Why do I need to change the army: reforming the armed forces in the world
Not bypassed military reform and the Russian armed forces. Back in 2008, the Ministry of Defense announced its intention to carry out the most radical reform of the entire history the existence of the army. This reform included not only the reduction of certain officer positions, but also a change in the structure of the troops, the reorganization of military units. At the same time, the country's leadership planned to allocate additional funds for the purchase of new military equipment and weapons.
From the very beginning, the reform caused ambiguous assessments not only in the armed forces themselves, but also as a whole in society.
However, despite this, Dmitry Medvedev, while still at the head of state, said that the reform of the army was almost complete. Thus, most of the military units are ready to start performing tasks in the shortest possible time, and thanks to the optimization of the interspecific grouping of troops and the new structure of districts, the level of efficiency of planning and control over them has significantly increased.
According to him, over the years of reform, only new modern models of equipment and weapons were supplied to the army, their volume increased to 16 percent. During the same time, the intensity of operational and combat training has almost tripled.
Recall reform in the Russian army began in the year 2008. According to her, before 2012, the number of Russian armed forces should be 1 million people. In addition, it involves the transition from the regimental structure to the brigade. In addition, it was planned to reduce the order of 200 thousands of officer positions, to eliminate the corps of midshipmen and ensigns (which is approximately 160 thousands of people). Due to this, the military leadership plans to reduce the percentage of officers to 15 percent instead of 32 and, thus, to align with world practice.
All military personnel who will be dismissed will be able to undergo retraining and get non-military positions. In addition, they will receive housing and material compensation.
But regarding the transition to a contract army, in the near future this will not happen. The military department is talking about a gradual increase in the number of contractors, respectively, the number of recruits will decrease. Thus, in the coming years, the number of contract servicemen in the Russian army will be about 425 thousand people.
How was the reform carried out in other countries? A few examples of military reform abroad, we consider below.
So, military reform was carried out in the German armed forces. The country's leadership in 2010 approved the plan for the sixth military reform, which has been carried out since the unification of the GDR and the FRG in 1990. This reform is the most ambitious. Apart from certain organizational aspects, its main provisions were a reduction in the number of personnel, as well as a change in recruitment. In July, 2011, the call for military service was stopped, despite the fact that the provision of military service remained in the Basic Law of the country.
The number of personnel, according to the reform, should be reduced to 185 thousand people, of which only 15 thousand will be volunteers, and 170 thousand will be professionals. It is also planned to reduce the number of civilian personnel by more than 20 thousand people. An important aspect of the reorganization is expanding access for women. First of all, the reform will concern staff officers, managers, as well as military personnel with great experience, for whom a social support system has been developed. And in order to attract more young specialists to the army, a bonus system has been developed and wages have been raised.
The main goal of the reform is the need to adapt the army to new principles of maintaining security in the world. Angela Merkel has repeatedly stated the need to reform the armed forces, emphasizing that the army should be ready to carry out operations outside the state related to the fight against terrorism.
New military reform fits into the policy of reducing state funding, since it is planned to reduce the cost of 8 billions of dollars to 2014 year with its help.
Despite the large number of positive moments, some experts fear that the German military department will not be able to recruit the necessary number of specialists, since the majority of contract servicemen came to the service only because of military service. In addition, there may be problems with alternative service, since few will agree to go to work in nursing homes or hospitals.
In general, the reform of the Bundeswehr aims to raise the status of Germany in NATO, as well as the intention to become the base of the unified European security forces.
The situation is somewhat different in Japan.. In the country, according to the Constitution, it is prohibited to conduct wars and create an army. Therefore, at the present stage of development, the Japanese self-defense forces are, de jure, not entirely armed forces (although de facto you will not say that). And the Ministry of Defense appeared here only in 2007. At the end of 2010, the military department introduced a national defense program, the main point of which was the need to reform the armed forces. According to her, ground forces should become more mobile. It is proposed to achieve this by reducing the number of military units with heavy weapons, as well as reorganizing the control system. For the naval forces, the priority is to unite destroyers located in different waters into tactical mobile groups, as well as the development of underwater fleet. In the air force, reform is not so significant, it is limited to changes in the organizational and staffing nature.
Today, Japan continues to develop its military power. The state ranks fifth in the world in terms of the amount of spending on this industry (annually they amount to about 44 billion dollars). It is noteworthy that in this respect, Japan overtook even Germany, letting only the United States of America, Great Britain, China and France go ahead. And if we take into account that in the last two states the budgets for the military complex are cut, then it is possible that Japan will soon be able to take third place, and will be able to compete with China for the second.
Today, the aircraft carrying ships, the modern missile defense system, are in service with the Japanese army. It should be noted that the country provides most of its military needs on its own. Moreover, there are more and more calls to abandon import restrictions. weapons. The only thing that is not yet in the country is nuclear weapons, but all the necessary technologies for its creation are present.
In the Japanese armed forces there are 240 thousand people. Fighting equipment is updated regularly. So, for example, in the naval forces there are about 250 warships, as well as auxiliary boats and ships. Among them, there are 4 flagships - destroyers, helicopter carriers, which can simultaneously perform the functions of airborne and aircraft-carrying units. In addition, 40 destroyers are also available. At the same time, representatives of the authorities seriously think about the need to revive mobile amphibious units, which, as a rule, are used to capture the coastal territories of the enemy.
The total amount of funding for the reform of the army of Japan is about 285 million dollars.
Lithuania after the secession of the Soviet Union was forced to proceed to the reform of its armed forcesbecause it was one of the main elements of European integration. In 1994, the government submitted an application to join the North Atlantic Alliance, and after 10 years, in 2004, the country became a member of NATO. The completion of the reform of the Lithuanian armed forces is scheduled for 2014 year. By this time, it is planned to create a compact mobile army that would fully meet NATO standards and be able to take part in all operations conducted by the Alliance. During the period from 2005 to 2012, the number of army decreased by more than 5 thousand people. Thus, today it consists of about 14,5 thousand military personnel. Moreover, if earlier the number of recruits was 3,3 thousands of people, then today this number is much less - just 110 people. That is, the Lithuanian army went almost entirely on a professional basis. Last year, the lifespan was reduced from 12 to 9 months, and the duration of basic military training is only 90 days instead of 150. Among recruits, preference is given to volunteers, and if there is a shortage - the choice is made by drawing lots.
Reforming the armed forces involves equipping them with modern models of military equipment and weapons. Thus, on the basis of the Iron Wolf brigade it is planned to create a mechanized brigade, the formation of a communications battalion.
Thus, the Lithuanian army is a mobile, well-equipped and armed military organization that is able to protect the territorial integrity of the state, as well as assist the allies in case of need.
As for the Chinese armed forces, recently, its reform program has begun to acquire concrete outlines.. A report on the government’s defense policy, called the White Paper, was published in Beijing. According to her, the main task put forward before the national army is to maintain an active defense strategy, which implies increasing the level of combat capability of the armed forces while reducing them numerically and simultaneously equipping them with the latest types of weapons. The reduction is planned mainly in the ground forces. Initially, their number will be reduced to 1,8 million people, and over time, the reduction will be another 30 percent. At the same time, it is planned to expand the air force, naval forces, Vietnam, the creation of mobile forces for operations in local conflicts. Over time, it is planned to include part of the fleet's forces and shock in these mobile groups. Aviation.
Reforming the air force and air defense is a priority in the development of the Chinese army as a whole. Such an approach is the result of the government’s conviction in the decisive role of aviation in possible military conflicts. Therefore, much attention is paid to the export of Russian modern Su-30MK2, Su-30MKK fighters, production of licensed Su-27 aircraft, as well as the development of modern aviation weapons.
In addition, China is also modernizing its air defense and fleet systems. To this end, Russian-made Tor-M1, C-300PMU1 anti-aircraft missile systems are actively purchased, as well as their own anti-aircraft missile systems are being created.
The reform of the armed forces also affected the officer corps. A course was taken for the rejuvenation of personnel, as well as the introduction of new military ranks. Changes have occurred in the system of military education.
In the process of reforming the defense complex, much attention is paid to the economic assurance of the state’s readiness and the development of military production, which must meet the needs of military equipment and weapons not only in wartime, but also in peacetime.
In the Republic of South Africa, after the fall of "apartheid" in 1994, the first formations of blacks appeared in the army. Such units were just 7: "African National Congress", "Pan-African Congress", "Inkata" and the four armies of Bantustan. Thus, as part of the new army, there were about 80 thousands of soldiers of the old armed forces, 34 thousands of former rebels and approximately 11 thousands of Bantuan. At the same time, the middle and top officers were represented by white skin, and the private and sergeant staff - black.
The main task of reforming the army was to correct the racial and age imbalance. It was planned to achieve this by conducting accelerated courses and advanced training programs. On the 2011 year, slightly more than 70 percent of the military personnel were black, about 15 percent were white, approximately 12 percent were “colored” and slightly more than 1 percent were Asians. As for the privates, still the main contingent (about 90 percent) is black, in the lieutenant corps their number has increased to 57 percent, and among lieutenant colonels - to 33 percent.
The military leadership is confident that the air force cannot fully fulfill the tasks assigned to them, since they are armed with mostly outdated equipment. Therefore, in the process of reforming much attention is paid to the reorganization of the Air Force. This, in particular, the modernization of the aircraft fleet, the introduction of computer technology to ensure the automation of services. In addition, the country's leadership does not overlook the increased capabilities of air defense systems, in particular, the deployment of a low-flying detection system near the borders of the country. In the process of re-equipment of naval forces (in particular, naval aviation), South Africa places great hopes on the United States of America.
Thus, all the reforms of the armed forces, which were covered in the article, are characterized by a reduction in the number of personnel of the armed forces, the introduction of advanced troop control systems, the latest weapon systems and equipment, and the transition to professional equipment for the army. We hope that the reform of our army will proceed according to such principles.
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