A Systems Universalisation Specialist, or S.U.S., is the name of a member of the Russian Armed Services trained in Computer Networking, GPS systems, and general technology.[1]
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The title, "Systems Universalisation Specialist", or was created in the 1980s, for someone involved in Radar and GPS systems. While the idea of a S.U.S. member had been around since World War II, with infantry men operating radio devices and planning out tank movements for the war effort. The term "Systems Universalisation Specialist" comes from three parts. The first part, being "System" is reference to the GPS or Radar systems operated. The second part, "Universalisation" comes from the fact that all systems should be linked, and connected to each other. This is to ensure that no soldier, nor tank, nor airplane is operating by itself, and that the whole field army is working on a team.
When the Soviet Government collapsed in 1992, so did the title of Systems Universalisation Specialist. With large budget cutbacks, the Russian Army could not afford to operate and maintain the equipment passed down from their Soviet predecessor. In 1994, due to the First Chechen War, and a new army budget the rank was revived and new soldiers trained in the field. New S.U.S. recruits where trained in revised and new technology, while their training was great, morale was poor, thus the war was lost.
Out of combat, Systems Universalisation Specialists are still trained today, and modern systems like Night Vision and infra red scopes are being taught to recruits. Recently, with the programs to modernize the Armies of the world, specialists in this field are more important then ever.[2]
Much like Medical Corpsmen have adopted the name "Medic" for use in combat, Systems Universalisation Specialist, while highly respected, have been dubbed "Pig" or "Pigs." This is due to the acronym "S.U.S" being pronounced "Sou," like the proper name for a breed of pig. The Russian Army has current issues with disrespect among soldiers, and this may be a major factor contributing to the nickname of SUS Technicians.
Even among high ranks, the title, "Systems Universalisation Specialist," is rarely used. In combat, or on operations, they are formally called "SUS Technicians." While "SUS Tech" or "SUS Technician" is common, "Systems Universalisation Specialist Technician" is unlikely to be used. While one could be a "Systems Universalisation Specialist Technician" in the way that one could be a Technician that specializes in systems universlisation, in the Russian language it sounds improper. An English example of this would be "A Medical Doctor that is a doctor in medical issues."
With technology, such as the Global Positioning System friendly fire rates have dropped greatly.