The next few years saw the separatist movement incur significant losses, but Vadalov was able to distinguish himself mainly due to his survival skills. As such, he was named Deputy Commander of the Gudermes Region of the Chechen Armed Forces under Emir Askhab. Although this unit that he commanded lacked manpower, his team and him were able to launch numerous small but significant attacks against the Russian security forces, especially around Ishkoy-Yurt.