Friday, May 15, 2009

Chauncey DeVega's World of Ghetto Nerds: Deadliest Warrior--Green Berets versus Spetsnaz



A quick debriefing:

Here is the result of Tuesday night's match up. The show has had some high points as I pointed out earlier, but again, the outcome is a bit problematic. Now, I am not a gung-ho American type who thinks that all things U.S.A. are by definition better than anything offered from abroad. My problem here is the vagueness of the match-up.

For example, Spetsnaz are a broad designation within the Russian/Soviet military (and they are fierce warriors, some of their exploits in Afghanistan were legendary). As a qualifier, all Spetsnaz are "elite." But, some are more "elite" than others. And as was demonstrated during the Chechen seige at the Beslan Middle School, as well as the infamous "poison gas raid" in Moscow, some of their tactics are clumsy and imprecise--so much so that they border on the unprofessional. Thus I must ask, which types of "Spetsnaz" are fighting the Green Berets? The generic special forces or the ultra-elite anti-terrorism units?

Second thought: mission and orientation. The Green Berets are extremely well-trained and versatile. Yes, they are quite capable of what is called "direct action," i.e. killing the bad guys and bringing the pain. But, since their formal inception in the 1960s by President Kennedy, they are more oriented towards training insurgents and foreign militaries. Sure, they can eat things that would make a billy goat puke or break the enemy's will through sheer attrition, but would you want to waste these mature, superbly trained, multilingual warriors on such an adventure?



The Spetsnaz featured in this episode of Deadliest Warrior seem more oriented towards killing people and breaking things. Sure, the Green Berets will give the Spetsnaz operators all they can handle (and maybe more), but my gut tells me that another U.S. unit would be a better pairing. I think that Delta Force or SEAL Team 6 would have been an overmatch. But, the Rangers or U.S. Marine Recon would have seemed a better fit. Your thoughts? What do you think the outcome should have been?

2 comments:

Mark Prime (tpm/Confession Zero) said...

Your thoughts? What do you think the outcome should have been?I don't have an opinion on this... No. Actually I do. The idea of us vs them is repugnant. That is not to say that it isn't tantalizing for a large number of viewers. I am sure that this type of violent edged gaming/reality is thrilling for those that participate, but for me it is rather worthless, not unlike many of the "simulated" and heavily scripted shows parading as reality t.v. these days.

Lady Zora, Chauncey DeVega, and Gordon Gartrelle said...

I appreciate your thoughts. This is why I like these Internets! But, and here is something about the complexity of the folk I think I speak for, as much as I am a critic of these United States and its failure to live up to its creed and promise, I am a die hard nationalist. For me, I want "us" i.e. the U.S. to win--without apologies.

It begs a good question, how do notions of nationalism, race, and identity figure into the conversations we have online?

This could be productive. Your thoughts?

cd