Talk:Alfa squad

How does this squad relate to the Spetsnaz (special forces of Russia)? Is it a subset, or are they different things? Could this subject be treated on a more general Spetsnaz page? --Camembert

These guys are special and deserve their own page, even though not much is known about them publicly. They are to Spetsnaz what the US Delta Force is to the US Army . . . very secretive and very good at what they do. The Afghanistan operation mentioned was the first operation that kicked off the Afghanistan war, and the various special operations communities were impressed at the time by the daring and ruthlessness of the operation. The operation was an execution op, which most Western SF units probably wouldn't even plan, let alone carry out.

Alfa squad is incredibly ruthless, an extreme example of the general attitude of the Russian military. They considered the hostage rescue op mentioned a qualified success, considering that if the terrorists had had their way no one would have made it out alive. clarka 17 Mar 2004

Alpha Squad or more specifically Alpha Group belongs to OSNAZ of the secret police and was formed by the KGB in 1974. It curently is believed to consists of 700 persons, 400 in the Mocow Detachment and the other 300 located in other cities in Russia. They function more as a super SWAT team more than anything else. Tomtom 2200hrs, 9 July 2004.

Naming problem

There is also an Alpha_Group. What's correct? Enrico 22:02, 3 Sep 2004 (UTC)