Type 56: Story of the SKS and AK-47 in China

Spetsnaz for a Day: Mission to Cao Bang With PLA Special Ops

Added 2026-01-16 20:43:29 +0000 UTC

Few people have jobs so cool that I'd trade places with them, but what if you could ride along for a day with "Chinese Delta Force?" On a top-secret mission that starts with a high-pucker-factor race down the Ho Chi Minh Memorial Sniper Highway into a ruined city that belongs to one army by day and reverts to their enemies each night?

I might roll the dice and do that just once--please do NOT tell Mrs. 56!!--provided I could still go back to the class the next day and keep teaching Asian studies.

If you aren't blessed with tenure and a state employee's generous life insurance program, I give you the next best thing: a vicarious seat in an unarmored, under-powered Chinese jeep thundering into the danger zone with China's version of "The Unit."

Stuff your rucksack in the window (trust me), don't stop for snipers, and don't reveal your true mission to a soul!

Ten thousand years!