Speaking yesterday to the participants of the gathering of commanders of the Russian Armed Forces, timed to coincide with the motorized rifle tactical exercises at the largest military training ground in Europe "Gorokhovetsky" in the Nizhny Novgorod region, President Dmitry Medvedev once again voiced his position on the main directions of the army reform.
The head of state confirmed his intention to start reforming the system of material allowances for servicemen from the beginning of next year. As the Supreme Commander-in-Chief assured the representatives of the command corps, as a result, the basic pay of the Russian military will have to triple. And first of all, this will affect the level of remuneration of officers.
“So we agreed that the lieutenant should receive 50,000. He will receive this money, even though we have problems with financing a number of state programs, because otherwise we will not be able to create an efficient army. And what kind of army we had, we know very well,”the president stated.
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About 1,000 servicemen and more than 100 pieces of weapons and military equipment were involved in the exercises at the Gorokhovetsky training ground. As part of the maneuvers, which the Supreme Commander-in-Chief personally observed, the military demonstrated the capabilities of the 2S6 Tunguska anti-aircraft gun and missile system, as well as the operation of the Mi-8MT transport and landing helicopters and Mi-28N combat helicopters designed to destroy armored vehicles.
At the same time, Dmitry Medvedev stressed that this is not a fragmentary, but a complete change in the system of monetary allowances. In addition, according to him, the pension system for citizens dismissed from military service and their family members is currently being revised.
The President also assured that the total amount of state funding for the defense sector will be preserved despite the economic crisis and the growing budget deficit. "Starting this year and until 2020, the annual volume of funding for national defense will remain at the level of 2.8% of GDP," Dmitry Medvedev stressed.
According to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, "a high level of financial support for the army will make it possible to free servicemen from unusual economic functions, which has long been done in the armies of other countries." According to Medvedev, “the troops should focus exclusively on operational training and combat training. And all responsibilities for protection, cleaning, household provision, cooking in the soldiers' canteens should be transferred to civilian organizations."
During his conversation with representatives of the RF Armed Forces command corps, Dmitry Medvedev once again focused the attention of the audience on the main goal of the military reform initiated by the authorities - to make the Armed Forces "compact and effective, equipped with modern weapons and equipment."
Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine, commented on the state's plans for military reform:
- As for the reform of the system of monetary allowances, in previous years a lot was said about this, but little was done. Although one cannot fail to note some progress after the adoption of Order No. 400. However, he provided that in the units there are those who receive an increased monetary allowance, and nearby (in the same company or battalion) there were people who did not receive such an increase. It is clear that this state of affairs demotivated them to perform their duties normally (according to the principle “you get increased satisfaction - you should be the first to attack”).
Now we are talking about the fact that from 2012 the lieutenant should receive 50,000 rubles. per month, and guaranteed: this should be the base rate. Accordingly, the brigade commander (colonel) - 150,000 rubles. per month. Now there is a "butting" between the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Finance, since the latter considers this level to be too high. In order for not only an excellent worker in the service, but every career officer (of course, who conscientiously fulfills his duties) received sufficient allowance, according to the Ministry of Defense, the figures should be approximately the following. In this case, many of the problems associated with motivating people will be solved by themselves.
I repeat: we are talking about the officer corps. Because the calculations for the contract army and sergeants are, of course, good, but practice shows that in relation to the conditions of the Russian and Soviet army, it is the officer who bears the main burden of working with the subunits. The officer corps cements the army. Therefore, it is necessary to reach the level of material well-being, which, in principle, corresponds to the average European.
