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Green Beret vs Spetsnaz

May 12, 2009 | Author: Matthew | Filed under: Martial Arts, Opinion, Recent Events, TV Shows

This week we approach modern times when the American Green Beret meets the Russian Spetsnaz.

I’m excited about this matchup because it is a return to real warriors. Last week’s Mafia vs Yakuza dipped into thug territory and it was hard to root for either. Now we have professionals on our hands.

A Little Bit About Em

The Green Beret and Spetsnaz (sometimes seen as spetznaz or spetnaz) were the finest fighting forces during the Cold War. Still around today, these elite squads are feared and respected for their mastery of modern combat.

Green Berets received their nickname due to their iconic headgear, but are actually United States Army Special Forces. Their main objectives tend to be “unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, and counter-terrorism”. – wikipedia.

In pop culture, John Rambo of the Rambo trilogy epitomized the rugged, effective, and lethal methods of Green Beret survival during the Vietnam war.

The Spetsnaz, which essentially stands for Russian Special Purposes Regiment, was the soviet equivalent of the Green Beret. Surfacing around the same time (cold war era), Spetsnaz operates under the guidance of the GDU – the main russian military intelligence agency.

The Spetsnaz have been involved in many middle eastern conflicts and “have trained the Republican Guard of Syria, Iraq and Iran. They have been involved in training other special forces units across the world”. – wikipedia.

Talkin ‘Bout Weaponry

The fighters of these two groups not only have skill and know-how, but also lethal firepower. The most important and looked-forward-to matchup is going to be the AK-47 vs the M4.

As you can see, the Green Beret utilized the M4 while the Spetsnaz used the even more famous AK47. These guns have caused a lot of debate amongst firearm afficionados and the results are sure to cause a lot of controversy one way or the other.

My suspicion is that the AK47 will win on sheer reliability and well-roundedness on the battlefield.

As for other weapons, I can’t be sure what they will use. I predict that we’ll see something explosive (as in a comparison of U.S. vs Russian grenades). There will also be a short range knife battle. I’m hoping the Green Berets get a Rambo style Bowie knife just because I think they are cool.

Final Thoughts and Verdicts

Like with Mafia vs Yakuza, I could definitely use your input! Any gun experts that happen by please feel free to jot your thoughts in the comments section for the rest of us to learn from.

But, with my limited knowledge, I think I’m ready to make my guess. I have to go with the Green Berets. Even though I’ve heard that the Spetsnaz training is harsher and the results more dramatic, I have to believe that American weaponry, intelligence, and know-how will win the day. The success of the Green Berets on the battlefield and behind enemy lines speaks for itself.

What do you think?

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 and is filed under Martial Arts, Opinion, Recent Events, TV Shows. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

xygoxen
  • anoyimous
    yust vieuw at wikipedia then deadliest warrior
  • Skydogbuddha123
    Don't know much about the differences between weapons or their training methods, but I vote for the Spedz based purely on the fact that the Russian military has a much longer history than America's and they would true to form just keep sending in more personel no matter how many got knocked down until objective is overwhelmed.
  • Pete
    A better comparison, in my opinion, would be Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta ("Delta Force", in popular parlance) and the British Special Air Service ("SAS"), from which our (America's) Army Special Forces were patterned. The figurative son has grown up...can he hang with the ol' man, in other words.
  • Winner - Spetnaz. I think it was more a matter of the shooters than the guns.
  • MikeOliveri
    Finally got around to watching this one, and I think the results show what a waste of time it was. Both are highly trained, both have similar gear, there's just no clear winner. The only reason they gave the edge on the pistol and the sniper rifle is because one team or the other managed to shoot a little better that day.
  • MikeOliveri
    Mostly patriotism, but I'm going with Green Berets on the likelihood they're better equipped and better supported. The AK-47 vs M4 is a tough call, but the AK is a reliable weapon with more punch. After that it's sidearms, knives, grenades, hand-to-hand? Tough to reliably pick one over the other when they pretty much have the same job.
  • Branden
    Few things:

    The kalashnikov can shoot several different sizes depending on how it's milled at the factory. However, normally, it comes stock to shoot a 7.62 NATO (308). This give it more stopping power and causes a tendency to "tumble" making exit wounds large and nasty (referred to as the dragons kiss). It'll shoot in nasty conditions, and doesn't need to be broken down as much as the M4 to be as reliable. They're spouted for their accuricy, but they don't really compare to a well outfitted M4, of which, I've never known a SPEC OP person to carry a stock M4...Ever. You can easily in harsh conditions hit a 6X6 inch target at 150ish yards with the AK, however, any further than that and the tumble of the round causes unpredictable trajectory.


    The M4, while stock is eh. However, when well outfitted (it has a much larger variety of complimentary accessories.) Scopes, red-dot sites, flashlights, m203 grenade launcher, etc). While the M4 shoots a significantly smaller round, 5.56 NATO (223) and it doesn't tumble as much. The M4 shoots truer much further. You do however need to break the M4 down more often and it's known to jam periodically (thus the need for the forward assist).

    Just speaking of the weaponry, I think M4 hands down depending on how they view things.

    On the whole, I say US Army Spec Ops win this, because our budget is bigger.....was... bigger?
  • Thanks Branden! (you finally got to exercise your gun love on here).
  • Bob
    I will have to go patriotic here for the Green Berets. But, I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of either elite team.
  • Sean C. Ledig
    I share your view of AK47. I think it is one of the finest weapons ever made. It's one of the few good things to come out of the late Soviet Union.
  • pisketi
    I think the Green Beret has the edge. The M4 is a much more sophisticated weapon than the AK-74 (I think the Spetznatz boys dont use the AK-47 any more). Although the AK will prove to be more durable, the M4's modifiability will win the day.
  • strong argument for the m4!
  • spetznaz! ak + possibility of systema training =)

    i think DW will find a way to lean it to green beret just because of how current these two warriors are and the fact that it's a US-focused show.
  • agreed about the possibility for a slant toward green beret.
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