Paratroopers will not be deprived of the status of a separate branch of the military
"The Airborne Forces will remain an independent branch of the armed forces," Lieutenant General Vladimir Shamanov said yesterday, answering a question from an MK journalist about the fate of the Airborne Forces in the "new look of the Armed Forces." He partially denied rumors that the Airborne Forces would either dissolve in the Ground Forces, or a rapid reaction force would be created on their base.
General Shamanov spoke about the prospects for reforming the army:
- On the basis of the military districts, we have formed the operational-strategic command (OSK). The presidential decree defines their sphere of authority, which is much broader than that of the military districts. And this means: if you have delegated authority, you will also transfer opportunities for this. That is, in a natural way, part of the powers of the central government bodies, as well as those that were previously assigned to the main commands, including the command of the Airborne Forces, will be transferred to the USC. But then the approaches start to differ. There is a concept that presupposes the development and creation - moreover, already in the current summer period of training - of working bodies of the branches of the Armed Forces. At the same time, in the branches of the military - the Strategic Missile Forces, the Space Forces and the Airborne Forces - this is not provided.
As for the Airborne Forces, then, according to Shamanov, they, as before, remain "the means of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and are used by the decision of the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff." He also said that "in general, the command of the Airborne Forces retains its status, however, transferring some functions to other structures of the central apparatus of the Ministry of Defense." And then he remarked: "That is, the Airborne Forces as a branch of the troops are preserved, and I received an unambiguous instruction from the Minister of Defense for this."
Although it seems that General Shamanov touched upon a controversial topic here, since the head of the press service and information department of the Defense Ministry, Colonel Alexei Kuznetsov, immediately rushed to diplomatically adjust his position: “All issues related to the USC are still being discussed. It's still a matter of time. The main decisions on them will be taken in the future. " The general also supported the colonel: "USC is living matter and is in motion."
However, in this case the question arises: if the USC is “matter in motion” and “a matter of time”, then why has a presidential decree already taken place on their formation? Moreover, he, according to the general, determined that the sphere of authority of the USC "is much broader than that of the military districts." It turns out, gentlemen of the military, you again do not know exactly what and how you are reforming?
