09-19-2009, 05:28 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-19-2009, 08:18 PM by 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.
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.
Phillip
