In uniform

Bundeswehr strikes

August 30, 2010 Alexander Golts

The Germans, as usual, hit suddenly and insidiously. German Defense Minister Karl-theodor Tsu Guttenberg introduced the military experts of the ruling coalition of the CDU/CSS and the SVDP the concept of reforming the Armed Forces. It provides for a cardinal reduction in the Bundeswehr from the current 250 thousand military personnel to 163 thousand. And, most importantly, the actual refusal of drafting to the Army of Germany (formally the draft will be suspended for an indefinite time in order not to make changes to the constitution). Thus, Russian supporters of preservation and expansion of the call lost one of their favorite arguments.

But only Russian generals explained to the people, and, most importantly, to the high authorities, how good the so-called mixed principle of recruiting the armed forces is for the Russian army: 750 thousand military soldiers and 100 thousand contractors. Like, the main positions necessary to maintain combat readiness will be occupied by contractors. And on everything else we will put a military service soldiers. Moreover, as the remarkably passed the East-2010 maneuvers showed to prepare a full-fledged modern soldier-a driver, a tablet, a gunner-only two to three weeks. Unfortunately, representatives of the General Staff did not open, at the expense of what kind of miraculous techniques it was possible to achieve such magnificent results (by the way, that the results were so remarkable, we know from the words of the same representatives of the military department). In order to preserve this beautiful system in conditions when a country whistle flies into a demographic hole, you need to at all: to cut into the army of students, to increase the recruitment of up to 30 years, to force conscripts to come to the military registration and enlistment office without presenting the summons.

And the authorities practically agreed. The president, who is the Supreme Commander -in -Chief, under general pressure, only frightenedly stated that these delusional projects should be studied in the most attentive way. In general, everything was very successful to bring the call to the collapse, and then demand from the president a return to two-, and even better for the three-year period of compulsory military service. Not without exception, of course. After all, these same exceptions allow officials from the military commissariats, as well as their chiefs from the ministry.

And when the miserable renegade, “the so -called human rights activists”, as the chief of the main organized staff of the General Staff Vasily Smirnov likes to say, indicated that almost all developed states abandoned the draft army, the generals threw the main trump card on the table. Germany, the main locomotive of the European economy, retains the draft army.

An attempt to explain why the German case is unique, was discouraged from the threshold. The generals simply ignored the well -known facts. First of all, the one that the preservation of the call is explained by historical reasons. Reichsver - a cropped professional army of the Weimar Republic, which Germany could have under the conditions of the Versailles world - supported Hitler. That is why the preservation of the draft army became a symbol of civil control over the military sphere of Germany for the public in the post -war Germany. On the move, a non -essential and other peculiarity of the draft army of Germany was discredited. It was based on the idea that a soldier was a “citizen in military uniform,” which was the priority of civil rights over military duties. The result of which was the extremely “soft” conditions of the service of the draftees, the strictest control of compliance with their rights. Finally, after the end of the Cold War, conscripts, the number of which did not exceed a third of the Bundeswehr, was not supposed to be used in military operations.

But Russian supporters of the preservation of the draft army were not at all interesting. For them, Bundeswehr was obvious evidence that a modern state could have a draft army. And now the German authorities clearly and definitely said: the army, formed according to the so -called mixed principle, is costly and ineffective. Even bearing in mind all the expenses that are associated with organizing the Bundeswehr reduction, the minister is sure that until 2014 it will be possible to save about 8 billion euros.

When domestic generals declare that the country cannot afford the content of the contract army, they proceed from the fact that the roar soldiers can be forced to live in scotch conditions: without hot water, with a diet from troughs and potatoes, in robes that have not erased for years. A military service soldier can not pay money. It is worth trying to put into practice the dream of the Minister of Defense Anatoly Serdyukov about the “humane service”, and it will immediately become clear - such an army is no less, but more costly than the contract. Indeed, in addition to paying for the content of the conscript (which, with the “humane service”, is not much different from the costs of the contractor), giant funds are spent on organizing the call itself. Only a medical examination of potential recruits costs, according to the Vedomosti newspaper, 52 billion rubles. And this should be added to transportation expenses to the place of service and vice versa.

However, I do not think that the Germans refusal to call on our generals at least some kind of impression. He will still be in a blue eye to say that in most European countries there is a draft army. Only now, as an example, it will be not given to Germany, but by Finland and Norway ...

Photo by RIA Novosti