The leaderships of many states of the world are increasingly deciding on the need for reforms in the military sector. This is due not only to the consequences of the global economic crisis, when it became necessary to cut funding, but also to make the national army more capable, so that it could defend the territorial integrity and interests of its state.
The military reform has not spared the Russian armed forces either. Back in 2008, the Ministry of Defense announced its intention to carry out the most radical reform in the entire history of the army. This reform envisaged not only the reduction of certain officer posts, but also a change in the very structure of the troops, the reorganization of military units. At the same time, the country's leadership planned to allocate additional funds for the purchase of new military equipment and weapons.
From the very beginning, the reform caused controversial assessments not only in the armed forces themselves, but also in society as a whole.
However, despite this, D. Medvedev, while still at the head of state, said that the reform of the army was practically completed. Thus, most of the military units are ready to start performing tasks as soon as possible, and thanks to the optimization of the interspecific grouping of troops and the new structure of the districts, the level of planning and control efficiency has significantly increased.
According to him, over the years of reform, only new modern models of equipment and weapons were supplied to the army, their volume increased to 16 percent. During the same time, the intensity of operational and combat training has almost tripled.
Recall that the reform in the Russian army began in 2008. According to her, by 2012 the number of Russian armed forces should be 1 million people. In addition, it involves a transition from a regimental structure to a brigade structure. In addition, it was planned to reduce about 200 thousand officer posts, to eliminate the corps of warrant officers and warrant officers (which is about 160 thousand people). Due to this, the military leadership plans to reduce the percentage of officers to 15 percent instead of 32 and thus become equal to world practice.
All servicemen who are dismissed will be able to undergo retraining and receive non-military positions. In addition, they will receive housing and material compensation.
But regarding the transition to a contract army, this will not happen in the near future. The military department is talking about a gradual increase in the number of contract soldiers, respectively, the number of conscripts will decrease. Thus, in the coming years, the number of contract soldiers in the Russian army will be about 425 thousand people.
How has the reform been carried out in other countries? Below we will consider several examples of the implementation of military reform abroad.
So, military reform was carried out in the German armed forces.… In 2010, the country's leadership approved the plan for the sixth military reform, which has been carried out since the unification of the GDR and the FRG in 1990. This reform is the most ambitious. Apart from certain organizational aspects, its main provisions were a decrease in the number of personnel, as well as a change in manning. In July 2011, conscription was stopped, despite the fact that the provision on compulsory military service remained in the Basic Law of the country.
The number of personnel, according to the reform, should be reduced to 185 thousand people, of which only 15 thousand will be volunteers, and 170 thousand - professionals. It is also planned to reduce the number of civilian personnel by more than 20 thousand people. An important aspect of the reorganization is increasing access for women. First of all, the reform will affect staff workers, managers, as well as servicemen with long experience, for whom a social support system has been developed. And in order to attract more young specialists to the army, a system of bonuses has been developed and wages have been increased.
The main goal of the reform is the need to adapt the army to the new principles of maintaining security in the world. Angela Merkel has repeatedly stated the need to reform the armed forces, stressing that the army must be ready to carry out operations outside the state related to the fight against terrorism.
The new military reform fits into the policy of cutting government funding, as it is planned to cut costs by $ 8 billion by 2014.
Despite the large number of positive aspects, some experts fear that the German military department will not be able to recruit the required number of specialists, since most of the contract soldiers entered service only thanks to military service. In addition, there may be problems with alternative services, as few will agree to go to work in nursing homes or hospitals.
In general, the reform of the Bundeswehr aims to raise Germany's status in NATO, as well as the intention to become the base of the unified security forces of Europe.
The situation is somewhat different in Japan.… In the country, according to the Constitution, it is prohibited to conduct wars and create an army. Therefore, at the present stage of development, the Japanese self-defense forces are, de jure, not entirely armed forces (although de facto you cannot say so). And the Ministry of Defense appeared here only in 2007. At the end of 2010, the military department presented a national defense program, the main point of which was the need to reform the armed forces. According to it, the ground forces should become more mobile. It is proposed to achieve this by reducing the number of military units with heavy weapons, as well as reorganizing the command and control system. For the naval forces, the priority task is to unite destroyers located in different waters into tactical mobile groups, as well as to develop the submarine fleet. In the Air Force, the reform is not so significant, it is limited to organizational and staffing changes.
Today, Japan continues to develop its military power. The state ranks fifth in the world in terms of the amount of spending on this industry (annually they amount to about $ 44 billion). It is noteworthy that in this regard, Japan has overtaken even Germany, leaving ahead only the United States of America, Great Britain, China and France. And if we take into account that the budgets for the military complex are being cut in the last two states, it is possible that Japan will soon be able to take third place and be able to compete with China for the second.
Today, the Japanese army is armed with aircraft carriers and a modern missile defense system. It should be noted that the country provides most of the military needs on its own. Moreover, there are more and more calls to abandon the restriction on the import of weapons. The only thing that the country does not yet have is nuclear weapons, but all the necessary technologies for their creation are present.
In the armed forces of Japan, there are 240 thousand people. The military equipment is regularly updated. So, for example, in the naval forces there are about 250 warships, as well as auxiliary boats and ships. Among them there are 4 flagships - these are destroyers-helicopter carriers, which can simultaneously perform the functions of landing and aircraft carriers. In addition, there are also 40 destroyers in stock. At the same time, representatives of the authorities are seriously thinking about the need to revive mobile landing units, which, as a rule, are used to seize enemy coastal territories.
The total funding for the reform of the Japanese army is about $ 285 million.
Lithuania, after secession from the Soviet Union, was forced to start reforming its armed forcesas it was one of the main elements of European integration. In 1994, the country's government applied to join the North Atlantic Alliance, and 10 years later, in 2004, the country became a NATO member. The completion of the reform of the Lithuanian armed forces is scheduled for 2014. By this time, it is planned to create a compact mobile army that would fully meet NATO standards and be able to take part in all operations conducted by the alliance. During the period from 2005 to 2012, the size of the army decreased by more than 5 thousand people. Thus, today it has about 14.5 thousand servicemen. At the same time, if earlier the number of conscripts was 3, 3 thousand people, then today this number is much less - only 110 people. That is, the Lithuanian army has almost completely switched to a professional basis. Last year, the term of service was reduced from 12 to 9 months, and the duration of basic military training is only 90 days instead of 150. Among conscripts, volunteers are preferred, and if there is a shortage, the choice is made by lot.
Reforming the armed forces involves equipping them with modern models of military equipment and weapons. So, on the basis of the "Iron Wolf" brigade, it is planned to create a mechanized brigade, to form a communications battalion.
Thus, the Lithuanian army is a mobile, well-equipped and armed military organization capable of protecting the territorial integrity of the state, as well as providing assistance to the allies if necessary.
As for the Chinese armed forces, recently, the program of its reform began to take on specific outlines.… In Beijing, a White Paper on the government's defense policy was released. According to it, the main task that is being put forward for the national army is to maintain an active defense strategy, which implies an increase in the level of combat effectiveness of the armed forces while reducing them numerically and simultaneously equipping them with the latest types of weapons. The reduction is planned mainly in the ground forces. Initially, their number will be reduced to 1.8 million people, and over time, the reduction will be another 30 percent. At the same time, it is planned to expand the air force, naval forces, Vietnam, and create mobile forces to conduct operations in local conflicts. Over time, it is planned to include part of the naval forces and strike aircraft in these mobile groups.
Reforming the air force and air defense is a priority in the development of the Chinese army as a whole. This approach is the result of the government's belief in the decisive role of aviation in possible military conflicts. Therefore, much attention is paid to the export of Russian modern fighters Su-30MK2, Su-30MKK, the production of licensed Su-27 aircraft, as well as the development of modern aviation weapons.
In addition, the modernization of the air defense system and the fleet is being carried out in China. To this end, the Russian-made Tor-M1, S-300PMU1 anti-aircraft missile systems are actively purchased, and their own anti-aircraft missile systems are also being created.
The reform of the armed forces also affected the officer corps. A course was taken for the rejuvenation of personnel, as well as for the introduction of new military ranks. Changes have also taken place in the military education system.
In the process of reforming the defense complex, much attention is paid to the economic provision of the state's readiness and the development of military production, which should satisfy the needs for military equipment and weapons not only in wartime, but also in peacetime.
In South Africa, after the fall of "apartheid" in 1994, the first black formations appeared in the army … There were only 7 such units: the "African National Congress", "Pan African Congress", "Inkata" and four Bantustan armies. Thus, the new army included about 80 thousand servicemen of the old armed forces, 34 thousand former rebels and about 11 thousand Bantustans. At the same time, the middle and senior officers were white-skinned, and the rank and file were black.
The main task of reforming the army was to correct the racial and age imbalance. It was planned to achieve this through the conduct of accelerated courses and advanced training programs. As of 2011, just over 70 percent of the military were black, about 15 percent were white, about 12 percent were “colored,” and just over 1 percent were Asians. As for the rank and file, the main contingent (about 90 percent) is still black, in the lieutenant corps their number has increased to 57 percent, and among lieutenant colonels - up to 33 percent.
The military leadership is confident that the air force cannot fully fulfill the tasks assigned to them, since they are armed with mostly outdated equipment. Therefore, in the process of reforming, much attention is paid to the reorganization of the Air Force itself. This, in particular, is the modernization of the aircraft fleet, the introduction of computer technology to ensure the automation of service. In addition, the country's leadership does not ignore the enhancement of the capabilities of air defense systems - in particular, the deployment of a system for detecting low-flying objects near the country's borders. In the process of rearmament of the naval forces (in particular, naval aviation), South Africa has high hopes for the United States of America.
Thus, all the reforms of the armed forces, which were covered in the article, are characterized by a reduction in the number of personnel of the armed forces, the introduction of advanced command and control systems, the latest weapons and equipment systems, and the transition to a professional staffing of the army. We hope that the reform of our army will follow the same principles.
