Badge "Associated Veteran Group "Al'fa"".

[daax]

Hi

I searched but couldn't find anything about this badge but i'm sure that it has been talked about. What is it, a ALFA badge, a fantasy badge, a fake?

Any comments would be great.

/David

[Nota Bene]

David,

This is supposed to be "Alpha" Veterans Organization badge. I can't tell for sure if it is genuine or not, but I had offers to buy 200-300 of them at $2 a piece.

Alexei

[Riley1965]

What do you mean by "Alpha"?

Doc

[desantnik]

What do you mean by "Alpha"?

Doc

Alpha is one of the preeminent Soviet, now Russian, special operations groups.

[Taz]

Here is a little information on the "ALPHA" Group (also known as Spetsgruppa A)
The "Alpha" antiterrorist detachment was created 29 July 1974 within the First Chief Directorate of the KGB on the orders of Yuri Andropov, then Chairman of the KGB. It was intended for secret foreign operations in response to the wave of terrorist acts which had swept across most of the world and had hit Western Europe especially hard, a decision was made in the KGB to create special units to fight terrorism.
In forming "Alfa," a thorough study was made of other countries' experience, most of all, of the American anti-terrorist team 'Delta Force', the British special SAS units, and similar formations in the Israeli Mossad.
Alpha first won international renown after the storming of Afghan president Hafizullah Amin's palace, in which it participated together with the anti-terrorist unit Vympel.

Eddie

[Nota Bene]

I believe before Afghanistan there was a not very publisized operation to save some Soviet sailors kidnaped in Egipt. Apparently, the international counter-terrorism community was very impressed.

Alexei

[tshirtlarry]

I believe its some KGB veterans group. Can someone shed some light on the badge. I know I shed to much light on it with the flash.

[deValcourt]

It's a badge originally put out by the veteran's organization of the "Alpha Group" which was once a black ops, or special forces section of the KGB along with "Zenith" and "Vympel" (or "Pennant" - which is now under the control of the SVR or Foreign Intelligance Service - but you didn't hear that from me ;)). Alpha and Zenith were most famous for spearheading the raid on the Tajbeg Palace in Kabul during the beginnings of the war in Afganistan called "Operation Storm 333." You can read about it in detail by googling "Operation Storm 333" - the notorious Wikipedia and many others have detailed explanations. Alpha was disbanded, then reformed again under the FSB after a little internal house cleaning once the 1992 coup was put down. Both Alpha and Vympel have been converted into paramilitary counter-terrorism organizations, and in Vympel's case, counter-anything the Russians want countered at home or anywhere else.
The badge looks (from what I can see) as authentic as any, but who knows these days since it was a privately commissioned job and is not that difficult to counterfeit. However, the price for these is so low (about $10-20) that I don't see why anyone would bother.
Unlike Alpha, "Vympel" was created unitl 1980-1 in response to the Munich Hostage Сrisis which began when a well-organized group od holy fools captured and held several members of the Jewish Olympic team to secure the release of fellow terrorists held in Israel and to this day anyone who tells you he knows secrets about "Vympel" is lying.

[deValcourt]

Here are the "Vympel" badge counterparts I mentioned above: 10, 15 and 25 service (I suppose) and finally a badge that is probably a tourist rip-off of the Vympel badges below: