Old features of a new look

It seems that the authorities begin to slowly slow down the violently starting military reform. No, if we approach from a formal point of view, then the Minister of Defense Anatoly Serdyukov stubbornly creates a new “appearance” of the armed forces. Just a few high-ranking military-deputy minister Nikolai Pankov and Vladimir Popovkin, as well as the head of the Main Directorate of Kadrov Mikhail Vozhakin and the head of the organizational and mobilization department of the General Staff Vasily Smirnov-lost shoulder straps. In full accordance with the previously declared concept of reform, the military leaders were dismissed from the army, but remained in their positions. According to the logic of things, it should be assumed that gradually the civil status will receive all the structures that they head. Optimists can assume that this is the beginning of the state of the Ministry of Defense at the expense of civilian officials. After all, representatives of the next generation of employees in the military department may no longer be retired military, but simply by civilian bureaucrats. And this will be serious progress: the military will lose the opportunity to impose a decision in which the General Corporation is interested in political leadership. It seems that they even overdo it with demilitarization: if Smirnov retains the position of deputy chief of the General Staff, then this will be a unique case-a civilian will enter the leadership of a purely military structure.

However, at the same time, the correction of the ambitious plans of the reformers is becoming more obvious. A few hours before becoming a civilian, Vasily Smirnov held a press conference dedicated to the next call to the Armed Forces. In the course of the case, a lot of curious was reported, but directly to the call of no attitude. First of all, Smirnov actually admitted that the program for the partial transfer of the Armed Forces to the contract service, which he had recently declared “successfully completed”, was completely failed. According to the military leader, now in units, seemingly transferred to the contract, only 79 thousand ordinary and sergeants serve (I remind you that it was originally assumed that there would be 144 thousand contractors, then they moved away by 133 thousand, then at 125, then 100 ...). According to the official, no more than a quarter of military personnel are ready to extend the contracts that flow this year. This is the result of the fact that three years ago, contractors drove military soldiers almost a stick (and sometimes with a stick).

The failure of contractization calls into question the implementation of the presidential order that all parts and formations of the Armed Forces should become parts of constant readiness. It is clear that if these parts are equipped with a little soldiers, and the personnel will change every six months, there can be no question of any constant readiness. Therefore, a very “flexible” formula was invented. From now on, parts of constant readiness are considered to be those where contractors are equipped only “positions that determine combat effectiveness”, and all others are considered to be conscripts. It is clear that the military has the opportunity to interpret it very arbitrarily, which positions determine the combat effectiveness and which are not. One of the most important reform tasks threatens to turn into profanity.

Another most important program can turn into the same profanity - the creation of an institution of professional sergeants. It is the appearance of junior commanders in the barracks that should put an end to the grandfather. Only for this it is necessary that the sergeant can maintain order by the power of his authority, and not fists. By age, knowledge, life experience, he should differ from subordinates. And when the Ministry of Defense announced that sergeants would prepare for almost three years in special training centers at the best military universities, there was a hope that reformers at least understand the essence of the problem. However, now it turns out that for ten years only those sergeants who are going to serve in the positions that officers are now occupied by officers - these are platoon commanders, aviation technicians, etc. That is, in terms of his professional qualities, such a sergeant will be a worsened version of the current officer. Five to ten months will be taught those who will replace the current warrant officers in the posts of elders of the mouth and battalions and warehouses. But the main contingent of sergeants - commanders of departments, guns, combat vehicles - will, as now, teach five months. With the same, I believe, the result.

It seems that military reform begins a new important stage. For some time, opponents of the reform expected the authorities to refuse it because of the crisis. Now they are trying to replace goals, to emasculate the meaning from individual elements of the reform. And then in the new appearance of the armed forces the old Soviet features will be more distinctly.