The 1999-2000 academic year ended. For the soldiers of the Siberian Military District, it turned out to be difficult. After all, the Siberian soldiers had to hone their military skills not only on the training fields, but also during the fighting in Chechnya.

Colonel Nikolai YEGOROV, Head of the Combat Training Department of the Siberian Military District, tells about the results of the past academic period and preparation for the new academic year.

- Nikolay Ivanovich, the previous period of training in the district was characterized, unfortunately, by the fact that due to limited financial resources, it was not always possible to fully conduct classes in driving, fire training, etc. Has the situation changed now?

- Alas, underfunding of combat training has become a kind of chronic disease. Not only in the past period of training, but also over the past few years, we have been performing our tasks in an acute shortage of funds, which seriously affects the quality of conducting combat training classes. In addition, it should be borne in mind that in the harsh climatic conditions of Transbaikalia, Eastern and Western Siberia, due to the sharp temperature drop (in summer up to plus forty, and in winter up to minus forty degrees), equipment and weapons are more difficult to operate and wear out faster. But, having a strong, purposeful character, continuing the established glorious traditions of their predecessors, Siberian warriors overcome these difficulties. The district command is making every effort to ensure that combat training activities are carried out in full.

Among the many tasks assigned to us, we can single out such tasks as training junior commanders in the district training center and additional training of specialists to replace those who perform military duty in Chechnya. We mostly manage these tasks. Although the lack of fuel and lubricants, of course, affects the quality of training. Commanders of units and subunits often have to conduct firing from the weapons of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles from the spot using external power sources with electricity.

We have a particularly acute problem with organizing training sessions at weapons and military equipment storage bases and in reduced-strength formations. Here, fuel for combat training is allocated, in fact, on a residual basis. As we know, it is theoretically impossible to teach tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to drive. So, due to economic circumstances in the country, the slogan "Field-soldier's Academy", which once existed in the army and was constantly supported by practice, gradually, to our shame, becomes irrelevant.

It is clear why this particular aspect of combat training is the subject of close attention of the commander of the SibVO troops, Colonel - General N. V. Kormiltsev, the headquarters and the military council of the district. On their part, everything is being done to ensure that, despite the difficulties of providing troops with fuel and lubricants, during the winter training period, all officers of the weapons and military equipment storage bases will be able to fire a regular tank shell. Almost without disruptions, the activities of combat coordination of units and units of constant readiness were also carried out. According to the plan, ostentatious company tactical exercises in reduced-strength formations also took place on time.

During this time, we were able to conduct more than 300 live-fire exercises in detachments, platoons, and about 50 company and battalion tactical exercises.

You can comment on these figures like this. If the combat firing of squads and platoons was carried out without military equipment, then company and battalion tactical exercises were full-scale and corresponded to the following requirements:

page 28

all standards and requirements. Especially carefully worked out not only the stage of combat shooting, but also the actions of commanders of all degrees on the ground to organize the battle, classes at the training places of the heads of the branches of the armed forces and services of units. Behind all this, as you can imagine, was the hard and painstaking work of soldiers and officers.

Are we satisfied with the results? Honestly, you can say: not to the full extent. Yes, there were shortcomings that can be attributed, so to speak, "to the human factor". But almost always it was necessary to make adjustments for the lack of fuel, lack of spare parts, and new military equipment. Agree, it is not normal when such additional turns with a minus sign are laid in the long-term plan. And this, unfortunately, has to be done. Even now, for example, it is clear that there are no prospects for increasing the volume of fuel supplies in the summer training period. In the second quarter, we received only 75 percent of the planned automotive fuel and 85 percent of diesel fuel.

- You mentioned the changes that have to be made to the combat training plan. The fighting in Chechnya probably forced serious adjustments to the training of Siberian soldiers? I know that you were still the head of the combat training department of the association when you were on a business trip to the North Caucasus. Please tell us about it and how the Siberians are fighting.

- There is a quite natural need not only to study the tactics of conducting battles on the spot, but also to develop a flexible method of training soldiers and officers, which we subsequently use during combat training in permanent locations. This was the goal of our business trip. I went there together with a task force consisting of 12 officers - representatives of various departments and departments of the association. Each was assigned a clearly defined task. At the first stage, we were engaged in combat coordination of units in relation to complex mountainous and wooded areas. Subsequently, when our unit was engaged in combat operations, the task force officers provided practical assistance to headquarters and commanders.

If in the course of operations it turned out that soldiers and officers did not have a good command of certain combat techniques or saw some serious omissions in training, then ostentatious classes were held on the spot. Which ones? For example, for equipping a company stronghold, installing booby traps. Taking into account that the bandits professionally use snipers and "small artillery" mortars that are effective in mountainous areas, countermeasures were taken. On the move, we rebuilt the training of mortar men, began to master the training of snipers according to the system: sniper hunter is an enemy sniper shooter game. There are new forms of fire destruction of the enemy, new tactical techniques in conducting search operations and actions as part of combat triples and fives in various types of combat by motorized rifle units.

There were many battles in which Siberian soldiers showed that they were worthy of the glory of their fathers and grandfathers. I would like to say special words to the motorized rifle brigade, one of the largest formations in the entire grouping of federal forces in Chechnya. The soldiers of the units and subunits of this brigade had many battles in the Eastern, Western and North-Western groupings. But one operation - capturing the height of 484.6 - can be called a landmark. Then it became clear: our training is effective. This height was prepared by the militants in terms of engineering and fire almost flawlessly. There was only one pass road leading to it. The height was surrounded on both sides by a forest. How to knock out suicide bombers who were holding the entire space at gunpoint? The battalion commander who led the group decided to apply flank coverage,

page 29

throwing grenades at the militants. The operation was carefully planned and the altitude taken. The fact that three of them have already been awarded the highest award of the Motherland - the Golden Star of the Hero of the Russian Federation-shows how bravely Siberians fight against bandits. These are Ensign O. Kuyanov, Sergeant A. Kuznetsov, Private I. Anureev.

The current stage of the fight against gangs in Chechnya is different from what it was in 1994-1996. The military has a different attitude, a different fighting spirit, because the tactics are different, the meaning of combat tasks is different: not to achieve victory at any cost, but to do it skillfully, with minimal losses. Today it is appropriate to recall such officers as O. Tsokov, N. Nikiforov, S. Karadzhan, and others, whose actions and thoughts have one desire - even in the most difficult combat situation to save the lives of soldiers.

- The military operations in Chechnya in different years have shown that the interaction of different law enforcement agencies is becoming particularly relevant. How is this taken into account?

"You noticed that correctly: This is a very important aspect in the fight against terrorism, which has taken on threatening proportions in Chechnya. It is quite natural that for this reason, we also introduce joint activities with other law enforcement agencies in the combat training plan for combined arms. An example is the battalion tactical exercises that were held in March of the Order of Alexander Nevsky by the motorized rifle regiment (on our side) and units of the Internal Troops. Control, communication, and combat interaction in the zone of armed conflict were practiced. As a result, there was a mutual enrichment of experience. Officers of the Internal Troops adopted our methods of fire destruction of the enemy. Combined arms officers - the order of "cleaning up" and the specifics of serving at the checkpoint and checkpoint. Especially scrupulously worked out the task of joint "cleaning up" of the settlement, during which the special forces units of the Airborne Forces operated under the cover of motorized rifle units. I will omit the rest of the details due to known circumstances.

- And what is the situation in the district with low-level officers-platoon and company commanders?

- I think this is a problem not only for us, but for all the Armed Forces in general. There are many factors contributing to the outflow of young officers from the army. So much has already been said and written about this that I don't want to repeat the reasons that have filled my teeth. One of the main ones is the economic instability of society, the loss of spiritual guidance.

This problem is particularly relevant for the Trans-Baikal region. We have found such a solution: officer courses for junior lieutenants were created and are now successfully operating. They train tank and artillery platoon commanders, communications platoons, and deputy company commanders for educational work. The first issues showed that officers successfully perform their duties in the district's troops.

In passing, I note that the personnel issue in the Armed Forces, despite some reform steps, nevertheless remains acute. In particular, this applies to the training of non-commissioned officers. It has long been clear that the institute of ensigns, replacing the institute of supernumerary sergeants, did not justify itself very much. He's only

page 30

increased the distance from the officer to the soldier. Restrictions on conscription of young men with higher education, opportunities for deferrals from conscription, sharply lowered general education qualification of conscripts-all this does not contribute to the selection of candidates for sergeants. Moreover, the activities of training centers of a district or, worse, a central scale are sometimes far from the requirements of regiments and battalions. Probably, for these purposes, regimental sergeant schools would be appropriate, where it is necessary to send not conscripts, but those who have already served for six months in the army and have shown their commanding inclinations. But to do this, you need to increase the service life, etc. In my opinion, the issue of assigning non-commissioned ranks to junior commanders and specialists has not been thought out either. However, all this is my private opinion.

- Does the new equipment arrive in the troops of the Siberian Military District? Until recently, they were proud of the fact that the motorized rifle regiment of the Order of Alexander Nevsky was equipped with BMP-3, and now there are rumors that due to the lack of spare parts, it is just right to transfer it back to BMP-2. Please comment on this.

- New equipment is practically not being delivered to the district's troops, and there is no need to talk about bright prospects at the moment.

The situation with the BMP-3 leads, unfortunately, to sad reflections. These new-generation combat vehicles, unique in their kind, which are produced by Kurgan Machine-Building Plant, were delivered to the above-mentioned units in 1998.

At the same time, active retraining in this technique was organized. At the same time, the manufacturer was supposed to finalize the combat vehicles. After all, in essence, the rearmament of the regiment became a kind of military test of the BMP-3. It was envisaged that for 5 to 6 years, designers, testers and military personnel operating the equipment would work closely together to develop prototypes in parallel. Unfortunately, due to the constant lack of finances, this program was not implemented. It is painful and insulting to talk about this, but the plant began to improve only the machines that were delivered to the United Arab Emirates... And in our military unit, all deliveries of equipment and spare parts were stopped altogether.

During the operation of the BMP-3, both during exercises and during combat operations in Chechnya, its positive qualities and shortcomings were revealed. All this was repeatedly discussed at technical conferences of various levels, ranging from divisional to ministerial. The district troops are waiting for the car. But the question still lies in the financing of the defense order. Now, when the military-industrial complex has "breathed" again, there is hope that the delivery of this machine to the troops will resume.

Colonel Viktor SAIDAKOV, Senior Permanent Correspondent of Orientir magazine for the Siberian Military District

page 31