Russian army and US army are on different level professionally, in no little thanks to how they are set up.
The strict discipline in the US Army is not present with the Russians. US army enjoys NCO core that maintains discipline among the troops. The Russians at this point seemed more officer driven and the soldiers did what ever that wanted when left alone.
United State Army uniform is a good example to buttress this – all Americans wore the exact same uniform. As in the case of the Russians – different camo patterns and uniform items.
American soldiers are well disciplined with weapons, only that the Russians soldiers throw weapons around and often left them on fire.
As an American soldier this would get you in a lot of trouble and result in many push-ups from NCOs.
The Russians seemed brave and motivated just not as disciplined as US soldiers. This was probably due to many of them being drafted while U.S squad are all volunteers.
Difference in Mission Statement
The US Department of Defense’s mission is to defend US interests at home and abroad. It’s built on the principle of defense through projection.
This is best expressed by the saying “we fight over there so we don’t have to fight them here.” The Russian’s mission is similar, yet the focus is mostly in protecting and expanding its borders.
Doctrine
Soviet doctrine, which morphed into Russian doctrine is based on the principle of strength through numbers; Russian doctrine is, in short, based on overpowering its opponents by attack in wave after wave and eventually wearing down its enemies’ defenses.
US doctrine is built on strength through firepower; instead of rushing the lines, the US uses different platforms that hit different parts of the opposing army until the enemy has been destroyed through coordinated fires mixing air, sea, and land power into a synchronized force.
Russian doctrine places a high burden on senior leadership to execute its warfighting.
US doctrine places a high burden on its leadership and empowers its junior leaders to execute that mission.
For example, each soldier in a US fireteam knows their objectives, routes, and contingency plans; each has a compass and map and knows how to get where they’re going.
In a Russian fireteam, only the officer has that knowledge. Big reason why they need to wait for orders even when one of them is shot.
