SEVEN REGIMENTS WITH THE LOWEST MARKS
by Victor Litovkin

Source: Nezavisimoe Voennoe Obozrenie, No. 18, June 08-14, 2007, p. 1
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
June 15, 2007 Friday

As in school, there are people earning excellent, good, satisfactory
and bad marks in the Russian Army

ANALYSIS OF COMBAT TRAINING RESULTS IN THE WINTER TRAINING PERIOD;
The summer training period started in units and formations of the
Russian Army and at ships of the Navy on June 1. This is the last
period when soldiers and sergeants are trained in the seasonal summer
and winter method. Starting in 2008, conscripts will serve only for
one year instead of two (in spring they were drafted for 18 months)
and it will be necessary to fit the entire training period formerly
intended for 24 months into 12 months. For this purpose, it is
necessary to change the entire methodology of both single planned
training and technology of coordination of crews, squads, platoons,
companies, batteries and battalions. The new methods will be tested
in the upcoming half of the year.

The summer training period started in units and formations of the
Russian Army and at ships of the Navy on June 1. This is the last
period when soldiers and sergeants are trained in the seasonal
summer and winter method. Starting in 2008, conscripts will serve
only for one year instead of two (in spring they were drafted for 18
months) and it will be necessary to fit the entire training period
formerly intended for 24 months into 12 months. For this purpose it
is necessary to change the entire methodology of both single planned
training and technology of coordination of crews, squads, platoons,
companies, batteries and battalions. The new methods will be tested
in the upcoming half of the year.

Lieutenant General Alexander Lukin, director of the main department
of combat training and service of troops, reports that in the summer
training period, the training of units and formations of permanent
readiness manned with contract soldiers and sergeants will be
considered a priority. The task is the achievement of the necessary
level of field skills and readiness for action.

On the eve of the summer training period, the Defense Ministry summed
up the winter’s results. It turns out that as in school, there are
people earning excellent, good, satisfactory and bad marks in the
Russian Army. Seven regiments were among those who received bad
marks. Among them were two mechanized infantry regiments – the 70th
guards regiment of the 42nd mechanized infantry division of the North
Caucasian Military District (based in Shali, Chechen Republic), the
124th regiment of the 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri (Armenia)
– and the 313th separate special radio technical regiment in Perm.

All of them received bad marks for the unsatisfactory maintenance
of armament and military hardware and in general, the absence of
combat readiness.

Bad marks were also given for the winter training period to four
regiments of the Air Force and one ship of the Navy. The aviation
regiments had unsatisfactory conditions of logistic service and the
ship had unsatisfactory armament and military hardware conditions.

At any rate, not everything is so bad. Among units that received
excellent marks were three nuclear cruiser submarines. According to
Lukin, these are the K-335 submarine from the Northern Fleet and the
K-150 and K-331 submarines from the Pacific Fleet. Their main crews
launched missiles and torpedoes perfectly.

Lukin said that the intensity of combat training grew to a certain
extent in the winter training period due to the allocation of more
money for driving, flights, sea voyages, firing practice and exercises.

In winter, the Ground Forces alone had more than 300
command staff exercises and tactical exercises on the level of
division-brigade-regiment, more than 1,500 company special tactical
exercises and firing practice exercises, as well as 630 training
assemblies for various categories of servicemen, mostly officers of
the company and platoon level. Among those who received good marks in
the course of inspections were 19 divisions (28% of all formations
of the Armed Forces), 19% bases for the storage of armament and
military hardware, 28% brigades, 32% regiments and 59% ships of
the first rank. Satisfactory marks were given to 72% divisions, 80%
storage bases, 65% regiments and 37% ships of the first rank.

Lukin states that in general, the condition of combat training allows
for the fulfillment of the tasks set for the troops. According
to him, the Armed Forces adopted a course at the supply of units
and formations with comprehensive systems of dynamic computerized
simulators to improve the quality and efficiency of training. These
systems allow for the conserving of resources and ammunition and
reduce the depreciation of combat vehicles dramatically along with the
fulfillment of 90% of training tasks of both individual training and
crew training. Budget allocations for this purpose in 2006, in the
framework of transferring units to the contract principle of manning
amounted to 774 million rubles. In 2007, these allocations amounted
to 980 million rubles. In 2007, the army also received 231 million
rubles from the budget, or 118 million rubles more than in 2006 for
the improvement and maintenance of the training material base of the
training ranges, tank ranges and firing ranges.

Lukin expects that these expenses will pay back in the form of growth
in the quantity of the units that receive good and excellent marks,
especially among the units and formations of permanent readiness.

Some of them will be checked in the course of large tactical exercises
planned for the summer.