Military reform revealed many bottlenecks
Last week, Army General Nikolai Makarov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia, made a report on the progress of military reform in the State Duma Defense Committee. What caused a lot of public attention. And although in the Ministry of Defense, after the previous head of the military department, Sergey Ivanov, stated in his 2005 year that “military reform is complete,” they avoid this definition, there, following President Dmitry Medvedev, they talk about giving our army a “new, promising appearance” Unfortunately, for some reason, the internal dynamics of this process are often carefully masked. So the Duma discussions with the NGS took place behind closed doors, even though there were representatives of many factions besides members of the defense committee, and some passages from the speeches of General Makarov even leaked to the press. One of them is connected with the course of combat training.
“DO THAT, DON'T KNOW WHAT!”
The conclusion made in the military department from the operational-strategic, operational-tactical and tactical exercises that took place this year and last, including the sensational "West-2009" and "East-2010", is that professional and methodical training of Russian officers, to put it mildly, leaves much to be desired. Such an assessment of the commanders of various degrees, who led today the new military districts (joint strategic command), the army or operational command, as well as high alert teams, give the leadership of the Ministry of Defense. Moreover, as they emphasize there, it is not the fault of the major generals and colonels, as well as lieutenant colonels, majors and captains, but their misfortune.
The fact is that for many years, proclaiming a course on a modern mobile, highly technically equipped and highly professional army, even reporting on the completion of the military reform, what we heard from the lips of the former minister and not only from his lips, the country's leadership, represented by the government and leading financial authorities, still saving money on combat training of the army and fleet. Pilots did not have a sufficient number of flying hours, tankmen and artillerymen rarely fired with a regular projectile, sailors infrequently went to sea. And now, when there are no restrictions in the amount of funds allocated for fuels and lubricants for the operation of military equipment, especially the one that should be written off as obsolete in the near future, when the soldier’s service life was reduced to one year, it turned out that the officers who managed to grow from lieutenants to colonels, and some even to general stars during the time of forced “idleness”, they can not only organize a modern battle even at the tactical level, but also teach subordinates quickly and effectively. They simply do not have such experience and methodological skill.
The military comedians even had a bitter joke. If in Soviet times army officers taught subordinates by example, according to the principle “Do as I do!”, Then in the years of the formation of the Russian army this principle turned into a requirement “Do as I said!”.
And lately, some commanders have been practicing the rule - “Do this, I don’t know what!”.
Where to find a way out of this situation is clear in principle. On the one hand, to alter plans and methods of solitary training of a soldier and combat coordination of subunits, on the other hand, to teach "teachers" - platoon, company, battalion and brigade commanders, as well as their bosses, how to train subordinates. With the use of available at their disposal a modern educational material base, new devices, simulators and other equipment. And not to train one or two or three operations, as happened during the preparation for major operational and strategic exercises, when companies and battalions were taken out for two or three months in the field and, as they say, “they were driven by approved directrixes until they lost of consciousness ”, so as not to hit the face in the dirt in front of the high Moscow authorities. And to teach the whole spectrum of military sciences - topography, communications, fire skills, fire control, engineering training, defense against weapons of mass destruction, tactics of actions in defense and offensive, on the march. In an ambush, a forward detachment, in reconnaissance ... As part of a squad, platoon, company, battalion. This is what they are doing now in all military high schools and headquarters.
It was decided, as reported, that there will be no large operational-strategic exercises next year, with the exception of the already announced “Center-2011”. Tactical maneuvers will not exceed the level of "platoon-company." All officers holding commanding positions, from platoon to district commander or operational-strategic command, will undergo accelerated retraining and improvement courses in the next two to three years. By the way, three new commanders of the new armies, which are deployed this year in St. Petersburg (Western Military District), in Stavropol (Southern Military District) and in Chita (Eastern Military District), have recently completed retraining at the Academy of the General Staff, where they read lectures and conducted practical exercises with them by the head of the General Staff and other deputy ministers of defense.
And one more very important detail - now organizing and conducting combat and special training will not be the responsibility of all commanders, from the platoon commander to the district commander, but the chief commanders of the Armed Forces and the military commanders. Now they have to subordinate a special department to do this. It will receive the right to issue relevant directives and guidelines, direct combat training and monitor its progress and take stock.
At the same time, such a task was removed from the commanders of military districts and joint strategic commands, although all military units located in the territory under their jurisdiction, including air force and air defense bases, as well as naval sailors, will be subordinated to them if the district has access to the sea. True, the Strategic Missile Forces, the Space Forces, the Airborne Forces will remain at the disposal of the General Staff.
The main commanders of the Navy, Air Force and Air Defense will move to the Frunze Embankment in the building where the Main Command of the Ground Forces is located today. They will still have four major tasks: developing their own type of armed forces, conducting peacekeeping operations, training and retraining officers and sergeants, as well as developing requirements for weapons and military equipment developed for their interests, organizing their procurement and supply to subordinate troops. And the General Staff, the commanders of districts and armies will be in charge of operational training, the General Directorate of Educational Work, the commanders of districts and brigade commanders will be responsible for strengthening military discipline.
MILITARY POLICE BE!
Another almost sensational message that leaked to the media through the Duma walls after a speech by the Chief of the General Staff there. According to him, the military police should start working in the Russian armed forces (the beginning of its work is called different - December 2010 and 2011 year). It is created in the army and navy, as reported by news agencies, to strengthen law and order among the troops. True, according to their information, the final decision has been made. At present, the General Staff is only working through the organizational and staff structure of the military police from a separate unit to a military district, inclusive.
It is already known that the number of military police will be about 20 thousand people. Basically, her staff will be formed from military personnel dismissed from military service during the reform of the armed forces, that is, from former officers, warrant officers, sergeants and soldiers with whom they will contract for the next three to five years. The military police are expected to have a vertical organizational structure, from a separate unit (brigade) to a military district (fleet).
It may be recalled that the creation of a military police in the Russian army has existed for at least twenty years. As much as the new model military forces themselves. But from talking about it to the real presidential decree on its creation, the matter did not reach. This problem was especially vigorously discussed at a time when the military department was headed by Sergei Ivanov, and when it came to return to the army of a disciplinary arrest with the contents of the guilty in the garrison guardhouse. In Alabino, even an exponential “lip” was built, where the arrested were to be kept in cells with beds, covered with snow-white sheets, with blankets and pillows, with washbasins and other sanitary devices, even with a TV.
It was a conversation that only a garrison judge could plant a guardhouse, having thoroughly examined the disciplinary action of a soldier or sergeant, for whom the commander imposed such punishment on him. It was assumed at the same time that the offender will have a public prosecutor and a public defender. But the country and the army, where not a single good deed, like the loudly stated programs and reforms, are ever brought to the declared results, again something didn’t grow together. Either there was not enough money, or for some reason it was no longer up to the exponential guardhouses, but the Alabin “lip”, as it seems to us, remained one and only for the whole army, but with a European-style repair.
Then the now-liquidated Main Directorate of combat training and service of the troops allowed the leak, where the media said that in the near future reform would also affect untouchable disciplinary battalions. As a result, they will simply be eliminated. And due to their regular strength, new territorial garrison units will be formed - “professional military commandant's offices”. “The creation of full-time military commandant's offices of three categories has been planned,” said Lt.-Gen. Alexander Lukin, the then head of the State Specialized Directorate. He stressed that the first category commandant's offices with more than 30 personnel will be placed, as a rule, in the locations of district headquarters, will report directly to the heads of territorial garrisons and will deal with law and order in the subordinate forces, as well as search and detention of military personnel who have committed misconduct or simply deserted. Thus, they will relieve military units from work not on a profile, in connection with the escape or beating of this or that soldier. In other words, these units will take over the functions of the “military police” as well. And when the commandant's office will begin to function and the guardhouse.
Alexander Lukin clarified that the issue of the elimination of disbats has already been resolved positively, but "a financial and economic justification is currently being carried out." But this was not the case either. There are five separate disciplinary battalions in the army and navy - in Chita, Novosibirsk, Ussuriysk, in the village of Mulino near Nizhny Novgorod and in the North Caucasus in the village of Zamchalovo. The total number of permanent members of disbats is 1230 people.
Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov also repeatedly said that the military department is studying the issue of creating a military police in the Russian army. He last mentioned this in April 2010. “We are working on this issue,” he said. - Unfortunately, not yet found the design that could suit us. However, we are studying the experience of foreign countries where such structures exist. ” “First of all, we have to understand for ourselves what the military police will look like. Only after that we will be able to start creating it, ”the minister said.
Shortly thereafter, the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, State Secretary Nikolai Pankov declared that “at this stage of reforming the army and navy, the creation of a military police by the leadership of the Ministry of Defense was considered inexpedient.” Now it turns out that this refusal was only temporary.
In turn, in June, the Chief Military Prosecutor Sergey Fridinsky told reporters that the delay in the creation of a military police in Russia was connected with the need to adopt a large number of new legislative acts regulating its activities. “The introduction of this body is not just a function of the leadership of the Ministry of Defense or another power structure, for this it is necessary to harmonize a lot of legislation and change them radically,” he said. According to the chief military prosecutor, the military police can be a good help for the activities of the military prosecutor's office. This is evidenced, in particular, by the experience of its use in the armies of foreign states. It, by the way, exists today more than in 40 armies of the world, including in the USA, Germany, France, Great Britain, and China. In the post-Soviet space, the military police institute has taken root in the armed forces of Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, as well as in the armies of the Baltic republics.
But the fundamental question is who will obey the military police. If the military department represented by the General Staff or the General Directorate of educational work, which becomes responsible for discipline, nothing good will come of this. Army fundamentally unprofitable put on the light of their "sores". So the information on incidents and crimes in the armed forces on the website of the Ministry of Defense has not been published for two years. Therefore, it is necessary to subordinate it to the MAG or, at the worst, to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where the police will exist as a class, or to the Ministry of Justice. And it should work in close connection with public organizations. Including with committees and unions of soldiers' mothers. Maybe then we will get objectivity, glasnost and, most importantly, effectiveness in the struggle to strengthen military discipline.
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