For twenty years

For the first time since 1993, a sudden check of the combat readiness of individual units of the Russian Armed Forces was carried out. As Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said - his words are quoted by RIA Novosti - the audit revealed serious shortcomings. Thus, in almost all tested units of the Central and Southern Military Districts, Airborne Forces and military transport aviation, operational duty officers could not cope with transmitting signals through automated combat control systems. The units on duty acted hesitantly when receiving orders to bring units to the highest level of combat readiness - as Gerasimov noted, especially in the Airborne Forces command and at the 201st military base in Tajikistan. He also reported on the poor training of graduates of military training centers, primarily drivers and driver mechanics. In the 28th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Central Military District, military equipment broke down immediately at the exit from the parks. In addition, soldiers and officers shoot poorly from standard weapons, especially tank crews and crews of infantry fighting vehicles. And last year’s military school graduates were very poorly prepared. The General Staff promises that such unannounced inspections will be carried out regularly in the future. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has already made a corresponding decision.