]
        ·
        5 months ago

        https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraines-international-legion-is-still-fighting-but-not-many-left-2024-5

        https://www.businessinsider.com/they-went-to-ukraine-to-be-war-heroes-and-fight-russians-2022-4

    • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmygrad.ml
      hexagon
      ·
      5 months ago

      The stories from those that made it back were really hilarious. They were absolutely shocked to find out that fighting a professional army is nothing like hunting civilians in Afghanistan.

  • EstraDoll [she/her]
    ·
    5 months ago

    In the wise words of Joe Biden: "Joe Biden is a rabid dog, he should be beaten to death with a stick"

    • RyanGosling [none/use name]
      ·
      5 months ago

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2004_Fallujah_ambush&diffonly=true

      The four armed contractors, Scott Helvenston, Jerry Zovko, Wesley Batalona, and Mike Teague, were killed and dragged from their vehicles. Their bodies were beaten and burned, with their charred corpses then dragged through the city streets before being hanged over a bridge crossing the Euphrates River.

      • CascadeOfLight [he/him]
        ·
        5 months ago

        The ambush led to the First Battle of Fallujah, a U.S.-led operation to retake control of the city. However, the battle was halted mid-way for political reasons, an outcome which commentators have described as insurgent victory.

        rage-cry "W-we would've won if we weren't stabbed in the back! They didn't win, that's the lying fake news media!"

        • HexBroke
          ·
          edit-2
          5 months ago

          deleted by creator

  • MolotovHalfEmpty [he/him]
    ·
    edit-2
    5 months ago

    No way there isn't already US mercs there. I assume this means they're looking at starting a massive slushfund for much larger numbers.

    • Socialism_Is_The_Alternative [none/use name]
      ·
      5 months ago

      Exactly! That is who most of the so-called "volunteers" actually are. And there are certain US-supplied weapons systems that Ukrainian conscripts have zero ability to operate in the first place (like Patriots and probably even HIMARS launchers). So when Russian forces blow them up (which they do), we can be fairly certain that US (or other NATO) "contractors" are getting killed (which they are).

      • Teekeeus
        ·
        edit-2
        24 days ago

        deleted by creator

        • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml
          ·
          5 months ago

          Brigadier general Adam Marczak. Polish govt and media deny it vehemently, official version is that he died from unspecified natural causes in Belgium and he was barely 52 without any mentions of health problems anywhere. He just completely coincidentally suddenly died in the same day Russia did a major attack on a mercenary base.

    • mayo_cider [he/him]
      ·
      5 months ago

      Of course there is, this is just a way to pay for them without any middle men

      • MolotovHalfEmpty [he/him]
        ·
        edit-2
        5 months ago

        And potentially offer mercs with larger, more advanced hardware that couldnt remain under the radar. Academi has been building a private airforce for example.

        • HexBroke
          ·
          edit-2
          5 months ago

          deleted by creator

          • MolotovHalfEmpty [he/him]
            ·
            5 months ago

            My understanding is the A-4s can be modified to Gen 4 fighter standards. But you're probably right, my point really was that more visible mercs let's them bring armor or bigger hardware and do more visible activities.

  • RyanGosling [none/use name]
    ·
    5 months ago

    Good thing Blackwater Xe Academi are just military contractors. Imagine if we deployed mercenaries like Wagner.

      • LaughingLion [any, any]
        ·
        5 months ago

        yes, before the invasion ukraine was the human trafficking capitol of europe and there is a nice big un report on it somewhere if you google around

    • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml
      ·
      5 months ago

      There are human trafficking stories with a lot of Ukrainian victims ever since 1991, with intensifications curiously in the years of US meddling and shock therapies.

  • Hexphoenix [any]
    ·
    5 months ago

    Yesss dude, fuck yeah, send in some Americans to the meat grinder! lets-fucking-go

  • Teekeeus
    ·
    edit-2
    24 days ago

    deleted by creator

    • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmygrad.ml
      hexagon
      ·
      5 months ago

      That could be the point where pro US regimes start falling across Europe. We're already in the early stages of that happening now. Boots on the ground will kick that into overdrive.

      • Tankiedesantski [he/him]
        ·
        5 months ago

        The problem is falling and being replaced with what? Seems to be few leftist alternatives and the right is all blood and soil Nazis who'll eventually fall in line with America anyway.

        • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmygrad.ml
          hexagon
          ·
          5 months ago

          The fact that European left shat the bed by aligning with bloodthirsty libs is definitely a problem going forward. However, it does look like a lot of people in Europe are starting to recognize that US cynically used them in their proxy war, and I don't think things can ever go back to business as usual after the war ends. The economic damage is just too great.

  • Yor [she/her]
    ·
    5 months ago

    Figured this was coming eventually. It's already so far gone, idk what they think they'll change now

    • RyanGosling [none/use name]
      ·
      5 months ago

      Our Ubermensch Burger Soldiers will clear the way for the Ghost of Kyiv to finish the show