At the Ministry of Defense, the head of the military department met with representatives of the leading Russian media. The informational reason for it was the completion of the next stage of reforming the Armed Forces. But the conversation went beyond this topic and touched on all aspects of the life and activities of the army and navy. The meeting took place in the form of a relaxed, friendly conversation. The journalists received detailed answers to all questions, which we reproduce with some abbreviations.
Anatoly Eduardovich, you announced the completion of the formation of new military districts - the United Strategic Commands (USC). How will the interaction be carried out between them and the various groupings of troops deployed on the territory of the USC?
- This is a rather serious issue that the General Staff was dealing with. In the new districts, directorates have been created that plan the use of troops and forces. They are led directly by the commanders of the districts. What is new is that the commander is now responsible both for preparing mobilization reserves in peacetime and for their use in case of war. Naturally, all troops and formations on the territory of the district are under his control.
The President set the task - to carry out the transition of the Armed Forces to digital communications in the near future. In what links should this happen?
- Gradually all links will be transferred. But we have several directions in this work. And the first is the re-equipment of communication centers. We plan to convert them to digital by the end of 2011.
There is also good progress with the mobile communications of the military echelon. By the end of 2010, we must receive the first batch of new mobile systems and transfer them for military trials. Bulk purchases will begin by the end of 2011. And during 2012 we plan to complete the renewal of the entire fleet.
The samples we have already received are of good quality. They, one might say, are already the sixth level with the corresponding performance characteristics. And yet we, along with digital communication, apparently, will keep analogue for the time being.
There was information that the Ministry of Defense for some reason does not fully use the funds allocated for the purchase of weapons and military equipment …
- When purchasing weapons, we now, for example, can pay up to 100% of the advance. The principal amount is transferred, as a rule, in several tranches, with different periods of time. But the last 20% are paid in December, when the contract has already been completed and the products have been delivered. In such cases, sometimes it becomes possible to say that the Ministry of Defense allegedly delays payments or, for some reason, does not fully use the allocated funds. In fact, all these are quite explainable things - this is how money does it. For example, I have repeatedly appealed to the government: we must have limits in October, so that in November we can hold relevant tenders and auctions, and by the end of the year conclude contracts. But usually everything happens almost on the last day of the last quarter.
We received the right to finance up to 100% of orders and the right to designate a single supplier. Although there are products that, for example, no one produces except for the Sukhoi company. Therefore, the competition in such cases is sometimes formal. The only question is cost. There is a certain procedure, and it must be followed. Now we have created the Pricing Department, which is an absolutely independent body and carefully checks all these procedures and figures.
The funds allocated for the purchase of weapons and military equipment, as a rule, are used in full. And if we return something for various reasons, then it is extremely rare. For example, last year unclaimed pension funds in the amount of 3 billion rubles were returned to the state. They were formed as a result of the fact that some of the military pensioners switched to civilian retirement. Naturally, this money was not used. It was inexpedient to spend them for other purposes. In general, there is a state defense order, where everything is clearly spelled out. There are contracts that are one-year, and there are those that are rolling over for 2-3 years. You just need to strictly follow them.
BIG CHANGES
What is happening now in the field of military education? When will the recruitment of cadets and students resume, on what conditions will they enter military universities? Is it necessary to serve in the army or graduate from a civilian university for this?
- In fact, there are no such conditions. Our working groups studied the experience of leading Western countries in this area. There are different approaches. Including this: a cadet can be a person who already has a higher education, or one who has served military service. But we do not yet see the need to change the conditions of admission.
As for the new training system, it will differ from the previous one by a deeper immersion in the topic, in the subject of study, a higher organization of the educational process and the quality of the material base, and the selection of the teaching staff. In the meantime, in a number of civilian universities, it must be admitted, the level of education is higher than in military ones. And we, realizing this, have already begun to invite teachers from there to military schools in some subjects.
At the same time, the consolidation of universities is underway, a corresponding program has been adopted. At the same time, we are putting in order the educational and material base, its laboratory component. Remember, if earlier cadets went to practice in the troops, then recently this has not happened at all. A person could study for five years and never attend an exercise, in practice, in a full-blooded military unit. And then, getting into real conditions, I was lost, I could not adapt. The future platoon commander, while still in the cadet's bench, must clearly understand what he will have to do in the troops.
As for enrollment in schools and academies, it has been suspended for a couple of years - until 2012. This is due to the presence of a sufficiently large number of officers, so to speak, of non-critical age. The question is, why then prepare new ones, spending time and money?
Some officers, however, were hastily dismissed, although they could serve for another 10-15 years. By the way, we are now dealing with this issue. After all, there are many who want to continue serving in the Armed Forces. In addition, today there are specific specialties in which there is a shortage of professionals. And we return those who were out of the state, we even invite those who have already been dismissed to the reserve, we conclude contracts with them.
The new models of weapons and military equipment entering service are also making adjustments to the number of officers in the army and navy. All this has to be taken into account.
But won't the military scientific school die over the years?
- No. The very reform of military education pushed us towards such transformations. I told how we tried at one time to appoint a brigade commander from among the teachers of one of the universities. Nothing succeeded. The officers immediately wrote their resignation reports. That is, they saw their mission in a different way, they did not develop the quality of a leader, control of people and troops.
At the communications academy, for example, he asked one of the teachers what his last position in the army was. It turned out to be the commander of the communications battalion. Who does he teach? Senior officers up to the commander of the signal troops. But how and what can he teach such a category of future officials?
I believe that people with serious experience and knowledge should come to the departments of universities, military registration and enlistment offices, military missions. If, for a number of reasons, an officer cannot serve in the troops, but is valuable to the military department for his knowledge and experience, he can be invited to just such a position.
In a word, I have no fear that we will lose the scientific university school. By the way, it is quite decent, take the Mozhaisky Military Space Academy, the Peter the Great Strategic Missile Forces Military Academy and others. The color of military science is collected there.
How is the training of sergeants at the Ryazan Airborne School going?
- It is held not only in it. We began to recruit people to other universities to train sergeants. We are trying to provide them with a decent scholarship, everything necessary for full-fledged study. But the selection is pretty tough. Today we have about 2,500 future sergeants undergoing training. The term of study is different, depending on the specialty, up to two years and 10 months. On the team - less, on the technical - more.
The Moscow Region 5th Motorized Rifle Brigade, created on the basis of the Taman Division, serves as a kind of testing ground for testing modern techniques and testing new weapons and military equipment. Are there still such formations in the Armed Forces where all the most advanced is being introduced, including, say, an outsourcing system, a new sports uniform, additional rest, and other preferences for personnel?
- There are certainly such connections. Take a Marine Corps Brigade in Vladivostok. It essentially contains everything that you have listed, and to some extent, more.
As you know, we have a lot that is new in the system of recruiting young people for military service. We try to incorporate the best into it as much as possible. We involve both parents at the time of the call, and the public. During the last draft campaign, about 700 different events were held. About 3 thousand parents accompanied their sons to the duty stations.
Today there are no restrictions on the introduction of new progressive forms and methods of working with conscripts. I just think that for our military commissars, unit commanders, commanders of troops of military districts, we need a certain transitional period to rethink the ongoing changes. We are constantly raising these issues at the collegiums of the Ministry of Defense.
LOBBYING INTERESTS OF MILITARY SERVICES
Decent pay for servicemen and provision of housing in need is a social aspect of military reform. But the bill on the budget for the next year, which was posted on one of the websites, did not reflect the planned increase in the salaries of military personnel from January 1, 2012. How can this be explained?
- Our budgeting system is built in such a way that we typeset the figures for three years, but only the first year is worked out in detail. Therefore, today there is a verified budget for 2011, as well as limits on it.
As for 2012, we have an understanding of the overall figure. What, as they say, is inside it, today it is difficult to say clearly. But this is an established practice, therefore, the draft has not yet said anything about monetary allowance. And since the law has not yet been adopted, money cannot be allocated for it, of course.
We submitted our proposals to the draft budget at the end of April - May 2010. And in the near future, I think, a revised version of the bill will appear. In what form - time will tell. So far, the proposals of the Ministry of Defense are being considered in the relevant committees and commissions of the government.
And what about the fulfillment of the president's order to provide apartments for servicemen who are being transferred to the reserve?
- As for housing, the situation is as follows. There are, as it were, two queues. One, it includes those who have been in it since 2005, were supposed to close before January 2010. Accordingly, after my appointment to the post, I literally in the first interview said that we would provide permanent housing for these people.
Soon every officer will be able to watch the progress of the queue for "housing" on the Internet
But now this queue has increased at the expense of officers who quit either due to organizational arrangements or due to seniority, health, etc. Nevertheless, we have no fears that they will have problems obtaining apartments. This is evidenced by the numbers of housing commissioned. We plan, as it was announced at the collegium of the Ministry of Defense in 2008, to rent 45 thousand apartments in the next two years, including acquiring them from various sources. This schedule is being kept. Moreover, in 2010, not 45, but about 52 thousand apartments will be commissioned.
In addition, some of the apartments in the garrisons we are leaving are being removed from the service fund. There are many servicemen who would like to privatize them. This is the case, for example, in Solnechnogorsk. And we are meeting the officers halfway in this matter. I repeat: we have no fears that the Ministry of Defense will not fulfill its obligations.
If you look at the queue that has formed recently, then it is a living organism and sometimes different preferences arise in it. So, by the end of this year, we will send about 40,000 notifications to those on the waiting list for housing. But will everyone agree to the proposed options? It is hard to say. It is not bad, on the one hand, that the officer has a choice. But someone is capricious, someone, due to various circumstances and reasons, changes his decision to live in a particular subject of the Russian Federation. In each individual case, you have to understand, delve into the essence of the issue. This is reflected in the implementation of the planned schedule.
Are you sure that in a year or two this plan will also be properly implemented?
- Until 2013, funds have already been pledged, we will continue to build. So our work does not end there. We are also now solving the very old housing problems of those officers who were fired several years ago and are standing in queues in the constituent entities (municipalities) of the Russian Federation. We additionally allocate state housing certificates (GZhS), closely cooperate with other departments. In the near future, we plan to receive several hundred more GHS for these people.
As you can see, the work in this area is going pretty well. In the near future, for example, we will accept new housing estates in St. Petersburg (about 5 thousand apartments) and in Vladivostok (about 2, 5 thousand apartments). The post of Deputy Minister of Defense has been established, who is in charge of these issues, the Department of Housing has been created, and a single queue has been formed. Soon every officer, even on the Internet, will be able to see how this queue is moving, what objects are being surrendered, how they look.
You mentioned that some reserve officers are switching to civilian pensions. Consequently, in solving the problem of pension provision for military personnel, in contrast to housing, there have been no serious advances yet?
- In the draft law we have prepared, we have clearly stated our position on this issue. I would like to emphasize: I am not a supporter of somehow infringing on the interests of military pensioners. I do not have such a desire, as no employee of the Ministry of Defense has it. On the contrary, we are for the fact that people who have given service to the Fatherland for many years have worthy pensions. The question is different: how much is it possible today from a financial point of view. And the fact that the bill has been discussed for so long is connected with the search for funding sources.
We believe that the principle and the approach that existed earlier (the pension should be tied to the size of the monetary allowance of active officers) are justified. Another question: how to do it? Either to outline a certain transitional period, or immediately. But again, it all comes down to the means. We are lobbyists on this issue. We will continue to lobby the interests of military pensioners as much as possible. Therefore, they proposed such a soft option - to make a certain transitional period: a year or two or three … If you do not link it with anything at all, then this cannot be explained in any way to the current officers, who, after a while, will also become pensioners and fall into the same trap, nor to those who are already in this capacity. I think this is, of course, unfair. However, there is still no final decision on which design to stop at.
But, apparently, by January 1, 2012 the decision should be made anyway?
- At least now the task is exactly that. Unless, of course, there is some kind of introductory, connected, say, with the economic, financial crisis or something else. So far, I repeat, there is a fairly active discussion and a search for a solution to the problem by the designated date. But what else is the matter?
If you remember, at the very beginning we stated that we should start in determining the final figures on the size of the lieutenant's money allowance, which, I think, is fair. They called it size. But what will it be like in the end? Different departments still have different views on this. We still want to defend our position and the figures that were announced by us. As a matter of fact, they can also be considered as part of the new look of the Armed Forces. Today, extremely serious measures are being taken in the army and navy, and it seems to me that it would be fair to preserve the main points of reference for all those parameters that have been mentioned. And from them, accordingly, dance further.
MISTRAL'S COMPETITORS
You recently returned from China, where you participated in a meeting of the intergovernmental commission on military-technical cooperation. Is Russia not risking anything by selling new equipment and weapons to the Chinese? Does our country intend to supply them with tanks, multiple launch rocket systems?
- Tanks, like multiple launch rocket systems, they do not need. They are interested in aircraft engines, aircraft, new air defense systems. A request was made to speed up the delivery of air defense systems. But we cannot promise this yet: 2017 was previously planned.
What is the current state of the tender for the Mistral helicopter carrier? And why, after all, it was Mistral - there were no other proposals?
- Now we have received similar proposals from Koreans, Spaniards, and Germans. It is quite possible that they will also come from other countries. We will certainly accept and analyze all of them. Work in this direction is underway. Some of the applications are very detailed, up to proposals for spare parts, crew training, etc. But in some, only the terms and approximate amounts are indicated.
It seems that by the end of November we will decide on a decision, and by the end of the year we will finally adopt it. Let me emphasize: it is important for us to get a ship, as they say, packed to the maximum - with control systems, weapons, basing, personnel training.
Russia is now buying a part of weapons and military equipment in Israel, in particular drones. And what about the production of our similar and other models of weapons and military equipment?
- Yes, we have signed a number of contracts with the Israelis. If domestic manufacturers offer us the appropriate counterparts with good tactical and technical characteristics, then we will be happy to purchase them. But so far no one offers us what we want.
And what about the supply of Tiger vehicles to the army? Or is the Ministry of Defense still leaning towards purchases of Iveco?
- We are buying Tigers. We don't buy Iveco. But we took several cars in order to check how they would behave in our conditions, to check at the proving grounds. If we are satisfied with this machine, then most likely we will talk about establishing a joint production of this equipment in Russia.
During your visit to the United States, agreements were reached on mutually beneficial military-technical cooperation. In what directions will it develop?
- We have agreed with US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates that we will send our proposals to them within a month. They cover various aspects of interaction. Including military education, medicine, military-technical sphere, exchange of experience of military operations in Afghanistan, missile defense, joint exercises … Let's see if we agree with everything. But I got the impression that the Americans are interested in this. We recently met with the US Ambassador and he confirmed that their proposals had been received by the Ministry of Defense, and a corresponding decision was being worked out.
