Last Saturday, April 25, the Ministry of Defense held an information and propaganda campaign in St. Petersburg "Military service under contract - your choice!" Within the framework of this event, several important news were announced.
Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov, in his welcoming speech, which opened the action, said that the Russian armed forces are reaching a new level, for which the state is making significant efforts. Increased requirements are imposed on personnel: the army needs real professionals. Earlier it was repeatedly said that for these purposes it is planned to increase the proportion of contract servicemen and reduce the number of conscripts.
N. Pankov said that currently 300 thousand soldiers and sergeants are serving in the Russian armed forces under the contract. Moreover, he greeted and congratulated the three hundred thousandth soldier who is to serve under a contract on the beginning of his service. Pavel Sidorov, a private Marine and a driver-mechanic of the BTR-80 armored personnel carrier, has become a kind of symbol of the success of the plans for the development of the contract service. The Deputy Defense Minister wished Private Sidorov a successful service, and on behalf of the Minister handed over a wristwatch that will “count the days and years of successful service”.
Currently, 300 thousand soldiers and sergeants are serving in the Russian armed forces under contract. In addition, there are about 200 thousand officers on contract. Thus, summed up N. Pankov, the Russian army consists of about 50% of contract soldiers.
The deputy minister stressed that the contract servicemen serve with dignity and conscientiousness. They are entrusted with various complex tasks, from working in the Arctic and participating in various exercises to combating piracy in different regions of the oceans. The successes of the contractors do not go unnoticed. In the last two years alone, over 50 thousand servicemen have been awarded state awards or departmental insignia.
The Ministry of Defense not only rewards distinguished servicemen, but also helps them with housing. Thus, within the framework of the provided social package, about 51 thousand servicemen have already purchased housing under the contract using a military mortgage.
Attraction of those wishing to do military service under the contract has long been considered a promising way to increase the combat effectiveness of the armed forces. For this reason, it is planned to continue recruiting the army with contract soldiers. Some plans have already been announced.
Colonel-General Viktor Goremykin, head of the Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, said that in the foreseeable future the army will abandon conscripts. The junior command staff is planned to be fully staffed with contract servicemen.
The navy has already achieved some success. According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral Viktor Chirkov, by now the submarine forces are almost completely manned by contract soldiers. In the case of the crews of surface ships, the proportion of conscripts is constantly decreasing. The number of contractors on some ships reaches 80%. In addition, speaking during the campaign "Contract military service is your choice!"
With all the advantages, for example, the ability to visit foreign ports, etc., contractual service in the fleet is associated with certain difficulties, and special requirements are imposed on candidates. A future contract military seaman must be healthy, literate and smart. V. Chirkov noted a great desire to serve among the youth. Perhaps this is facilitated by the fact that contract servicemen have the opportunity to receive higher education in correspondence form without interrupting their service.
On April 28, the leadership of the Ministry of Defense again raised the topic of contract servicemen. On this day, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited one of the contract selection points in St. Petersburg. Private Pavel Sidorov, who will now serve under a contract in the Marine Corps, has become the "hero of the day" again. With the arrival of this contractor, the Minister of Defense noted, the number of contract servicemen for the first time exceeded the number of conscripts.
Currently, 300 thousand contract soldiers and 276 thousand conscripts are serving in the Russian armed forces. S. Shoigu said that in the future the proportion of contract servicemen in the troops will gradually increase. He also expressed the hope that as a result, the armed forces will completely switch to a new method of manning. During his visit to the selection point, the Minister of Defense personally congratulated the "jubilee" three hundred thousandth contract soldier, and also handed him a Marine Corps beret and a set of all-season field uniforms.
It is noteworthy that the work of the selection points for future contractors continues. Advocacy campaigns "Military service under contract - your choice!", In turn, are designed to attract potential servicemen into the ranks of the armed forces. According to press reports, 25,000 people attended such an event, held last week in St. Petersburg. Over 7, 5 thousand people showed interest in the selection points, 695 confirmed their interest with relevant statements. 104 people directly at the "field" selection points underwent express testing.
An important point in the latest statements by the leadership of the Ministry of Defense are the words about the upcoming full transition of the armed forces to contract manning. Over the past several decades, there have been repeated proposals to abandon the conscription and completely switch to the acquisition of parts on a contract basis. In the future, the main strategy of the Ministry of Defense in this direction was the construction of a mixed system with the preservation of conscription and the introduction of contract service. Now the Minister of Defense is talking about plans that imply a complete transfer of the army to a contract basis. In addition, the navy is already implementing such plans, increasing the proportion of contract soldiers and reducing the number of conscripts.
It should be noted that the full transition to contracts is probably a matter of a rather distant future. In February last year, S. Shoigu talked about current plans regarding the methods of manning the army. Then the head of the military department stated that by 2020 only one third of the total number of personnel will be conscripted. It was not planned to completely abandon the draft due to the need to prepare a mobilization reserve. In addition, the minister noted that young people should have the opportunity to participate in the defense of the Fatherland.
The plans to increase the share of contractors have been in the minds of the Russian Ministry of Defense a long time ago. However, not all efforts to implement them have led to the expected results. Currently, the military department, using the available opportunities, is gradually increasing the proportion of contract soldiers and reducing the number of conscripts. The other day, the heads of the Ministry of Defense announced that the number of contract servicemen for the first time exceeded the number of conscripts. This may indicate some success in the implementation of existing plans.
