In November 1978, after graduating from the Ryazan Airborne School, the author was appointed platoon commander of a separate reconnaissance company of the 103rd Guards Airborne Division. A year later, together with his unit, he ended up in Afghanistan, where he fought for two years. He spoke honestly and in detail about his four years of service in airborne reconnaissance in his book. What and how the fighters of the reconnaissance units of the Airborne Forces were trained in peacetime and how they applied the acquired skills “beyond the river”, when in December 1979 they were among the first to enter Afghanistan.