Severin took charge of the depleted 293rd Air Defense Company during the collapse, when the struggling Russian Army had little to no AAV capability remaining. Within months, he had rebuilt the unit with a mix of modern and obsolete vehicles, configured them to run of alternative fuels, and was sent into action against Red Banner aircraft in the instincts of a born hunter, laying traps for the Red Banner strike planes and gunships that all but drove the enemy aircraft from the skies.