From the point of view of the infantry. Beard, iPhone, tablet - all according to Hasek
Good day to all. This is a cycle. New, and hopefully informative. It is being created together with our reader, whom many know as the Observer2014 and appreciate for his grumpy temper and inconsistency in judgments. But behind the statements of the Internet Observer, there is a very peculiar person who is best characterized by the fact that more than six months ago he went to the front of the NWO. Volunteer. And now he has already served his first (and, as it turned out, not the last) contract and is in limbo.
Between the first and second, as you know, the gap should be very small, and while Sergei (I will call him that, not by nickname about the person) is resting in the company of his comrades, we decided to use this time to good use and had quite long conversations on given topics. And then other fighters began to join us, which made the picture clearer.
And based on these conversations, transferring what was recorded to Internet pages, we will talk about many things that are very important and significant for shooters, machine gunners, grenade launchers, there are even two artillerymen, also our readers, whose explanations I will insert as an explanation into infantry reflections.
Well, Comrade Sergey / Observer2014 himself, as far as possible, will comment on what we will upload. And within the framework of this cycle, we are going to talk about many things, so to speak, exclusive in some way, since what comes into the soldiers' heads during trench seats, to be honest, will not even fly into a single military commander's head.
Generals from the State Duma
But let's start with General Sobolev's sensational statement about beards and tablets. Of course, now the “brave” general has already admitted his mistakes in relation to the Chechen fighters after a tank Kadyrov got in and trampled on our general, but, in fact, Sobolev remained unconvinced.
I would compare Sobolev's actions with the literary character of the immortal Yaroslav Hasek and his work on the adventures of the good soldier Schweik:
“The general paid so much attention to the latrines, as if the victory of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy depended on them. Regarding the situation created in connection with the declaration of war by Italy, the general said that it was in the latrines that our undoubted advantage in the Italian campaign was. The victory of Austria clearly followed from a latrine.
Something very similar, don't you think?
Sobolev, a general whose participation in hostilities is ZERO, whose highest award is the Cross of Military Merit, which, according to the statute, is given for high appraisal of the training of the entrusted troops and impeccable length of service, today rushes to decide how the fighters should groom themselves.
Moreover, there was another deputy general who supported Sobolev. This is Colonel-General Viktor Zavarzin, whose list of military affairs is much shorter than the list of his sitting in the State Duma. In fact, Zavarzin participated in only one "hot" case - the throw of Russian paratroopers to Pristina. Beautiful, but completely useless. On the other hand, Zavarzin has been sitting in the Duma for four terms, only not from the Communist Party, like Sobolev, but from United Russia.
“The goal is not to shave or not to shave the beard, but to maintain hygiene whenever possible during breaks. For this, commanders must create all conditions. You can wear a beard, but everything should be neat, ”- from an interview with Zavarzin to the RBC channel
“Currently, the Ministry of Defense pays great attention to the nutrition and hygiene of fighters who are in the combat zone”
And now the word to the fighters of different units, who literally experienced this “big attention” on their skin.
About water
Infantry - it is different. There are those who sit at the very front, there are those who are engaged in security at a distance. You can protect artillerymen, anti-aircraft gunners, warehouses, equipment maintenance points - in general, there are many targets at some distance from the front line, which the same dashing Ukrainian guys from the DRG care about.
My interlocutors belonged to both categories, there were also those in front of whom only fighters with thermal imagers stuck out, looking out for those who wanted to roam around the rear, there were also those who slept during the day and guarded the guns and crews at night.
The stories of all come down to one thing: for six months of the contract, that very command could not even once organize the most elementary bathing of personnel. Never. Everything went according to the scheme “saving the drowning is the work of the drowning themselves”.
In general, the issue of water supply is a very painful issue. The delivery of water to those places where there are no normal sources was organized simply disgustingly. By the way, when the foot soldiers stood at the turn of the Dnieper, local loyalists immediately warned that it was categorically dangerous to take water from the river, since so much sewage was drained into the Dnieper that the water in it was really a source of infection.
Really saved springs, which are few in that area, but do happen. But the spring is only half the battle, the water still needs to be heated somehow. And in something. And this is also a problem. Some might say that water can be heated in a field kitchen. You know, if there is one, it's the kitchen. Here Sergey saw her once, broken on the side of the road, and they unscrewed something useful from her there for themselves. But there will be a separate discussion about feeding, since it is generally sacred, but the details of the saint are necessary.
So, in order to fulfill the desires of Mr. Deputy Sobolev, you need to figure out a lot: collect and bring water, heat it up on something, and then begin to put yourself in order. It is clear that the main majority is doing this without waiting for sanctions from above. These are still people, albeit limited by many hardships and deprivations of military service.
But when it starts, as was the case with another Sergei, an artilleryman, then the logic generally runs away and burrows itself. Examination. This is generally epic, gentlemen colonels from various headquarters of all levels, from divisional to district, are very fond of checking gunners. It is clear why: the gunners are not on the front line and therefore it is not so dangerous there for the priceless lives of the inspectors. And therefore, to bang artillery is generally sacred for staff.
They brought as many as four colonels from the district headquarters. But they didn't bring water. And here is the situation: the colonels want to conduct a drill review to determine the level of compliance of the division with the proud title of Russian artillerymen, but the personnel have no opportunity to demonstrate this level due to the trivial lack of water, which has not been brought for two days.
In general, it is clear how the gentlemen of the auditors behaved, as a result, the personnel of the artillery division fought themselves almost dry, using the last drops from the flasks. The commander still received a reprimand for the dirty uniform from those who arrived, in general, everyone is almost satisfied. Gentlemen, the colonels found a violation that undermines the foundations of the combat readiness of the Russian artillery, they will have something to scrawl in the report. Detected, ordered to be removed. And the tattered and cut faces of the gunners are of no interest to anyone. Because there must be order.
And here it just takes melancholy: if washing at best is a five-liter canister with lukewarm water heated on a home-made boiler with diesel fuel from friends on caterpillars, then what to do with the form that is so dear to the hearts of the inspectors? After all, really, well, no one in the headquarters is interested in how everything is organized. The tactic of sloping shoulders at its worst.
Of course, if you remember my visits to all these ostentatious exhibitions of ours, if you look through the pages of VO, you can also find my photo stories about the superbahn, where while a soldier is washing, his uniform is washed and dried. A forty-minute cycle - and the fighter is washed, shaved, washed.
But everything turned out to be the same fairy tale in one copy, like the main number of new products of all these “Armies-…”. None of those with whom I spoke saw mobile baths in the eyes. None at all.
And Sobolev believes that "commanders must create all conditions".
Yes, it's just great to think, sitting in the State Duma. On full state security, with a half-million salary. I will allow myself one more quote from Mr. General-Deputy:
“I don’t think that with any of the most intense combat activities, there is no 15-20 minutes to tidy up your appearance. Peaceful people look at the soldier, he should be a model"
Another quote from Hasek:
“It’s much more pleasant to peel potatoes in the kitchen, roll up dumplings and mess with meat, than under heavy enemy fire, putting on full underpants, yelling: “Einzelnabfallen! Bajonett auf!” (One by one! Attach bayonets!)
Thanks, of course, to Prigozhin and Kadyrov, our oppositionists. After the roar from Grozny reached Moscow, Sobolev, of course, gave up. Everything he said, it turns out, does not apply to Chechen fighters from the National Guard. But for everyone else, it must be accepted for execution.
Of course, gentlemen deputy-generals are very far from the Duma meeting room to the front line. That is why they allow themselves such statements. In general, another quote came to mind, only from Harry Harrison and his comedic creation "Bill the Galactic Hero".
- All right, sir. Things are going like clockwork, sir. No complaints!
Why not in shape?
- I'm in shape, sir! squealed Spleen, moving closer to the screen to hide his bare ass and trembling legs.
- You're lying! You have sweat on your forehead, and you are not allowed to sweat in uniform. Am I sweating? And I'm also wearing a cap, put on, as you can see, at the right angle. Okay, I have a heart of gold, and this time I forgive you. Free!
- You dastardly son of a bitch! - Spleen swore loudly and tore off his uniform. The thermometer showed 48 degrees and the mercury continued to rise - Sweat! They have an air conditioner on the bridge, and where do you think they dump the heated air? Here!
Why not in shape?
- I'm in shape, sir! squealed Spleen, moving closer to the screen to hide his bare ass and trembling legs.
- You're lying! You have sweat on your forehead, and you are not allowed to sweat in uniform. Am I sweating? And I'm also wearing a cap, put on, as you can see, at the right angle. Okay, I have a heart of gold, and this time I forgive you. Free!
- You dastardly son of a bitch! - Spleen swore loudly and tore off his uniform. The thermometer showed 48 degrees and the mercury continued to rise - Sweat! They have an air conditioner on the bridge, and where do you think they dump the heated air? Here!
So the words of Prigozhin, who called the demands of Sobolev and Zavarzin "archaic" - this is just flowers. Berries are what the soldiers themselves say. And they say you can imagine that. In itself, the vicious practice of the Russian army “I ordered, but how you do it, I don’t care” as harmful as possible. But there is nothing to be done, those who give such orders have not been and will not be on the front line.
Here Ramzan Akhmatovich suggested that all "guardians of the charter" be sent to the front line. But what should our General Deputies 73 and 74 years of age do? What, excuse me, can two pensioners organize there? Wash for one brigade?
And you know, I doubt it.
In itself, age already suggests that it is high time for them to retire to their well-deserved rest and provide assistance to the Russian army with their complete non-interference in its affairs. And this will be the best that our brave, ageless deputies-general can offer.
And I would like to finish the topic of beards with another quote from Hasek. Surprisingly, more than a hundred years have passed since the events that he described, but alas, nothing has changed at all and The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik is still relevant. To my great regret.
“Not everyone can be smart. As an exception, there should also be stupid ones, because if everyone were smart, then there would be so much intelligence in the world that every second person would become a complete idiot from this.
How great it would be if the Russian soldiers were simply not interfered with. They didn’t forbid shooting where enemy shells were coming from, they didn’t force them to learn songs and shave their beards in the absence of water, a soldier, he himself is able to take care of his appearance and hygiene, if he is given such an opportunity.
Just an appeal: gentlemen, deputies general, calm down and don't interfere. Everything will be done without you, your attempts to indicate your minimum usefulness are still doomed to failure. This, alas, is a given today.
In general, it is worth thinking about the future, but is there a place for those who are over 70 in a place like the State Duma?
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