Sergei Shoigu continues to actively develop in the chair of the Minister of Defense. And the longer time passes from the moment of his appointment, the more positive news comes from the main military department. Not long ago, Russia actually got used to the fact that the military reform should take place only as a complex operation without any anesthesia, and if anesthesia is given, it will only be in order to hide the scale of "operational shortcomings." And after the reformed patient, represented by the entire Russian army, came to himself after the end of the anesthesia, he often found scars on his body, indicating that another surgical intervention had taken place. And whether this intervention was associated with the removal of appendicitis or with the removal of an important organ - the question remained open. Unfortunately, the removal of vital organs took place, and therefore, the further the reform went, the worse the patient felt.
But Sergei Shoigu once again shows that the military reform may well proceed painlessly. And not only painless, but also with an obvious focus on efficiency. After all, before that, the Russians could not understand why, in order to increase the combat capability of the army, it was necessary to reduce the number of military universities to the limit and dismiss experienced military teachers. The previous leaders of the military department could not explain this either, who only allowed themselves some unintelligible muttering that everything was going according to plan, they say, it is necessary, and in general who are you to ask your stupid questions. In our country, they say, the military reform is gaining momentum, and no one has canceled military secrets yet …
And so, when the new head of the Ministry of Defense looked into the depths of this military secret, he apparently realized that the reform algorithms were far from always matched with common sense.
One of the segments of the military reform that Sergei Shoigu drew attention to was military education. The minister said that in the course of the reform, a comprehensively reasoned state order for the training of military specialists in the relevant higher educational institutions of the country has not yet been determined. Shoigu complains that military education in Russia, despite all the talk about the modernization of the army itself, clearly does not meet the needs of the state. Many military universities still use curricula and training standards that were applied 20-25 years ago (this is still the best case). The minister stressed that the future of the Russian army itself depends on the quality of training of officers, their knowledge and skills.
At the same time, Sergei Shoigu made a very harsh remark about the ongoing reform in the field of military education: "the ongoing reform of military education has formed a negative public opinion about the Ministry of Defense as a whole."
And it's hard to argue with these words. Indeed, when reports come with enviable regularity that another military university has been disbanded in a certain region, which allegedly has ceased to be effective and in demand for the needs of the army, you involuntarily catch yourself thinking that the whole reform is not aimed at improving the quality of the country's defense, but on the release of funds, stubbornly referred to as optimization.
In this regard, the words of Sergei Shoigu, who sets before himself and the ministry he heads the task of developing the military education system in Russia, are like balm to the soul. The main thing is that this balm does not cloud your head, but contributes to the real implementation of ideas in life.
Shoigu instructs all military command and control bodies, for which, in fact, the training of officers is carried out, until the beginning of April 2013, to develop a list of qualification requirements for vocational training of graduates of military universities.
And by January next year, the Russian president should be presented with proposals on changing the composition of the network of military universities, as well as a draft regulatory framework on the creation of independent military universities. Examples: Chelyabinsk Higher Military School of Navigators, Military Academy of Military Air Defense, etc.
The minister emphasizes that new military equipment has begun to enter the troops, which must be skillfully exploited by Russian servicemen. And in order for them to acquire such skills, it is necessary to carefully study the educational standards that are used in the remaining military universities today, and to make competent and thoughtful adjustments.
I would like to hope that those persons to whom Sergei Shoigu gives such instructions will understand his concern correctly. After all, it often happens in our country that even the most positive aspirations in some incomprehensible way are distorted beyond recognition. The minister said "to make an adjustment" - they can carry it out in such a way that such didactic innovations will appear, the implementation of which can lead to depressing consequences. If, in the field of military education, the level of efficiency of universities is also measured by the same patterns as in the civilian sphere, namely, by the number of foreign students (cadets) and the area of space per student, then it is unlikely that the quality of graduate training will significantly improve from this.
It is obvious that the military education system first of all needs modernization. After all, if you carry out measures to re-equip army units, but at the same time use only teaching aids of the Cold War era in military universities, then you should not expect the appearance of well-trained young officers in the troops.
I honestly wish that the modernization of military education proceeded simultaneously with the development of military science, which today is also far from being in a festive state. And if, when carrying out a reform in the military education environment, traditional teaching methods are used together with methodological innovations based on the use of an updated material and technical base, then the result will not be long in coming.
