Not criticism, but constructive criticism of the army
For those who sometimes read my articles, this material will be quite unexpected. I just wanted to speak about a problem that many journalists somehow try to circumvent in their publications. And vice versa, other journalists and bloggers "make an elephant out of a fly."
Very often in their comments, readers write that there are a lot of problems in the existing units that are simply hushed up by the commanders only because it is impossible to solve them at the moment, and it is more expensive to raise the topic with higher commanders.
The classic Russian “over there, the neighbor is not better, but does not whine, but performs a combat mission” completely discourages the desire to report problems to the top. Well, there is no way to feed the soldiers with hot food, but the most cunning have already found both a cauldron and some food, and they cook porridge for themselves on a fire. Well, the fighters did not wash for a month and a half. So you can wash yourself from a bucket with warm water up to your waist ...
So, who is right: those who criticize our commanders and bosses to the tail and mane, or those who “do not consider minor everyday problems” to be something out of the ordinary? A soldier is obliged to endure the "hardships of military service", so let him endure ...
Peacetime legacy
Alas, the desire to resolve issues independently was brought up in our army for a long time. “Do not wash dirty linen in public” as one of the main criteria for a successful career as an officer existed in the Soviet army and, alas, exists in the Russian one.
In peacetime, when theoretically the main task of the army was to prepare the nearest army reserve, which would be called up in a short time to deploy units and formations in a special period, somehow imperceptibly for everyone, purely external indicators came to the fore, window dressing instead of real combat training .
Remember the soldier's bedside tables, in which everything must be in a certain order? And the beds that the orderly levels all day long. In order for the strips of blankets to be even and look beautiful from the aisle, and for some reason the mattress must have a square edge.
And that district or Moscow inspector, you probably remember that the first thing you looked at was the barracks, the life of a soldier, as it was then called. He looked carefully, meticulously, because he sincerely believed that "in the army it should be, though ugly, but monotonous."
And what kind of eyes did the inspectors have when they saw a soldier in a well-fitting, and therefore sewn-in uniform, remember? This is a war crime! How will he fight in such a form? “The people dressed, let the people laugh!”
And the fact that the soldier did not hit the target during the exercises is not particularly important. The main thing is how the unit turned around to attack. Nice, keeping the line, intervals... Well, C grade. And in total with the barracks, with the drill song, with the drill review and uniform, it turns out almost five. Well done Commander...
Participation in hostilities (the Afghan war for Soviet officers and ensigns, the Chechen and other Caucasian wars for Russian ones) radically changed the psychology, and terrible things happened. Combat officers and warrant officers simply quit, realizing that they were doing nonsense. The army did not accept their views on the training of personnel.
With such luggage we approached the NWO.
If you think about it, then the successes of the “fighting Buryats” and other units from the remote hinterland of the country are connected precisely with this. Far from Moscow. Inspectors are much less willing to go on such business trips, and local commanders are well aware of "local specifics." So these units are fighting valiantly today. They work qualitatively.
Why "endure hardships and hardships"?
Have you ever thought about why, with a huge army of journalists and bloggers writing about the war, people believe in a rather limited circle of military correspondents and analysts? They believe even when their messages contradict the official statements of the MoD. They believe even when the messages are clearly disinformation. Yes, military men also fight.
Many of those who served in the army remember the "corporal gap". The very “gap” that the commander gives to the subordinate, realizing that he may not be able to complete the command on time. So, there is a "general gap". Something similar, but with the opposite vector.
It works like this. The squad leader reported on the destruction of the enemy firing point. Like a victory. Only this victory is not enough for a platoon. And now from the platoon commander there is a report upstairs about the capture of the first line of defense. Further more. And in the end, when the report is received by the brigade commander, it turns out that his unit has already destroyed the enemy's opnik and went to the outskirts of the settlement N.
But when the squad leader reported, there was a paragraph on losses in the report. One 200 and two 300s, one heavy. That's a lot for a branch. And for the brigade? Nice to report - "losses are minimal." They captured the stronghold with minimal losses. It's time to distribute medals in bulk!
I specifically described the situation in such detail. We are accustomed, I repeat, to hide or simply mention the negative a little and embellish the positive. "Yes, there were some problems, but we successfully solved them, which led to the victory." Against the background of even a small victory, the negative really somehow fades.
Winning kills problems. We rejoice, but we will solve the problems later ... Only this "later" for some reason does not come. We are waiting for another victory ... We are waiting and enduring all the difficulties of military life. Difficulties that can be removed without much difficulty. Eliminate by simply reporting to the top. Just talking about the problem.
I closely follow the work of some volunteer bloggers. At first it was purely personal interest. He followed what and how much reaches the guys on the front line. But over time, I saw another important function of such volunteers. They do not carry everything to the fighters. They know perfectly well - they know - the problems.
I will not talk about copters, thermal imagers, walkie-talkies and other property, which is sorely lacking. Consumables, without which the modern army simply cannot fight. After all, thanks to the fact that journalists and volunteers were the first to see this problem, they began to solve it at the appropriate level.
Today ordinary ... chainsaws bring great joy to soldiers and officers. War is not only fighting, but also ordinary life. Life, when you have to dig the ground, build housing and fortifications, equip baths and canteens. And such a civilian thing as an ordinary chainsaw helps a lot in this matter. Just like a regular set of tools for car repair and other equipment.
Of course, a soldier can be patient. Use a two-handed saw or even a hacksaw. And entrust minor repairs of equipment to specialists from the Rembat. Only a car is needed for the needs of the unit and during the fighting - for the quick evacuation of the wounded, and during a lull in order to resolve the issues of delivering the necessary cargo. And sending a car to a repair battalion is ... Well, you understand. Until the turn comes, until all the formalities are decided ...
Criticism, which is present quite often in our publications, is not criticism. This is a detailed analysis of the situation and the search for a solution to the problem. Alas, problems have a strange property to appear suddenly, out of nowhere. It wasn't, and suddenly it was.
Ideally, this problem should be solved by the military itself. After all, every fighter has a commander. More precisely - a whole team of commanders and chiefs. And often in this team there is someone who is still under the influence of that very “old school”, the one about whom I wrote above.
We summarize
Criticism is needed. It is constructive criticism from the press and society. The army is changing, the army is struggling with manifestations of the same system of hushing up problems and sticking out victories. This takes some time. Our task is to help army commanders and chiefs in this.
Very often we are told that by talking about problems in the army, we have a negative impact on the morale of the soldiers. Really? The army is a part of our society, and any soldier lives exactly the same as people live in civilian life.
Would you (those who believe that it is not necessary to talk about problems) like to live in a society where leaders say one thing, but on the street in your own city or village you see something completely different?
Would such a beautiful talking shop stimulate you to labor exploits?
Our adversary, Ukraine as a whole, lives in just such a virtual reality. Ukrainians today are not particularly interested in what is really happening. Their reality is in media reports, in the statements of leaders, in the words of "Western partners".
That is why there is a brain breakdown in Ukrainian mobilized after the first battle. They also read and watched on TV how the Armed Forces of Ukraine smashed the Russians. But in fact, it turned out that everything is happening the other way around. That after each battle one has to count not how many comrades died, but how many remained.
It seems to me that voicing problems, on the contrary, helps to increase the morale of fighters and commanders. If they started talking about a problem, it means that sooner or later it will be solved. Remember the direct lines of President Putin? How many problems that were not solved for decades were solved instantly.
I am sure that the publications of the most respected journalists and bloggers are read in the Kremlin. And this means that the problems voiced in the press materials are known there and they are looking for ways to solve them. This is what we mean when we criticize the army.
Society and the army, as part of it, must know that they are remembered. And then the soldier will really endure, endure these very hardships of military service with humor ...
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