Combat Experience of Russian Squadron in Syria Will Go Down in Textbooks
On Thursday, the main base of the Northern Fleet in Severomorsk welcomed the battle group of warships led by Admiral Kuznetsov, which returned from Syria the day before. Sailors and airmen received state awards for bravery and courage, and, according to the naval tradition, roasted pigs for the successful long-distance deployment. This unique combat experience, which the Russian aircraft carrier squadron acquired in the Mediterranean, is already in the textbooks. Report of Dmitry Kaystro. First moments of the meeting, smiles of joy, and tears in people’s eyes, which today they shouldn't be ashamed of. They waited for their husbands, fathers, and sons during this long deployment watching TV news, imagining going through everything with them every day. Here he is. Anatoly Gudin, who serves in the traffic division of the nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great, left for this long-distance deployment when his little girl Victoria was only one week old. During that time, she became 4 months older, and it seems that her happy father can’t believe that all this is happening to him: "I only had a picture of her taken when she was born, and now she's so big. -It's amazing. -Yes, right. Well, at least my older daughter was helping to raise her, while I was gone". Steel silhouettes of warships on the Severomorsk raid. The chief naval base welcomes its heroes. A ceremonial line-up is held on the upper deck, St. Andrew's flag and the naval jack stream in the wind over the ships. Commander of the Fleet greets the crew from the commander’s boat. "I congratulate you on the successful completion of the set tasks! Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!". They returned having performed the task in the long-range maritime zone. It was a unique experience of combat employment of the aircraft carrier squadron. This long-distance campaign of the surface action group will surely be described in the Russian textbooks of naval strategy history as a successful experience of cooperation with the Russian Aerospace Forces and as the first combat experience of air wing of Admiral Kuznetsov. There were 420 operational flights, with 117 being night missions. 1200 ISIS infrastructure sites were destroyed. 18 thousand nautical miles out and home. Honor and glory of the Russian Navy. Congratulations and awarding of state decorations. On behalf of the Commander in Chief and according to the old naval tradition, the crews are server roasted pigs. Dress parade on such a day is always a special moment, a moment of pride for the country and for its Navy. Military and patriotic spirit of the group personnel deserves the highest respect. The personnel is ready to perform any combat mission assigned. Four months underway is not just about maritime training and brotherhood. The grouping of the squadron showed the whole world the combat capabilities of the Russian ships. A unified air defense system was established. Now, everything that is in the heads of our pilots, who came back, our commanders and captains, everything will be written down and described in textbooks, manuals. "The life of a sailor belongs to the Motherland”. Today we remember the famous words of Admiral Nakhimov. Those who returned from the long deployment proved it with their service and their feat, which they performed having shown the glory of the St. Andrew's naval flag.
