“I didn’t expect him to be taken away”

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"Government must be trusted"

The summons to the 55-year-old man was brought immediately after the announcement of mobilization. He did military service more than 30 years ago, back in the USSR, and graduated with the rank of second lieutenant. He has since been promoted to First Lieutenant.

“Dad was supposed to come to the draft board on September 22 at 05:30 in the morning. We, of course, asked him not to do this, but his position was that the state must be trusted and it knows what it is doing, ”said the daughter of the mobilized, an employee of the Bumaga publication, whose name is not called.

The family hoped that there would be a medical examination at the military registration and enlistment office, but it was not carried out: the man was immediately taken to military training.

“Dad seemed to be a little confused. He did not expect to be taken away, he thought that he would be asked to deliver summonses: he is not suitable for service because of his age, but hands are always needed in military enlistment offices, ”Paper reports the words of his daughter.

The man, along with other mobilized people, was put into buses and first taken to a small town near the regional center. There they were given uniforms, after which they were taken to the regional military unit. According to the girl, all conscripts in this unit were fully equipped. Also, a kitchen was opened there and “they began to feed tasty and satisfying food.” The mobilized were taught demining, shooting, and throwing grenades.

Then the 55-year-old senior lieutenant was appointed platoon commander, despite complaints about a sore leg.

“There is a mess in the database in the military registration and enlistment office”

“As soon as dad was at the training camp, we began to think about how to bring him home. We started by contacting the support bots of [head of “Agora” Pavel] Chikov, “Support Service” and “School of the Recruit”. We waited a very long time for an answer. As a result, we received a number of general recommendations,” said the daughter of the mobilized.

The man’s family began to apply to various authorities: they applied for alternative civilian service, wrote an appeal about illegal conscription on the website of the Ministry of Defense, sent an electronic application to the military prosecutor of the regional garrison, a written application to the prosecutor of the district where the mobilized person lives, and a complaint to the military commissar of the military registration and enlistment office. They also tried to get an explanation from a specialist in the Ombudsman's office in their area. There they were told that a medical examination during mobilization is not mandatory and is carried out at will. In addition, they turned to the Office of the Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova and at the same time tried to publicize the case in the media.

“When it became possible to send messages about an error during mobilization at the State Services, we immediately sent several pieces from all the accounts of friends who agreed to help us. On September 27, when dad was at the training camp, another summons was put in his mailbox. Apparently, there is a mess in the database in the military registration and enlistment office, ”said the daughter of the mobilized.

On the evening of October 6, 40 men from the unit (all of them were over 50) were put on a bus and taken to the place where they were given uniforms for the night. There they handed him over, and on the morning of October 7, the senior lieutenant was already on his way home.

“How will they be there without me?”

The mobilized man did not plan to sue or hide from the draft. When he was sent home from packing, it seemed to his daughter that the whole family was more pleased than he was.

“He was sorry that he left the platoon. He said: “How will they be there without me?”. It is difficult to say whether any of our appeals helped or just put things in order in some parts. Perhaps this is due to the new bill , which implies age restrictions during mobilization, ”the girl said.

According to the daughter of the mobilized, during the time when her father was at the training camp, they did not discuss politics with him. They mostly talked about "is it warm to sleep and what did they do today, shooting or clearing mines". However, the girl notes that they still have "a long conversation about the state and the war."

Source: "Paper"