Military operation "Vacation"
From here began the road to vacation
We had long vacations - 64 days, taking into account the trip by plane. It would seem, rest and rejoice, for two months you can forget about everything and indulge in bliss. But for us, who lived in a closed military town on the edge of geography, the vacation was a very serious test.
Only seasoned fighters could competently plan it and carry out everything in such a way as to quickly and without loss break through to the place of vacation. It was to break through, since every vacation trip was very similar to a large-scale military operation.
I will try in a very concise form to bring the main details of this operation.
Planning
The beginning of planning was always carried out by my superiors. In November, commanders of various levels determined and approved the period for the leave of my crew. I must say that I was almost always lucky - most of my vacations were in the summer.
After I found out that my vacation was scheduled for July-August, I told my wife about this and she brought this plan to her superiors. After wandering a little, her superiors agreed that the wife should go on vacation with her husband, despite the fact that they serve in different parts.
Next, we planned places to spend our holidays - Lugansk, where my parents lived, then Yalta, where my wife's parents lived, a trip to a sanatorium and all sorts of other differences. Briefly, the entire route could look something like this: Lilies of the valley - Khabarovsk - Moscow - Lugansk - Yalta - Divnomorskoye - Yalta - Khabarovsk - Lilies of the valley. That was the plan for 64 summer days.
advance preparation
Advance preparation consisted in knocking out a ticket to a sanatorium and collecting money. It was very difficult to get vouchers to the sanatorium, if these should not be vouchers to "sunny Magadan", but on the Black Sea coast. Vouchers did not reach the regiments, they were taken apart for navy, at the headquarters of the Pacific Fleet Air Force, and the headquarters of the division took the remnants.
But already in December, my wife and I began to annoy the heads of the medical service of the regiment, division and the Pacific Fleet Air Force with our unbridled desire to relax in a sanatorium, and after 3–5 months of the siege, we were allocated a “family ticket with a child”. We really liked the sanatorium of the Navy "Divnomorskoye", we rested there more than once.
Entrance to the sanatorium "Divnomorskoye"
To be honest, on almost all vacations, starting from the Starley days, I visited sanatoriums, it was very difficult to get a ticket, but perhaps it was only necessary to show perseverance and reasonable impudence in communicating with representatives of the medical service.
The following words and expressions helped well:
- air fighter;
- undermined health;
- as in battle, so first of all, but as in a sanatorium, then fuck you;
- We defend the Motherland with the whole family;
- I am at the forefront of the war, and not at the headquarters I sit out;
- “whistles” are forcibly driven into the sanatorium, but you don’t value my health, I’ll die in flight, you will all be removed from your posts;
- of course, I'm just a navigator of the detachment, and not the mother-in-law of the deputy division commander.
Be that as it may, the voucher was in the depths of the Air Force headquarters and already signed so that it would not go to the side, it was handed over to the head of the medical service of the regiment for registration.
Collecting money
This stage passed almost imperceptibly and independently of us. I received 600-800 rubles a month, my wife received 300-500 rubles, the money was almost not spent and accumulated by itself. Usually more than 8 rubles were taken on vacation and spent there without a trace, sometimes they had to borrow from their parents on the way back.
The money was kept at home, for all the time of my service I never bothered to get myself a savings book. Somehow I decided to organize the storage of money and told my wife that the money should not be lying around in the nightstand, but let it be put in a safe place. I'd rather not do this...
After a while, noticing the guilty and worried face of his wife, he decided to clarify:
- What happened?
I can't find money...
- More specifically.
“You said I hid it, and now there’s nothing there.
How much money was there, where did you hide it?
- I don’t know exactly how much it was, but about 3-4 thousand rubles, and I hid it in the breast pocket of your second overcoat, which you don’t wear.
He checked the pockets of all the overcoats, along the way of all the jackets and tunics that hung soft-boiled in the closet, did not find any money, reassured his wife:
- Okay, don’t worry, there’s a lot of time before the holidays, we’ll collect more.
I still treat money lightly, so I didn’t get upset myself, and calmed my wife as best I could. A few months later, the money was found, they were lying under all the clothes in the closet. The experiment showed that the wife put the money not in the pocket of the overcoat, but in her sleeve, and they themselves fell out during the next shake-up of the clothes.
Direct preparation
The main element is the extraction of tickets. It was very difficult, everyone got tickets in their own ways and means.
I'll tell you about getting tickets for one of the stages of the road, I remember this case very much.
June morning... I'm leaving the regimental formation. Despite the fact that it is only the beginning of ten, I am already tired of communicating with the people, so I go through the gardens so as not to see or hear anyone. Well, how not to get tired, if I have already carried out garrison planning, regimental planning, regimental formation, issued instructions to the regimental management and now I’m going to the headquarters to instruct the operational duty officer, resting on the move.
I almost abstracted from my beloved personnel and mentally I am on vacation, to which there are a couple of weeks left. But something does not allow me to completely relax ... I returned myself to the surrounding reality and found the head of the electronic warfare regiment nearby, who was silently trying to attract my attention.
About this position, and about a particular person, it is necessary to tell separately.
The position is very similar to the position of a miner on a strategic submarine, but even cooler. That miner at least has a few torpedoes, but our chief of the electronic warfare regiment, a major, has nothing, not counting his subordinates in the service - the heads of electronic warfare squadrons, captains.
In general, the position is difficult and responsible, no matter who you appoint to it.
Our head of the electronic warfare regiment corresponded to the position, began his long combat path in military service, as a foreman of the boat of some chief in Sevastopol, then the school of navigators, flying as part of the crew, served as the head of the electronic warfare squadron, and only then took a responsible regimental position, where they revealed all his talents.
And he had talents ... He skillfully knew how to imitate a working state, without doing anything at the same time. Even the regiment commander somehow noted his constant desire for service, seeing how the head of the electronic warfare purposefully went to the "secret" with some piece of paper in his hand. But I knew that this fighter goes to the "secret" with one goal - to persuade our young secret woman to commit adultery, and he wants to do it here and now, closing the door from the inside.
Therefore, after waiting for some time, I went into the "secret" on my own business, completely destroying the major's insidious plans, but keeping the family of the secretary and the bortach safe and sound. In his free time from hunting staff aunts, the head of the electronic warfare could drink at random, he might not come to the service at all, but he could come in such a form that it would be better not to come.
Well, what was the position, such was the boss. He was not afraid of anyone except his wife and the chief of staff of the regiment. I used him as a “senior for everything”, an operational duty regiment, and he also helped those who had nothing to do very well. In short, this senior officer demanded constant control, but with the right task, he could also benefit the regiment if he was stopped in time.
And now I see how this outstanding officer is trying to attract my attention with his whole body. Where to get away from these subordinates? React:
- What are you doing here twitching around me? Say with your mouth what you need, why are you distracting the chief of staff from great thoughts about future victories?
- Mikhail Vladimirovich, it’s such a thing ... My wife ordered me to take her to Vanino, she had a thug formed at the railway ticket offices, I need to take tickets on vacation, but I’m going on vacation soon.
- I'm going on vacation soon! And how did you manage to go on vacation with me in July?
It's not my fault, it's all of you! It was you who forced me to go on vacation with you, arguing that during your vacation there would be no one to control me. Maybe I didn’t want to go on vacation at the beginning of July, I would have gone at the end, it was more convenient for me.
- He's been snickering ... He's not satisfied with his vacation with the chief of staff since the beginning of July! Well, I will meet you, next year you will go from January 1st.
– No-no-no… Everything suits me! So what should I tell my wife? May I go to the city?
- I would never let you go, just out of spite, so to speak, for your past and future merits, but since there is blasphemy at the box office, I will try to tear off a tuft of wool from a black sheep for our regiment, in the person of his chief of staff.
- And what to do? I'm happy, by the evening everything will be done.
- Don't fight! To be in service at 15:00. Go get your car and wife and come to headquarters. At the headquarters you will take my military transportation documents and try to buy tickets for me from Moscow closer to Luhansk, otherwise these Ukrainians canceled the direct train. Well, there ... in Millerovo, or something ... While you are walking, I will settle all the dates and bring everything to you.
- I will do everything in the best possible way! I myself take tickets to Millerovo, my wife is from there ...
- Yes, I know everything, and even the fact that you are taken on vacation as a slave on the plantations of your father-in-law. Okay, run, but don't forget to stop by the headquarters.
Everything went on as usual - the head of the electronic warfare, having received my documents, left for Vanino, and I continued to carry out the difficult military service. At 15:00, the head of the electronic warfare arrived in my office, laid out my tickets on the table without too much boasting, and, without even taking the money for the reservation, hid in his office.
Feeling unkind, I decided to take a closer look at my tickets. Everything coincided: the date, the station of departure and arrival, and the number of tickets, but the name of the train struck me on the spot - "Moscow - Grozny". The country once again demonstrated rapprochement with the Chechen Republic, and our rulers, in order to demonstrate goodwill and stability, launched this train. But I, a representative of the enslaving army, had absolutely nothing to do on this train ...
I decided to find out the motives that prompted the head of the EW to this "feat", called him into the office and calmly asked:
- What were you thinking when you took me tickets on a train carrying replenishment for the militants?
- Well, what's so terrible? Yes, and there were no other tickets, but the train arrives successfully, early in the morning, all day ahead. Maybe they won't know you're an officer.
“Of course they won’t know if no one can read. Here it is written in Russian letters on the ticket - “military requirement” ... Did you also take tickets for such a train?
- No, I got a Russian train.
- Yeah, you will send me on a Chechen train, and then you yourself will begin to share my position? Do not hope, nothing will break off for you, I will leave a will to the commander.
- Well, I was ... how I wanted it better, there were no other tickets ...
- Get out of here ... Well, in general, out of my sight!
Train
All my attempts in the time remaining before the vacation to exchange tickets for a normal train did not lead to anything, and I arrived in Moscow with the same tickets, my wife and daughter. We moved to the station, began to clarify the situation.
The situation worried me. The train was on schedule, but no track number or platform was given. I went to the information desk, handed out the tickets.
Aunt studied the tickets, looked at me, a fair-haired Russian, and sadly asked:
- How did you get hurt?
- I took tickets in the very Far East, there were no others, but I had to go ...
- Can you give me the tickets?
- I would pass, but there are no others. So what about this train, when is the boarding, from which platform?
- There is a special landing on this train, it will be announced additionally, the train will be driven into a dead end, passage through special control, listen carefully to the announcer. When you see a crowd of cops, get ready to land.
Not really understanding anything, he returned to his wife, said that everything was going according to plan, and decided to sit for a while, relax before the fight. I sit and look around. Gradually, the station began to fill with people of Caucasian nationality, mostly unshaven healthy men, cops began to cluster near one hall, many with dogs. Somehow I got upset...
They announced the boarding of my train, and through some special hall, through one door. Nothing to do, let's go to the landing. I entered the hall and stood in amazement. Most of all, everything that happened was reminiscent of the transportation of prisoners. A corridor of cops with dogs, a metal detector frame, a passage one at a time, a search of each, the platform is cordoned off by cops and only three Russians - me, my wife and daughter.
But we were not used to backing down and, catching the astonished glances of fellow travelers and the pitiful glances of the cops, we went through all these barriers to our car, showed the tickets to the surprised Chechen conductor, climbed into the car, went into our compartment, in which some Chechen family, ten people. And it began:
- These are our seats, we have tickets.
We also have tickets.
- But we have exactly these places.
- What's the difference…
The second conductor came and contributed:
- Get some accommodation.
– I don’t want to somehow, I want to go in my places.
They also need to go.
Let them go to their places.
- They have tickets in different cars, and this is one family.
- I don't care, invite the foreman.
- No need for a foreman, they will leave now.
Why are there three left?
- Well, you have one seat in the compartment free.
- Yes, one is free, but there are three left ...
The train was already moving somewhere, and the two conductors continued to persuade us to tolerate three passengers in one free seat. Seeing a passing police patrol of Russian guys, I asked for help in accommodating passengers. The guys helped, the three of us stayed in the compartment, but the cops warned that they were leaving the train in five hours. And we went...
The whole car was packed full of hefty Chechens, all unshaven, smelling of garlic and something else specific. I decided to go to the vestibule for a smoke. Scary, but interesting. The tambour is painted with Chechen slogans - "Allah Akbar", "Paradise in the shadow of sabers", well, and all sorts of nonsense. In the vestibule, the Chechens, apparently, sold them standing places, there are a lot of them and they look at me not very approvingly.
I silently smoked, at the entrance to the car I again met a Russian police patrol. They instructed me:
- Where are you going?
- In Millerovo.
“Of course, you’ll arrive early in the morning. Stop smoking, be patient until morning, go to the compartment, close up and go to bed.
So they did. He took his family to the toilet, forbade eating and drinking so that there was no need for a toilet, they closed themselves from the inside and went to bed. We were so tired on the plane and at the station that we fell asleep quickly and would have slept all the way to Millerovo, if the conductor had not broken into the compartment in the middle of the night, asking us to place the “boy” on the free top shelf.
There was nothing to do, they agreed, and on the top shelf went to bed, without undressing, a huge Chechen of 35 years old. The family tried to sleep, but I was no longer up to sleep. After wasting until early morning, I got my family up, we packed our bags and quickly ran out of the train to Millerovo.
Vacation went well, rested well. We forgot about the little adventure at the beginning of the holiday, and what is there to remember. When I went to work, I told the guys how we rode this train, but everything was behind us, and we just laughed. And I almost didn’t do anything bad to the head of the electronic warfare, he’s not to blame for the fact that there were no other tickets.
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