"Blue Berets" tells about the service, the first jumps and the influence of the army.

August 2 - Airborne Troops Day. Despite the working day, several hundred men in blue berets took to the streets of Kirov, and some were supported by their families.

The official part of the day of the Airborne Forces began at 10 am at the Philharmonic. Here, the "blue berets" laid flowers at the monument to the soldiers who died in local conflicts. The meeting was addressed by the first persons: Acting Governor of the Kirov Region Igor Vasilyev, Mayor Valery Vladykin and Chairman of the Legislative Assembly Vladimir Bykov.

After laying flowers, the column set off along Kazanskaya Street to the Eternal Flame. Along the way, the paratroopers received congratulations from passers-by.

For those who have served, the holiday is an occasion to see their comrades and remember the brightest moments. They shared their stories with our portal.

Dmitry, 2013 call of the year:

- We gather with colleagues every year on a holiday. There are good memories and not so good ones. For some of us, the service was not successful. We served in Omsk in 242 training center. There, in 2015, the barracks collapsed, killing 25 of our guys. Every year during the meetings we always remember them.

But there were many good moments: how we are “pumped”, they make us better. And when we see the older generation who spent 2-3 years in the army, they say that we did not serve at all, so to speak, we did not sniff gunpowder. But time passes and even we can say that there are changes in the army. For example, my friends now also serve in the Airborne Forces. They do not “sew”, do not wear footcloths - everything is more loyal. On the one hand - right, more guys will go to serve. It seems to me that this is important, the army is a school of life. It is interesting how each guy shows himself, for example, a sleek guy who is in demand among girls in civilian life behaves too imposingly in the army, and this does not help him very much.

Leo, 2004 call:

- I served two years and decided to stay under the contract. Why? This is romance, audacity, a challenge to oneself. Imagine day and night skydiving, shooting. Moreover, I served in Ivanovo, and we constantly went to the field exit to Yeysk on the sea. In general, everything is beautiful and chic. For me, the service turned into the acquisition of discipline and independence, because you live without parents, no one takes care of you, and faithful comrades appear all the time who are always ready to lend a helping hand. This is very cool.

I liked parachuting, I made 18 jumps in total. I would like, of course, to jump more, but not in Poroshino, but to move to a new level and jump from four thousand meters. The first jump, to be honest, I don’t remember at all - everything is in a fog, and the second and third times it was very scary, I tried to get into the outfit so as not to jump with a parachute, but I failed. Kidding! (laughs)

Alexander, appeal of 2004:

- The most striking thing that happened to me in two years in the army was the first parachute jump. As I remember now, it was August 14th. It was so memorable that I lost two kilos. The service is associated with me not only with jumps, but also with the obstacle course that we had to overcome, as well as with the initiation into the paratroopers, the presentation of blue berets and vests.

In general, I consider my service in the Airborne Forces to be my pride, because I ended up in intelligence, which is considered a more elite unit. Being a paratrooper is not given to every man, you need to undergo special physical and psychological training. I hope that my son will definitely be one of those who got into these elite troops.

Vladimir, 1981 appeal:

- He served two years, and then spent a year in Afghanistan. I clearly remember my first parachute jump, it was not scary. Why be afraid? If we went to the Spartak stadium and drove cars there at 110-120 km / h, and the plane flies a little faster. To be honest, we didn’t even have anyone who was afraid. The commander did not push anyone out of the plane by force. Our generation, I believe, was more courageous, because it was brought up differently. The service didn't scare us.

The Airborne Forces instill courage and courage in a man, develops a sense of friendship, because your crew is your family, everyone helps and supports each other. Everyone must master two things: run well and hide well, because the paratrooper, like the wolf, is fed by his feet.

Michael, 1984 call:

- I made my first jump in Poroshino. Emotions were vivid: you fly and see small houses, and Kirovo-Chepetsk and Kirov seemed to be getting closer to each other. From above you look, everything is side by side and very beautiful, it captures. I am not at all disappointed that I ended up in the Airborne Forces, at first I was in training in Lithuania, and then I served in combat companies. In my youth, I practiced sambo and knew for sure that I would get into the elite troops. The most important thing here is discipline, if you run, then the regiment commander is with you. By the way, he is now a Hero of the Soviet Union, General of the Army Vostrotin.

For those who are just going to serve, I can advise you to be less afraid, and most importantly, after the army, bring more benefits. Especially since now they only serve a year.

Eugene, call of 2014:

– When we get together with colleagues, most often we remember how the mass exercises of our entire intelligence took place. This is probably the most colorful and bright thing that happened to us during the year of service. Just imagine, 700 people in the air - this is beauty! Paradoxically, I don’t even remember my first jump, it was so fast and exciting: I jumped, the parachute opened and peace appeared in my soul.

I have only jumped 18 times and I can say with confidence that everyone should definitely try it at least once in their life. The main thing is to gain courage and desire.

After the official part of the Airborne Forces Day, the paratroopers went to Poroshino to make new jumps and relax outside the city.

The editors of the Svoikirovsky.rf portal congratulate the "blue berets" on their holiday and wish you always flying weather.

"Uncle Vasya's Troops": jumping in the morning, karate in the afternoon

Photo: Kemerovo Newspaper archive, illustrations: Pasha Graf, Alexey Bugayets archive

With shouts of "For the Airborne Forces!" they throw themselves into fountains, mutilate their heads with glass bottles, fight and rowdy on their holiday on the streets of the city. The irrepressible energy of individual paratroopers causes shock not only among ordinary citizens, but sometimes even among the representatives of the Airborne Forces brotherhood, who are ashamed of their colleagues. The correspondent of "Gazeta Kemerovo" talked with a 44-year-old foreman of the reserve Alexey Bugayets, who told who these madmen really are. He also spoke about the unfamiliar tradition of blue berets and his idea to celebrate August 2.

Alexey Bugaets, a lawyer, psychologist and lecturer at the Faculty of Philology and Journalism of the KemSU, from 1989 to 1991 served in the training division of the Airborne Forces in the Republic of Lithuania in the village of Gayzhyunay. The young fighter was called up for military service at the age of 18.

“They rarely accidentally get into our branch of the military, guys are preparing for army everyday life in the Airborne Forces long before being drafted ...”

Alexey Bugaets - left

“They don’t serve in the Airborne Forces with poor eyesight”

"Service in all other military branches is considered a duty, and in the Airborne Forces - an honor, a very high trust", - Alex immediately emphasizes.

All the guys dream about serving in the "winged infantry" with a romantic mood.

“The commander of the airborne troops, Vasily Margelov, is a brilliant PR man! He managed to make the guys eager and still eager to serve in these troops, ready to die for the Fatherland with pride and joy. As a joke, the abbreviation of the Airborne Forces is even deciphered as "Uncle Vasya's Troops."

But this romance - to be strong, dexterous and beautiful in order to please the girls - quickly disappears, Alexei believes. True, not immediately, because at first everyone knows about the difficulties only by hearsay.

“One of the main features of the troops is the most thorough selection. Firstly, a soldier must have the most impeccable health, which is confirmed by the cherished wording: "Fit for service in the Airborne Forces." I even used it once. The commander of our company, Major Yablonsky, a stern but very wise man, often summoned young soldiers to his military camp for various trifles. He knew that without a leave of absence, a patrol might catch them. But his goal was to train and see how the soldier would get out in such situations: if you serve in the Airborne Forces, then you should not be afraid of any obstacles. So he gave me an assignment. After grieving at first, I suddenly remembered glasses for the visually impaired, which I once noticed in the supply room. I diluted the vest with sweatpants, put on glasses and went through the town to the major. The patrolmen never stopped him, because they could not even imagine that he was a disguised unauthorized person - they do not serve in the airborne troops with poor eyesight. I used this trick later, hiding it from everyone. Never been exposed. But once he went on legal leave and, of course, was stopped for some trifle.

The second thing that draws attention is physical training.

“If you want to serve in the Airborne Forces, you have to prepare from childhood. For example, before the army, I was engaged in sambo wrestling, athletics, skydiving: I had 20 jumps. It is useless to go to our troops with the hope that it is here that they will make a real man out of you, teach you endless push-ups, run fast and fight against seven. You must come here as a man. At the assembly point, the “buyers” meticulously inspect the replenishment: there is very tough competition between the conscripts themselves. Of course, it happens that outwardly healthy, pumped-up people are chosen by eye. But a different weightlifter or powerlifter, with all his stature and dimensions, cannot run more than 100 meters. Then the embittered platoon drags this "mountain" over and over again. Give it to him, of course ... "

No less important are moral and volitional qualities, intelligence. But this is basically "intraspecific selection", which continues throughout the rest of the service.

“Patriotism alone is not enough. The paratrooper must be persistent, not hide behind his back. Move quickly and imperceptibly in space, navigate well. He needs to be able to endure hunger, heat, cold, lack of sleep. Of course, ingenuity is also needed: the brain must work even in an exhausted state, solve combat missions in the shortest possible time in the most optimal way. Nowhere and without readiness to endure nervous overload.

With such a set of qualities and skills, paratroopers rightfully pronounce the motto "Nobody but us!".

Alexey Bugaets - left

“It seemed like you could run forever”

Such strict filtering and selection minimizes the percentage of random people in the Airborne Forces, Alexey is sure.

“It happens like this: according to health and physical data, a fighter, for example, passed, but at the very first forced marches he could not stand it and let's remember his sores, which he kept silent about at the commission. And then write about them. His desire at once is, as it were, to cut off everything. I remember one of the first days of service. December. The wind is piercing, Baltic. Shower. We crawl like bellies in gas masks through the sand, through the swamp, through the water. Here the sun peeps out for a while and, as if in mockery, a rainbow, in December! And you realize that this is only the beginning. Ahead - two years. All romance fades away. Those who are weak in spirit, at the first opportunity, run away to another school - where they cook for cooks. Then he returns, well-fed, to the material support company. So he fights - in the kitchen, with pots and ladles. And it was precisely among such "special forces" that the most terribly hazing relationships flourished - in other words, hazing."

The service of paratroopers is often stereotyped. They themselves laugh at this: “Those who serve in the Airborne Forces have jumping in the morning, and karate in the afternoon. At night we keep within, in the morning we jump again. The foreman of the reserve Aleksey Bugaets immediately dispels all speculation.

"In fact, the paratrooper is an eagle for three minutes, the rest of the time - a horse." The main part of training on the ground and only a small part - skydiving. In our training school, for example, in six months it was possible to jump three times: from the IL-76 and twice from the AN-2. I jumped a little more often: the French came to shoot a film, they were looking for extras, my friend Andrey and I volunteered. And among some, and in our company is no exception, on the contrary, fashion - before demobilization, try to "slope" from the jump: how to save yourself for the "citizen". They looked at us with Andrey with surprise, we looked at them with contempt.

Blue beret training is not easy.

“From five or six in the morning, I ran about eight kilometers to the shooting range in all ammunition, with ammunition. On the way - tactical training: air raid, shelling, gas attack. Then - fire: from a trench in the defense, shooting on the offensive - from different positions. Throwing a grenade. Day fire field - lunch. An unspoken tradition: recruits eat first, not fully tested, not strong and therefore unreliable. It happened, after all, someone could not stand it, hatched a suicide. And if you don’t feed this properly, it can become the last straw. Sometimes there was no food left for the old. When it got dark, the night fire preparation began. They returned to the barracks at three or four in the morning, slept until seven or eight in the morning, and all over again. After six months of service, it seemed that you could run endlessly until you were ordered to stop.

Letters added suffering to someone.

“Of course, those who had girlfriends had a hard time. Either he will stop writing, or he will marry someone else, which is generally normal, but not for a young hero. The commander in front of the guard did not get tired of educating with a chopped roar: “Remember once and for all: your brides study in the second, third, maximum fourth grade! She wrote that she was not waiting - you take a sheet, a boot, smear the sole with shoe polish and send it back. And if you shoot yourself, she will be proud for life: because of me, even the Airborne Forces officer committed suicide! Before the service, I myself cut off all ties on purpose so as not to oblige anyone to anything.

"The paratrooper is actually modest"

Aleksey Bugaets judged with a smile about the fountain adventures of friends in vests staggering from another bottle of beer.

“They bathe there either young people, whose prowess has not yet faded, and testosterone is squelching from their ears, or pot-bellied men with tattoos. The latter, most likely, from the category of those same "rangers" from the RMO. They didn’t realize themselves in the service, they didn’t realize themselves in civilian life either, but now they are in a hurry to fix heroism in front of the girls, to somehow assert themselves. After all, when the bottles are broken, they rather demonstrate stupidity. The paratrooper fights in the rear, where the advantage is always on the side of the enemy. Therefore, it is obviously necessary to fight with skill. A broken head will not help in any way to solve a combat mission. Quite the contrary. And one more thing: after the service, a paratrooper cannot have a belly to the knees. At 60 and at 70, he should be in uniform, ready to defend the Motherland, as at 18. This is such a secret, familiar only to the initiated, tradition of real paratroopers, and not amusing unfortunate paratroopers. And… the paratrooper is actually humble.”

Every year, Alexey runs a festive cross on the Day of the Airborne Forces. For him, this is a celebration of the memory of service and readiness for service.

“My will, on August 2, I would pass tests and accept from others. If you pass all the standards - wear blue takes another year.

Landing troops are required to undergo jump training at the training stage. Then the skydiving skills are already used during military operations or demonstration performances. Jumping has special rules: requirements for parachutes, aircraft used, training of soldiers. All these requirements must be known to the landing party for a safe flight and landing.

A paratrooper cannot jump without preparation. Training is a mandatory stage before the start of real airborne jumps, during which theoretical training and jumping practice take place. All the information that is told to future paratroopers during training is given below.

Aircraft for transportation and landing

What aircraft do paratroopers jump from? The Russian army currently uses several aircraft for landing troops. The main one is IL-76, but other flying machines are also used:

• AN-12;
• MI-6;
• MI-8.

The IL-76 remains the preferred choice because it is the most conveniently equipped for landing, has a large luggage compartment and retains pressure well even at high altitudes, if the landing party needs to jump there. Its body is sealed, but in case of emergency, the compartment for paratroopers is equipped with individual oxygen masks. Thus, each skydiver will not experience a lack of oxygen during the flight.

The aircraft develops speeds of approximately 300 km per hour, and this is the optimal indicator for landing in military conditions.

Jump Height

From what height do paratroopers usually jump with a parachute? The altitude of the jump depends on the type of parachute and the aircraft used for landing. The recommended optimal landing height is 800-1000 meters above the ground. This indicator is convenient in combat conditions, since at such an altitude the aircraft is less exposed to fire. At the same time, the air is not too rarefied for the paratrooper to land.

From what height do paratroopers usually jump in case of non-training actions? The opening of the D-5 or D-6 parachute during landing from the IL-76 occurs at an altitude of 600 meters. The usual distance required for full disclosure is 200 meters. That is, if the landing starts from a height of 1200, then the opening will occur at around 1000. The maximum allowable for landing is 2000 meters.

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More advanced models of parachutes allow you to start landing from a mark of several thousand meters. So, the modern model D-10 allows you to land at a maximum height of no more than 4000 m above the ground. At the same time, the minimum allowable level for deployment is 200. It is recommended to start deployment earlier to reduce the likelihood of injury and a hard landing.

Types of parachutes

Since the 1990s, two main types of landing parachutes have been used in Russia: D-5 and D-6. The first is the simplest, does not allow you to adjust the landing site. How many lines does a paratrooper's parachute have? Depends on the model. Lines in D-5 28, the ends are fixed, which is why it is impossible to adjust the direction of flight. The length of the lines is 9 meters. The weight of one set is about 15 kg.

A more advanced D-5 model is the D-6 paratrooper parachute. In it, the ends of the lines can be released and the threads can be pulled, adjusting the direction of flight. To turn left, you need to pull the lines on the left, to maneuver to the right side, pull the thread on the right. The area of ​​the parachute dome is the same as that of the D-5 (83 square meters). The weight of the kit is reduced - only 11 kilograms, it is most convenient for still being trained, but already trained paratroopers. During the training, about 5 jumps are made (with express courses), D-6 is recommended to be issued after the first or second. There are 30 rafters in the kit, four of them allow you to control the parachute.

For complete beginners, D-10 kits have been developed, this is an updated version, which has only recently been made available to the army. There are more rafters here: 26 main and 24 additional. Of the 26 feet, 4 allow you to control the system, their length is 7 meters, and the remaining 22 - 4 meters. It turns out that there are only 22 external additional lines and 24 internal additional lines. Such a number of cords (all of them are made of nylon) allow you to control the flight as much as possible, adjust the course during disembarkation. The area of ​​the dome at the D-10 is as much as 100 square meters. At the same time, the dome is made in the shape of a squash, a comfortable green color without a pattern, so that after landing a paratrooper it would be harder to detect it.

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Rules for disembarking from an aircraft

The paratroopers disembark from the cabin in a certain order. In IL-76 this happens in several streams. For disembarkation, there are two side doors and a ramp. During training activities, they prefer to use exclusively side doors. Disembarkation can be carried out:

• in one stream of two doors (with a minimum of personnel);
• in two streams from two doors (with an average number of paratroopers);
• in three or four streams from two doors (with large-scale educational activities);
• in two streams and from the ramp, and from the doors (during hostilities).

The distribution into streams is done so that the jumpers do not collide with each other upon landing and cannot be hooked. A small delay is made between threads, usually several tens of seconds.

Parachute flight and deployment mechanism

After landing, the paratrooper must calculate 5 seconds. It cannot be considered a standard method: "1, 2, 3 ...". It will turn out too quickly, the real 5 seconds will not pass yet. It is better to count like this: "121, 122 ...". Now the most commonly used account is starting from 500: "501, 502, 503 ...".

Immediately after the jump, the stabilizing parachute automatically opens (the stages of its opening can be seen on the video). This is a small dome that prevents the paratrooper from starting to "circle" during the fall. Stabilization prevents flips in the air, in which a person begins to fly upside down (this position does not allow the parachute to open).

After five seconds, the stabilization is completely removed, and the main dome must be activated. This is done either with the help of a ring, or automatically. A good paratrooper should be able to adjust the opening of the parachute himself, so trained students are given kits with a ring. After activating the ring, the main dome fully opens in 200 meters of fall. The duties of a trained paratrooper paratrooper also include camouflage after landing.

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Safety rules: how to protect the landing from injury

Parachutes require special treatment, care, so that jumps using them are as safe as possible. Immediately after use, the parachute must be properly folded, otherwise its service life will be drastically reduced. An improperly folded parachute may fail to deploy during landing, resulting in death.

Who are the paratroopers? As we can judge from the rally in honor of the Day of the Airborne Forces, there are at least a hundred of them in Revda - active, active and deeply devoted to their troops and to each other. The Revda-info.ru portal asked four of them what their service in the Airborne Forces gave them, what it was like to jump with a parachute, and what they remember about the army today.

"I would be different G didn't choose the path"

Vladimir Semkov, 56 years old

Vladimir Semkov dreamed of becoming a military man since childhood. His father, who served in the KGB in Moscow, and his uncles, a sailor and a tanker, were role models. In the army, Vladimir served a year and a half and entered the school of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He worked in the police, and then served as deputy commander of the special forces.

In the special forces, we guarded Boris Yeltsin,” Vladimir recalls. - After he served in Tajikistan and Chechnya. There was a lot of bad things: both blood and the death of friends, but service is service. The friendship remains. The guys from my own third company, with whom I was in Chechnya, have been calling since eight in the morning, congratulating me on the holiday.

In 2000, Vladimir retired on full service as a major. Now she works in security and brings up two grandchildren. He says that one of them has a military career secured - he is three years old, and he is already shouting: “For the Airborne Forces!”.

I am proud of how I lived my life, and my daughter is proud of me, - says Vladimir. - If life starts anew, I would not choose another path. Everything is the same: both Tajikistan and Chechnya. I never looked for another way.

"I wanted to join the Marine Corps"

Vladimir Shevchuk, 64 years old

Vladimir Shevchuk came to the rally in honor of the Airborne Forces Day this year on a motorcycle. He says he marks the date every year, because “I want to put on a beret at least once a year and remember all the friends with whom I served.” And the man served two years. On the commission he asked to join the marines, but he was offered the airborne troops. And he, without thinking twice, agreed.

He served in Tula, in the 51st Parade Demonstration Regiment. But first three weeks - in Kostroma, and from there he volunteered to be transferred to Tula. He says he decided to move because a friend served there.

Before, as they say, every other day on the belt, - says the paratrooper. - We had shooting, demonstration performances, training - there was no time to relax. And now the service is only a year. Well, what is it? Men must serve.

After the army, Vladimir trained as an electrician and, as he says, wandered around the Soviet Union. As a result, I stopped in Revda. Now he is fond of forestry and fishing.

“Father is a paratrooper, I follow in his footsteps”

Kirill Mokrousov, 23 years old

Kirill follows in the footsteps of his father - Valery Mokrousov, a veteran "Afghan". On the commission, the guy was offered to go to the marines, but he refused: he wanted to join the winged infantry, like his father.

At the recruiting station, Yegorshino waited for a long time until the paratroopers arrived for reinforcements. For four months, Kirill studied at the 242nd Training Center for the Training of March Specialists of the Airborne Forces in Omsk, having received the specialty of a driver. Then he was sent to Kostroma in the 331st Airborne Regiment. He got into a reconnaissance company and served there for the remaining eight months.

For the service, the paratrooper made five jumps. He says that it was familiar to him: he jumped to the army, but it captures the spirit every time.

I also wanted to join the airborne troops because I have always been a trained person - I was engaged in karate. I think that the paratroopers are the elite of the troops, and they should be stronger and more prepared than the rest.

Kirill is graduating from Ural Federal University and serves under a contract. He still communicates with army friends. He says that the army was for him a step in his later life, which the guy wants to connect with the service.

“When you jump with a parachute, the main thing is not to pass”

Mikhail Zaitsev, 79 years old

This year marks the 80th anniversary of Mikhail Zaitsev, who spent three years serving in the airborne troops. He served in Kostroma in the 331st Guards Airborne Regiment. He says that he passed the commission to the chemical engineering troops, but at the regional distribution point he was taken away by paratroopers.

I never regretted that I got into the Airborne Forces, - he smiles. - I remember that I made my first jump somehow quite fearlessly: if I am alive, I will be alive. But the main thing is not to fold. Until the eleventh jump, everything is as if according to a template, but then you are already consciously jumping. I have skydived 36 times in my service.

Mikhail Zaitsev was called up in 1956 during the Hungarian uprising. He recalls that their regiment was in combat readiness No. 1: the planes were loaded and ready to take off. But the unrest in Hungary ended, and there was no need to fly.

After the service, the paratrooper studied at the Sredneuralsk training center as a first-class driver. He got a job in the department of internal affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, where he served for 34 years. He left the service with the rank of ensign - he wanted a peaceful life.

I am proud that I am a paratrooper, - says Mikhail Zaitsev. - Thanks to the service, I began to look at life more seriously. And this service is a memory for life. No matter how long we live, we remain paratroopers for life.