Post by Globexanter on Apr 20, 2016 16:51:13 GMT -5
One of the greatest disadvantages of possessing a huge territory was by far the amount of borders to secure and control. Part of this huge challenge was always facilitated by the fact that the biggest neighbor, Central Ruska, had often been on neutral or friendly terms with their distant Globexanterian cousins. This left one major hurdle in the country's security: the vast Southern border. From the Westernmost point to the Eastern coastline the Southern border was a distant measuring around nine thousand kilometers, all of which required constant protection from exterior threats. This need was highlighted by the large amount of weaponry and even humans being trafficked across these borders into poorer regions during the instability caused by the Globexanterian Revolution, which eventually lead to the creation of the Globexanterian Border Guards (or GBG, for short).
Most of the Southern border found protection in control trace strips, large areas cleared of vegetation, defending by a large ditch and raised hillock on one side and an area a few meters wide made out of sand or dirt and formed into several lines, easily showing footsteps when stood upon. This engineering protection still required manpower, creating multiple GBG bases situated all around Southern Globexanter. This also permitted the creation of thousands upon thousands of small border posts, usually manned by a few guards on weekly rotations, as well as mobile posts randomly set up by armored vehicles. Each post, be it temporary or not, comes equipped with the necessary equipment to create a technological barrier close to the border with movement sensors, various cameras, and sometimes even flares connected to tripwires. On the border with Gryoznia, most of the posts were situated on the Globexanterian hills positioned near the border with the neighboring country. On a clear day, the guards possessed a wide view extending into Groyznian territory, clearly illuminating the valleys and foothills of the Vyaz mountain range extending through the country.
However, the panoramic view of the fields in the valley below was of no interest to Timokha Alexandrovitch as he yawned slowly, leaning against the back of his small trench. He pulled himself forward, rubbing his eyes as he began to peer through the enhanced binoculars attached to a bipod by the side of a large Kord machine gun, the menacing barrel pointing lazily up to the sky. Life on the border post SW105, apart from the often strong winds, was rather easy for the four guards stationed there for the week long rotation. The post, composed of two trenches facing South westerly and South easterly respectively, was tasked with the protection of a few kilometers of easily accessible land, making it a prime objective for any smugglers. Directly South of them, nearly on the summit of the Globexanterian hill, was a small base with two dozen guards and a few armored vehicles. It was from this base that the mobile units were dispatched from, as well as the armed Mi-8 gunship.
Half of the unit's manpower came from conscripts, such as Timokha, with various amounts of time left on their civil service. For the young private, a long year still remained at the isolated post, but at least he could be sure to avoid combat duties. The young man leaned back, taking in the sun as he closed his eyes, occupying himself by listening to the wind rustling through the camouflage net covering the command post. If it wasn't for the few objects around him, he could nearly imagine himself being on holiday in some southern resort...
"Lazy bugger." muttered Sergeant-Major Savchenko, giving the Private a sharp kick in between the shoulder blades with his boot as he stood behind the trench. The guard groaned, falling forwards as he struggled to get up. "Comrade Sergeant-Major, I did not hear you arriving-" mumbled Timokha, straightening himself as he turned to the senior NCO. "No, that's because you were too busy sleeping. From all you knew I could've been some bearded bastard with a knife coming to slit your throat. Do you want your comrades to have to go and rescue you, only to find your mutilated body in a ditch with your privates shoved into your mouth?" retorted Savchenko, lowing himself into the trench as he moved to the binoculars.
"The answer your lips are looking for is 'Of course not, Comrade Sergeant Major!'. I bet you haven't even noticed that the Groyznian patrol hasn't gone past yet!" continued the NCO, pushing the Private towards the binoculars as he went along.
For the past few years, the Globexanterian and Groyznian border forces had been working on a joint operation aiming at reducing the amount of smuggling ongoing between the two countries, especially regarding the sale of weaponry and food to anti-government groups on either sides of the border. As a part of the deal, the Groyznian state would provide a more regular series of patrols on their side of the border. In return, the GBG would cease the often deadly incursions into Groyznian soil in order to attempt to halt the illegal border crossings. Surprisingly enough for the Globexanterian Government, the neighboring country took up the offer and began to provide regular patrols, providing a motivation for the Politburo to provide a funds to help increase the patrol work. As part of the deal, the two border forces would provide communications when passing each other. For post SW105, this was due to be sent via radio at 15:10, coinciding with the passing of the Gryoznian unit on the other side of the border.
"Per-perhaps we didn't see them? We might've missed the radio message." answered the Private, swooping the binoculars as he tried to observe the usual patrol route. "It's not a possibility. We've contacted the Gryoznian base and they're reporting the same issue. Post SW104 reported that they were able to contact the unit and got a response at their designated time of 14:10, but now nobody can seem to get a word out of them."
"How many men were in the patrol, Comrade Sergeant Major?" asked Timokha, having found no movement or sign of life through the lenses.
"Something around twenty or thirty depending on the week. Anyway, they're going to sent out a helicopter to see if they can find anything, perhaps even some kind of a convoy. Keep your eyes open, disappearing border guards are never a good thing. If you see anything out of the norm, get on your d**ned radio immediately. From what we're being told, HQ is thinking of increasing the danger level on the line, so we should be getting some reinforcements. Be careful." answered the Sergeant Major, lifting himself out of the trench as he went back to the command post.
Less than a quarter of an hour later, the green Gryoznian helicopter flew slowly South of the border, sticking close above the route usually followed by the patrol unit. Finding nothing on it's initial run, the helicopter began another run, slowly observing and double checking the whole route. As the night began to fall, the negative report continued to come in from the Groyznian helicopter as it returned to it's base. After deliberation, the Groyznian Border Forces deemed venturing into the thick dark forest in the middle of the night an unwise solution to their problem, meaning that a search unit would have to wait for dawn before being sent out. As promised, amidst the reports being sent back to headquarters, reinforcements in Sherpa vehicles began to arrive at various outposts, soon supplemented by the random sounds and lights produced by the passing BPM-97s by the border, stepping up their efforts in order to compensate for the lack of action of the opposite side. While the night drew on, it soon became clear that intervention by the Globexanterian forces would be called upon by Carcassonne if the Gryoznian side was incapable of finding it's lost patrol.
Most of the Southern border found protection in control trace strips, large areas cleared of vegetation, defending by a large ditch and raised hillock on one side and an area a few meters wide made out of sand or dirt and formed into several lines, easily showing footsteps when stood upon. This engineering protection still required manpower, creating multiple GBG bases situated all around Southern Globexanter. This also permitted the creation of thousands upon thousands of small border posts, usually manned by a few guards on weekly rotations, as well as mobile posts randomly set up by armored vehicles. Each post, be it temporary or not, comes equipped with the necessary equipment to create a technological barrier close to the border with movement sensors, various cameras, and sometimes even flares connected to tripwires. On the border with Gryoznia, most of the posts were situated on the Globexanterian hills positioned near the border with the neighboring country. On a clear day, the guards possessed a wide view extending into Groyznian territory, clearly illuminating the valleys and foothills of the Vyaz mountain range extending through the country.
However, the panoramic view of the fields in the valley below was of no interest to Timokha Alexandrovitch as he yawned slowly, leaning against the back of his small trench. He pulled himself forward, rubbing his eyes as he began to peer through the enhanced binoculars attached to a bipod by the side of a large Kord machine gun, the menacing barrel pointing lazily up to the sky. Life on the border post SW105, apart from the often strong winds, was rather easy for the four guards stationed there for the week long rotation. The post, composed of two trenches facing South westerly and South easterly respectively, was tasked with the protection of a few kilometers of easily accessible land, making it a prime objective for any smugglers. Directly South of them, nearly on the summit of the Globexanterian hill, was a small base with two dozen guards and a few armored vehicles. It was from this base that the mobile units were dispatched from, as well as the armed Mi-8 gunship.
Half of the unit's manpower came from conscripts, such as Timokha, with various amounts of time left on their civil service. For the young private, a long year still remained at the isolated post, but at least he could be sure to avoid combat duties. The young man leaned back, taking in the sun as he closed his eyes, occupying himself by listening to the wind rustling through the camouflage net covering the command post. If it wasn't for the few objects around him, he could nearly imagine himself being on holiday in some southern resort...
"Lazy bugger." muttered Sergeant-Major Savchenko, giving the Private a sharp kick in between the shoulder blades with his boot as he stood behind the trench. The guard groaned, falling forwards as he struggled to get up. "Comrade Sergeant-Major, I did not hear you arriving-" mumbled Timokha, straightening himself as he turned to the senior NCO. "No, that's because you were too busy sleeping. From all you knew I could've been some bearded bastard with a knife coming to slit your throat. Do you want your comrades to have to go and rescue you, only to find your mutilated body in a ditch with your privates shoved into your mouth?" retorted Savchenko, lowing himself into the trench as he moved to the binoculars.
"The answer your lips are looking for is 'Of course not, Comrade Sergeant Major!'. I bet you haven't even noticed that the Groyznian patrol hasn't gone past yet!" continued the NCO, pushing the Private towards the binoculars as he went along.
For the past few years, the Globexanterian and Groyznian border forces had been working on a joint operation aiming at reducing the amount of smuggling ongoing between the two countries, especially regarding the sale of weaponry and food to anti-government groups on either sides of the border. As a part of the deal, the Groyznian state would provide a more regular series of patrols on their side of the border. In return, the GBG would cease the often deadly incursions into Groyznian soil in order to attempt to halt the illegal border crossings. Surprisingly enough for the Globexanterian Government, the neighboring country took up the offer and began to provide regular patrols, providing a motivation for the Politburo to provide a funds to help increase the patrol work. As part of the deal, the two border forces would provide communications when passing each other. For post SW105, this was due to be sent via radio at 15:10, coinciding with the passing of the Gryoznian unit on the other side of the border.
"Per-perhaps we didn't see them? We might've missed the radio message." answered the Private, swooping the binoculars as he tried to observe the usual patrol route. "It's not a possibility. We've contacted the Gryoznian base and they're reporting the same issue. Post SW104 reported that they were able to contact the unit and got a response at their designated time of 14:10, but now nobody can seem to get a word out of them."
"How many men were in the patrol, Comrade Sergeant Major?" asked Timokha, having found no movement or sign of life through the lenses.
"Something around twenty or thirty depending on the week. Anyway, they're going to sent out a helicopter to see if they can find anything, perhaps even some kind of a convoy. Keep your eyes open, disappearing border guards are never a good thing. If you see anything out of the norm, get on your d**ned radio immediately. From what we're being told, HQ is thinking of increasing the danger level on the line, so we should be getting some reinforcements. Be careful." answered the Sergeant Major, lifting himself out of the trench as he went back to the command post.
Less than a quarter of an hour later, the green Gryoznian helicopter flew slowly South of the border, sticking close above the route usually followed by the patrol unit. Finding nothing on it's initial run, the helicopter began another run, slowly observing and double checking the whole route. As the night began to fall, the negative report continued to come in from the Groyznian helicopter as it returned to it's base. After deliberation, the Groyznian Border Forces deemed venturing into the thick dark forest in the middle of the night an unwise solution to their problem, meaning that a search unit would have to wait for dawn before being sent out. As promised, amidst the reports being sent back to headquarters, reinforcements in Sherpa vehicles began to arrive at various outposts, soon supplemented by the random sounds and lights produced by the passing BPM-97s by the border, stepping up their efforts in order to compensate for the lack of action of the opposite side. While the night drew on, it soon became clear that intervention by the Globexanterian forces would be called upon by Carcassonne if the Gryoznian side was incapable of finding it's lost patrol.