hi folks, i have a question mostly for chris, but i thought it might interest a few others too.

chris, how're you doing? a long time ago you mentioned the book "Mig Pilot Survival:Russian Aircrew Equipment and Instruction" i was wondering you if would be kind enough to tell us a bit more about it? i found a used copy on the net, and i was wondering about getting it.

cheers, and.

Stationed in Alaska, I had the temerity to critique some of our survival gear. The instructor produced a few examples of our Soviet/Russian brother's gear. It is generally robust and simple, but overall scared me to death and shut me up quickly.The book is a fun read. The few times I talked with Soviets in the fishing fleets we quietly traded gear. I imagine like anyone else there is a lot of non issue substitute standard <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />. Forget the knives. They consist of simple non locking pocket folders, The spetsnatz survival tool or the often abysmal AK47 bayonet. There are some very interesting knives beginning to trickle over, mostly based on the Finnish puukkos and knives made in the Gulags.

The more things change, the more they stay the same ... in WW 2, on the Alaska-Siberia Lend-Lease Route that passed that way, the Americans were by turns appalled and disgusted when a Russain pilot would go missing and their officers would just kind of shrug and go, Oh, well - Next! My impression has always been that while the Russian armed services might make some nice looking ships, planes, etc., when things go south, it's very much up to the individual to save himself because Mother Russia just flat out doesn't care.

It ain't just Mother Russia that has that attitude. When Defending Freedom's Frontier in The Land of the Morning Freshness (Korea), it was pretty clear that the Korean military did not place the same value on an individual's life that our military did. I think we would rank fairly high up the worldwide scale in this regard.