#call #service #army

The beginning of a new life - new worries, new difficulties. Preparing uniforms is your responsibility. Getting up and down: working out the first commands, practical training. Charging in the army. What a new recruit needs to know about her. Adaptation to army everyday life. Drilling exercises: training will not hurt Taking the oath. The first important event in the life of a soldier. Distribution by duty station. Obtaining weapons and military equipment

A little about the first days. Personally, I remember them in the army for needlework - sewing, exercises, lifting and lights out.

Sewing on the first shoulder straps in life by young soldiers is not an occupation for the faint of heart. One should have seen how yesterday's sissies, who never held a needle in their hands, mastered the wisdom of applying insignia to uniforms! Emblems sewn on at random, buttonholes fixed at the wrong end, shoulder straps turned on the wrong side had to be altered. I must say that the first lesson in soldier's skill was a success - it became clear to everyone that soldier's work is really work, hard and not always pleasant. Today, everything is much simpler with this - you no longer have to sew on insignia.

So the day filled with worries and troubles passed and the evening came, and with it the lights out - the time to go to bed. And if you think that we were allowed to sleep peacefully, then you are deeply mistaken. The cadets are given only 45 seconds to get up and down in training, which is very disciplined, coordinated and makes you feel the spirit of soldier unity. Moreover, for the correct implementation of these elements of the daily routine, there is training: Sometimes fifteen times a day. At first, it’s really hard - new buttons are tightly held by new loops, hands don’t obey, tension interferes with thinking, things fall into the wrong place and it’s impossible to find them when lifting them ... There are a lot of reasons not to meet the prescribed standard. Relax! It's just that you are brought up with the qualities necessary for the defense of the Motherland.

Treat it like a competition or a workout. Let the sergeant think he's raising you. But no! You are doing this for yourself. And when you tune in to the correct perception of these rituals, only then will you begin to enjoy the struggle with time and will not be among the lagging behind. What is not very pleasant in the modern army.

In addition to the morale, I recommend to prepare and practically. Loosen the buttons beforehand, try to carefully trim the buttonholes so that the buttons can be easily fastened and unfastened. At least you won't be the last. Compliance with lifting standards is not a mockery of soldiers. You can trust me. This is a necessity upon which your life and the life of your comrades and commanders may depend. A well-trained soldier is ready to fight the enemy in a minute. And it may turn out that even half a minute of delay will be enough for the enemy to enter the location of your unit. Think about what will happen after that, I leave it to you. Now decide whether it is fair or not that they require you to comply with the standard when lifting.

I will give my example, which will convince you that it is desirable to rise in the army as quickly as possible. One day a cadet sleeping next door to me put on my boots. Naturally, I had to put on the rest - his. I realized that I was wearing someone else's shoes right away, but the opportunity to change shoes appeared only after a few minutes. During which I crippled his legs with boots for a couple of sizes, As a result - a swollen leg, a trip to the medical unit ...

Mornings in the army begin with exercises. In order to feel what it is, you immediately need to attach a couple of kilograms of additional weight to each leg and try to run at least a short distance. I think that you will immediately feel the "charm" of such an easy run in army boots. Add to this the feeling of unworn shoes, improperly wound footcloths. For a thrill, imagine three lines of guys just like you and try to run in such a company again. This is one of the mandatory elements of a regular army charge.

Our first charge was very unusual. We were ordered to keep up with the sergeant for one kilometer. Purely psychologically, this technique worked one hundred percent, by the end of this endless kilometer, we fully felt that no one would coddle with us, that the army is not a home, and difficulties will be encountered at every step.

I can assure you that everything falls into place very quickly in the army. The sergeant ran fast. And it was so painful that, overcoming the last three hundred meters, I could only think about one thing: “When will this all end ?!”

Finally we crossed the finish line, but what a pitiful sight it was! With wheezing and groans we gasped for air, and our mouths were full of nasty sticky saliva. To top it all, the sergeant decided to "please" us and promised: "Tomorrow we run three kilometers."

“Mom dear! I thought. “I’m dying here after such a distance, my legs are wadded, covered in sweat, it feels like my lungs are torn to shreds, and tomorrow again torment, but ten times worse.” With this thought, I spent a day.

The next morning did not bode well. My mind was churning with the thought: “What should I do? How to avoid this nightmare?

But, whether you like it or not, you must be in the ranks and do what you are ordered to do. After some time of running in formation, I determined for myself that I would never leave the race, no matter what it cost. "I'll wait, I'll be patient," I told myself. “A few more steps, more, more…” Sometimes I really wanted to stop and say: “That’s it, I can’t, I can’t already, I’m tired, my lungs, my legs can’t stand it.” I really wanted to do just that.

But since I took for myself the installation not to be the last, I tried to stick to it, although I succeeded with great difficulty ... Minutes and seconds seem endless, every step is given in the whole body.

I don’t know what I would do if I ran one and a half or two kilometers. I felt like I couldn't move at all. I think that not only I had a similar state, because somewhere after a kilometer of running one of the cadets broke down and said that he could no longer. Now I understand that our pace that day was designed for such a development of events. In order to clearly show what happens to those who are ready to be the last.

The sergeant stopped the platoon and said: “I understand everything. You will run with me these three kilometers and a couple more extra. I learned my lesson, and, thank God, not by my own example. I ran to the end and memorized the first army truth. "You don't have to be the last one," she says.

The final stage of the three-kilometer run took place at a completely different, not so intense pace. The lesson is over. After two days of such races, it was announced that the next day we would have to cover 6 kilometers. I didn't worry. I knew that I would run, that the pace chosen by the sergeant did not exceed human capabilities. I won't be the last. So I won't be punished.

Someone, reading these lines, will think that this is a mockery of the soldiers, that the treacherous old-timers deliberately invent this in order to annoy the young soldiers. This is not true. Everything is somewhat more complicated. I decided at one time that not only the one who shoots and fights better survives in a war. These, of course, are also important skills. But the one who has endurance, who is better at running long distances, is more likely to survive. What is the capture of someone else's trench? This is a movement with all the ammunition over uneven terrain, sometimes several hundred meters. And if you are out of breath, you, despite your impressive size, will not be able to deliver a more or less competent blow. You're dead. In an attack that has not yet begun.

Retreat is not always loading into vehicles and moving to another location or marching towards another fortified area. Often this is a continuous movement for several days in one direction or the other. This is a grueling task - getting out of the environment and breaking through to your own. In a war, ceteris paribus, it is not healthy "rollers" who win, but lean, hardy marathon runners. That is why running training is designed to save your lives. Keep this in mind and practice. This can come in very handy.

Among other things, in the early days, the realization of the fact that you are here for a long time hits the morale very strongly. After five or six days spent in the new conditions, you usually begin to think that it is hard to live in the army and that such a life will last almost indefinitely. This happens not only in the army team. Remember - you probably had to do an unloved job for some time. At the same time, you repeat: “When will these beds (dishes, laundry, lessons) end?” The easiest way to distract yourself from these thoughts is not to look at the end of the field, but to monotonously do the work, no matter how tedious it may be. Easy to start and easy to finish. And then time will pass much faster. You can try. So it is with the army. At the beginning of your life, the day you go home seems infinitely far away.

In the army, I learned a simple truth. You just have to live here. Do not count the days left until demobilization - with such an attitude, they will drag on for a very long time. Live. Rejoice in life. She's great in the army too. You will find a lot of new good friends, learn what you would never have learned in that former life, begin to understand people better, understand who is worth what in critical situations. Breathe deeply. And never think that you are the most miserable of all living on Earth. This is not true. After a couple of months of service, you yourself will come to the realization of this fact. My task is to tell you about it in advance.

And after the end of the service, for many years, with a high probability, you will warmly remember your army friends and; maybe commanders.

Now I would also like to talk about those who hang themselves, shoot themselves, and run away. A couple of weeks after the start of the service, I entered the outfit with one guy who immediately told me that he had already written 37 letters home and at night, during the outfit, he would write 12 more. “I feel so bad here,” he complained. - Everyone offends me. But if I get really sick, I'll run away and hide. And the sergeant will get it."

I imagined what kind of life awaits this cadet after he hits the Sergeant, and I realized who these people are, running away, shooting, hanging themselves, for the most part. I believe that they are pre-programmed not to fight difficulties, but to move away from them. Probably, this is a question of specialists, and I do not have such an education, but due to my life experience, I think that for the most part these are sick people to one degree or another. From that day on, I realized that I was not in danger of either running away from the army or attempting suicide. I calmed down and began to serve.

Here I may encounter misunderstanding and hatred on the part of those people who lost their loved ones in the army. I repeat - this is my opinion, which may be different from the correct one. Talking about the ways to survive in the army, I care first of all about those who have yet to serve. I'm sorry if I hurt anyone with my lines.

Once again I want to repeat the rule that you already know or have guessed about existence. It's better not to stand out in the army. It's safer that way. Stick to the golden mean. In this case, you will not acquire enemies and will serve the entire term quite calmly. The fact that I give advice here does not mean that I myself have always put it into practice. Life is often more complex and diverse than the most coherent theory, and it is not always possible to act in full accordance with the rules in any particular case, but try to adhere to the general law.

There is a category of conscripts who want to change the army and make it better, kinder, more honest, and therefore go into conflict with the existing system. None of them have managed to break it yet. The occasional exception, unfortunately, only confirms this rule. The proof of this is the current position of the army. In some cases, the system bends, sometimes it bends, and sometimes it breaks. Moreover, as a rule, it breaks those who try to influence it with greater force. Remember this too. You don't want the system to break you. So be as flexible as possible.

From the fact that I didn’t really like it at first, I would like to mention drill exercises. The task seems to be simple - to teach the soldiers to walk in formation, synchronously raising and lowering their legs. Moreover, it is necessary to raise the legs to a certain height, without touching the comrade walking in front and without exposing your legs to the blow of the one walking behind. To do this, we were drilled for hours on the parade ground, training in keeping our legs on the weight. The task is actually not as easy as it might seem at first glance. I recommend you practice. Again, after putting on boots. I think that you will get unspeakable "pleasure" after the first thirty seconds. In our unit, the time of holding the leg in the weight depended on the presence of sadistic inclinations in the sergeant. I wish you a good sergeant.

And finally, the quarantine period has expired, you have learned the text of the oath, acquired new knowledge and acquired the necessary skills. Now a special event is coming in your life - the day of taking the oath. Having uttered her words, everyone must sign that he really did it. From that moment on, he becomes a full-fledged soldier, who can already be entrusted with weapons, sent on guard duty and tried for failure to follow orders from commanders and other offenses.

In principle, all this should take place no later than two months from the date of arrival at the military unit, but in reality, two weeks are usually enough to master the basics of marching, the basic duties of a soldier, the meaning of the Military Oath, the Battle Banner of the military unit and military discipline. Up to this point, young soldiers are kept together and are not allowed to live together with old-timers. Such a period of adaptation makes it possible not to injure the psyche of the young replenishment so much and calmly bring him to the signing of the words that he undertakes to defend the Fatherland. After signing, he begins to defend the Motherland along with the grandfathers, who are already ready to show how this very Motherland is defended.

The adoption of the military oath, like any solemn army events, is furnished with all possible ritual paraphernalia. For example, you will be taken to the Military Oath in front of the State, the flag of the Russian Federation and the Battle Banner of the military unit.

The event is led by the commander of the military unit, and it is he who issues the order in which he indicates the place and time of taking the Military oath. Before that, explanatory work will be carried out with you about the meaning of the Military Oath and the requirements of the legislation on the protection of the Fatherland.

At the appointed time, a military unit with the Battle Banner and the State Flag of the Russian Federation and with an orchestra line up on foot in full dress with weapons. Usually the unit commander begins this event with a reminder of the significance of the Military Oath and the honorable and responsible duty that is assigned to servicemen who have been sworn to the Military Oath of allegiance to their Fatherland.

After that, you will be called out one by one to read the text of the Military Oath, after which it remains to sign in a special list in the column against your last name and take your place in the ranks.

This is followed by congratulations and the performance of the National Anthem. In the military ticket and service record of a serviceman, a note is made by the chief of staff of the military unit indicating the date you were sworn in. All.

Now you are soldiers who have taken an oath that places responsibility on you. Including criminal. I hope I didn't scare you. I once read the oath and, as you can see, I was not held accountable. You need to understand that these are really not empty words, but your oath. And if at one time millions of soldiers had not pronounced this oath before you, then such a country as Russia would no longer exist. And it is not clear what would have happened to you, to your parents, grandfathers and great-grandfathers. In the meantime, we all take an oath to the Motherland that we will defend it for what it once defended and will continue to defend us in the future. This is a universal mechanism that you may not like at the time of service, but certainly useful before and after it.

It should be noted that the day of taking the Military Oath is a non-working day for the military unit and is celebrated as a holiday. Which involves the distribution of holiday-weekend eggs in addition to the diet.

The lists that you will be included in as a person sworn in by the military oath will be stored at the headquarters of the military unit in a special folder, numbered, laced and sealed with a wax seal, and then they will be archived. To remind you on occasion that you took the oath and signed it. Remember this.

After this ceremony, prepare for the fact that you will be assigned a place in which you will serve. Theoretically, the replenishment arrived is distributed among the units after studying the business qualities of each serviceman and taking into account the state of his health, profession, specialty received before entering military service by conscription, characteristics and conclusions on professional suitability issued by the military commissariat and many other details. But, I think so. most likely you will have to take the place vacated after the demobilized "grandfathers" left the unit. Although we conducted tests to determine the level of intelligence, the results of which I did not see, I regularly put crosses and numbers.

The distribution is again accompanied by a ceremony with a brass band, an anthem, formation on the parade ground, a speech about the military path of the unit, its heroes and awards, about success in combat training of units and about the honorable and responsible duty that is assigned to military personnel. Then the floor is given to one or two servicemen who are completing their military service on conscription, and to one or two newly arrived servicemen. This ritual should emphasize the continuity of generations, inspire you to serve "as your grandfather served ...". I do not recommend speaking on behalf of the younger generation, and even more so promising something completely outstanding. Before speaking any words, it is necessary to know whether it is possible to keep them. At worst, you will be remembered and your public promises will be remembered for a very long time.

I once had a case when African students who worked in our construction team, before starting work, made a fiery speech that they would not disgrace the honor of the representatives of their homeland and would work hard at a construction site. After that, over the next two weeks, they parted in all directions: one of them, with the words “Kasasira rubbed his palm,” apparently went to treat his overworked hands, the other went to his sister who unexpectedly appeared in Moscow, the third explained his departure by saying that “it’s very hot in you". But the Africans were people who did not give us oaths and therefore were free. Everything will be wrong for you.

You have become a full-fledged part of the army with all the ensuing consequences.

Now you need to get a weapon - you won’t defend your homeland empty-handed, will you?

Everything related to weapons in the army is bureaucratized beyond measure. Any manipulation with the machine is recorded in the log. And rightly so - otherwise it is simply impossible to avoid the theft of weapons. Therefore, taking a weapon, do not let it out of your hands. The loss of weapons is a serious war crime and is punished extremely severely. Remember about this. Carefully draw up the surrender of weapons. In this situation, it is better to play it safe.

I will give an example of the misuse of weapons.

When I was a young lieutenant, I heard a story, true or false, I can’t say, but I laughed for a long time. Officer-pilots, driven there from all over Mother Russia, served at one distant Siberian "point". "flew" on the "immoral" - also on the "point"; squandered the property - if not to prison, then to the "point". So the aces of the air empire gather in one place, and similar stories fly from there.

So, somehow they sent a major to the "point", followed by an order - demoted to captain, but for what - no one knows. Yes, and he is silent, while he does not drink, does not smoke, does not play cards, and his wife has not left yet. A week is silent, the second, the personnel have already begun to worry - something is too well-mannered. A month later, on the birthday (of the Air Force), it was possible to remove the veil from this mystery. It turns out that he served as a major in the Volga region, was the commander of a helicopter crew. Somehow they flew on assignment, drank a little. And since “a little bit” is a loose concept in the army, one can only guess how much was drunk, after which the “heroes” wanted to swim. Fortunately, below, under the "wing of the aircraft", among the wooded and swampy terrain, where there was nowhere for a normal helicopter to land, a small river flowed. Since, at such moments, it would be said - but it will be done, they lowered the helicopter over this very river, just to the height of the rope ladder. Everyone jumped into the water and let's frolic. It's hot, coolness blows from the water. Our major could not stand it - he switched the helicopter to autopilot and also jumped down. Time is running fast, after an hour the kerosene ran out, the helicopter felt better, apparently, and got up. Another thirty minutes later, the crew could no longer reach the stairs. And an hour or two later, on the occasion of the development of the remaining kerosene, the helicopter made one of the elements of aerobatics - landing on water, with further immersion in it. At the same time, the crew watched everything that was happening already from the side.

The order to secure weapons and military equipment for the soldiers is given by the commander of the unit. The number of the order and the names of the persons assigned to weapons and military equipment are entered in special forms. The name of small arms, its series, number and date of issue are recorded on your military ID and in the record of assigning weapons to personnel.

Now you, and only you, are responsible for ensuring that your weapon fires at the right moment, and does not misfire. And therefore I recommend to be especially careful about maintaining it in exemplary condition. It might save your life someday.

Before the delivery of weapons and military equipment with replenishment, classes are held to study their combat capabilities, as well as safety requirements. This is not just a formality. Treat this with increased attention - too many soldiers die due to careless handling of weapons or equipment.

The most common deaths are when reloading or cleaning the machine, when turning on a car or other self-propelled equipment. It happens that in such situations in front of the car or behind it are people who are injured due to the negligence of the driver. As a result, a coffin for one, a prison for another.

I once observed a construction battalion worker who decided to check whether there was a lot of gasoline left in the barrel, and in order to see it better, he lit a match and brought it to the hole in the container. Gasoline vapors in the barrel exploded, tore off the top cover, and in this circle the unfortunate soldier's head was blown off by half. The spectacle, I must say, terrible. He lived for three more days after that.

There are, of course, other than tragic and anecdotal cases. For example, this: one fighter slept in the car park on the cardan shaft of a parked KamAZ. Found it when the car started.

Now I will give the stories that eyewitnesses told me. Therefore, I will try to preserve the style of presentation of the narrators.

Training shooting range. I must say, there are a lot of mushrooms on the territory of the landfill, and therefore the locals are constantly climbing through all the cordons. So, the soldiers have already prepared for firing, as from the NP they notice a baboon with a basket advancing in short dashes on the field. Naturally, the retreat is urgently played, the grandmother is caught and delivered to the commander.

- Grandmother, mother-to-be, don't you know that there is shooting! You could have been killed!

“Iiii ..., honey, what am I, completely stupid,” the grandmother objects. “I’m listening, but if they start shooting, I’ll hide behind those plywood right away,” and points to growth targets in the field ...

This terrible story happened in Siberia, there is a small military town N there ... On the territory of this military unit, the destruction of obsolete military equipment, mainly aviation, began. Among them were solid rocket boosters. For those who do not know, I will explain - small rockets are attached to the aircraft to ensure a quick take-off from a short runway or from the deck, well, in general, this is more for older models of aircraft.

Two young talents arrived in this unit - freshly baked ensigns. There is no special knowledge, but the love for technology and entertainment is huge. I especially liked to ride a motorcycle along the runway - in general, "Hot Heads-3".

Once, on a clear, sunny day, they took this very accelerator and fixed it on the Ural motorcycle, between the cradle and the motorcycle. They also strapped themselves in. Girlfriends were invited to a test flight, but they decided to look from the outside. And so they accelerated a little and ... turned on the ignition !!! Unfortunately, the "pilots" did not take into account the power of the accelerator.; There was a roar, and they disappeared along with the motorcycle.

Of course, the incident began to be investigated, search teams were sent in the intended direction of the flight. The invited experts considered something for a long time and gave out that if the accelerator stood vertically, then the motorcyclists would take off 6 km, but we don’t know they say ... So, unfortunately, neither the guys nor the motorcycle were found.

This case is quite anecdotal and hardly actually took place, but since I have remembered it, I will probably tell you too, preserving the style of presentation. What's more, it's instructive.

We have a lot of snow here in the north in winter, so when spring comes, it accumulates on the roofs and naturally becomes a direct threat to the lives of people and "ensigns" ...

Well, then, spring has come ... The beginning of the mustache is slowly thawing - snow, ice, the hearts of girls, saleswomen in beer stalls ... Life, as they say, began ... The hearts that serve in the Entom Diet School began to thaw, therefore, taking care of the lives of students , the lieutenant colonel ordered a couple of soldiers to take shovels and use them to dump the snow accumulated on the roof over the winter ... No sooner said than done. Showing even greater concern for the students, the same lieutenant colonel ordered the major to tie the soldiers performing such an important task with a rope so that, if they fell, it would be possible to save them ... No sooner said than done. Tied. And everything seemed to be normal at first - but no ... The major comes to the lieutenant colonel and says that, they say, an emergency happened - one of the soldiers fell and broke his leg ...

Lieutenant colonel; “I ordered them to be tied!”

Major: “Duc, he was tied ... Only we took a long rope ...”

Of course, shouting and insults towards the major ... Well, okay - you need to take the guy to the hospital ... They drive the GAZ-66 and, well, they load the guy into the back ... And everything seems to be fine already - but no ... The major comes to the lieutenant colonel and says that, they say, another emergency happened - this guy broke his second leg ...

Lieutenant Colonel: "How could this happen???" This is followed by selective abuse, which touched both the major's relatives and himself.

Major: “The fact is that when we were loading the car, we forgot to untie the rope from the guy ...”

You need to remember that the laws in the army, many guidelines, rules, norms, written and unwritten laws, no matter how ridiculous at first glance they may seem, are inscribed in blood. And I would not like a new page of these laws to be written with your blood.

Other materials

About, what do they teach in the army there are a considerable number of legends, some of which put everything in a good light, others in a bad light. Let them say that in recent years, tragic and negative events have taken place in the Russian army related to hazing, which led to a wave of refusals to undergo mandatory military service, to serve in the army is not just a sacred duty of every young Russian. The words "honorable duty" have a long origin, but today this duty sounds to some people as an ironic and mocking reminder that freedom of choice is empty words. But is it?

Honorable duty - is an alternative needed?

Now you can choose who and where to serve. According to the legislation, a person of military age who has strong pacifist or religious convictions has the right to serve the prescribed 3 years in the alternative service to the state. Most often, the alternative is nursing homes, boarding schools for sick children, and other social institutions. Recently, a symbiosis of military service to the fatherland has been developing - with direct service to God, when isolated monasteries or temple complexes need labor and protection, for which the Ministry of Defense arranges military units at such complexes. But the true army - school of life allowing young guys to prepare themselves for further tests. It is clear that in this part there will be no mandatory exercises with the use of weapons, and all personnel will be able to calmly spend their personal time in communication with the clergy, in prayers. But to serve in the regular army, in a combat unit, is the dream of many conscripts who are looking for their first step in the army in the army, as well as those who want to cultivate your character, and there is a reason for that. Many law enforcement agencies are happy to hire people with experience in combat operations, or simply who have served in serious units. For example, GRU special forces soldiers who have successfully passed their “7 circles of hell” during their military service have a huge advantage when hiring in the criminal investigation department, in rapid response units, in OMON and in solid security companies.

"Hazing" is already in the past

The notorious "hazing", this frightening word for conscripts, has become a real scourge of the army since the 70s. During the years of weakening control over relations between old-timers and "spirits", young employees, several tragic cases all over the country became a black mark of the army at once. Because of this, a lot of accusations spread towards the Ministry of Defense, which said that the soldier nothing is taught in the army, they just mock him. But starting literally from 2008, the government took a number of measures to improve the situation in the army, and today you can forget about hazing.
Being drafted into the army, the conscript simply will not meet a conscript soldier there who has been serving for more than a year. Thanks to this, the education of the character of the current soldier takes place without the intervention of any "grandfathers". Serving the Motherland is the right thing to do!

The concept of educational work in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation states that, despite the development of military equipment and weapons, the decisive role in the war still belongs to man, his military spirit and ability to fight. Any brave man can get confused in a real combat situation, make a wrong move in the confusion, and this mistake can turn into a disaster. To prevent this from happening, drill training is required, which brings up the ability to quickly respond to orders and brings all the actions of a fighter to automaticity. As seasoned fighters who have passed through hot spots say, a good level of drill training forms a set of signals that a soldier performs automatically and understands without explanation. “Without properly delivered drill training, it is difficult to achieve clear actions for soldiers in modern combat. Now, when subunits and units are saturated with complex equipment, when the role of collective weapons in combat has increased significantly, the level of combat training should be especially high, ”the Concept of Educational Work in the RF Armed Forces states.

"The army teaches that the initiative is punishable": a soldier about serving in the Navy

The story of a recent conscript about the service in the Navy.

On Tuesday, November 15, Russia celebrates Conscript Day. On this occasion, the 360 ​​TV channel asked a recent conscript and a native of the Ramensky district about the service. The young man told me what to take with you to the military registration and enlistment office, what the army teaches, and how you can get to the Northern Fleet from the Moscow region. For obvious reasons, the name and surname of the interlocutor are not indicated.

How did I end up in the army?

I joined the army at the age of 22: I had to get a job, but without a military man (military ID - approx. “360”), they didn’t take me where I wanted. And I decided that it was enough to run away from the army and I went myself. Moreover, at the local military registration and enlistment office they tearfully promised me that I would serve near the house and that I would be able to go home on a "leave" (leave - approx. "360").

They took us to the distribution center (distributor - approx. "360") - I really don’t even remember where it was - and they asked where I wanted to go, to the Airborne Forces or the Navy. Since I am afraid of heights and the Airborne Forces are not for me, I chose the morflot. For health and for all other parameters, I went there. I was told in the end - Severomorsk (the city is located on the Kola Peninsula, 25 km northeast of Murmansk - approx. "360"). At first I tried to find such a city in the Moscow region, remembering the promises of military commissars about serving near my home, but, of course, there is no settlement near the capital with that name. Which, in general, is logical. After two days on the train, it became obvious that I definitely didn’t get into the “ridge” home for the weekend.

What to bring to work

I took with me only a razor, and a disposable one, because they told me that everything is taken there first. And he also took a cheap phone so that it would not be a shame if they steal or take it away. Well, documents, toothpaste, a brush and shorts with socks just in case. And he didn't take anything else. Those who took a lot of things with them, everything was sorted out at the "distribution" (distributor - approx. "360").

"Training"

We didn't have a tutorial as such. Although this is strange: when they are sent to serve on a ship, then the first six months you need to go through some kind of training. We had a course for a young fighter for a month - it was more like physical training. But in fact, we joined the process of subordination, there was “fizuha”, we were constantly running, marching. Then there is the service itself. Like on a podium, we all stood together in front of the commanders of the ships, and we were chosen, “bought”, in general. I got on a large landing ship "George the Victorious", which at that time was in the dock. There we from the first days began to "plow".

Where does the service start?

It was when we were changed from the green uniform of soldier's clothing into sailors, changed into naval uniforms, that I ended up in the dock. There, at first, we repaired the ship, about two weeks. Then there was our first exit to the sea - we went to Severomorsk, where there was a brigade of landing ships. At first there were test exits - to see how everything was repaired.

It is worth noting that there was a polar day, and before the army, I mainly led an active lifestyle at night. And it was quite tense for two months not to see the night at all. Because they were in the barracks. But on the ship it is more comfortable - inside the ship, of course, it is dark. Then we were sent to Baltiysk for the exercises "West-2013" with the Belarusians. Our task was to land infantry fighting vehicles (infantry fighting vehicles - approx. "360") from the water so that they would parachute, reach the ground, and there they already had their own strategic tasks. We all worked for a very long time. And then we were already sent to other places - for example, to Novorossiysk. On the way there, we stopped in Portugal for a couple of days. This was the first time in the history of Russian landing ships that we were received by a Portuguese port. There we stocked up on water and fuel.

Duties of sailors

In fact, when I went to the ship, I did not understand at all what could be done there. I thought: the sea, everything on deck, the sun, everything is festive, excellent. But nothing like that: when the ship is at sea, everyone has their own duties. For example, I had the position of a miner. The landing corral performs several functions. The first is the transportation of infantry fighting vehicles or tanks during combat time, the second is the dropping of mines into the water in order to control the approaches to the coast locally. But since we did not carry any hostilities, I did not even have a material part. And so I did everything. They signed me up there as a clerk because I'm good with computers.

In the sea itself, alarms were constantly practiced. We worked out the task of flooding the ship and getting fire. An alarm sounds (usually it was during a break in the shift), everyone takes their combat posts and each performs a certain function. All this for each sailor is recorded in the book "Combat Number".

Life on the ship and food

The ship has its own diet, everything is prescribed according to GOST. But it often happened that something came to an end: just when we were going to Baltiysk, we almost ran out of provisions and we ate buckwheat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And yet, unlike the army, sailors eat four times a day. There is also evening tea, roughly speaking. When we went to sea, we baked bread ourselves. This is logical: bread will not last more than three days. There was even a shift position - a baker who baked bread all night for the entire staff of 140 people.

Relations within the team

Everything is simple here. We, like everywhere else, have a so-called vertical of power. That is, the commander of the brigade receives an order from the supreme commander in chief - he ordered all the commanders of the ships. They pass orders on to their officers, officers to midshipmen, midshipmen to contractors, and contractors to us. And we no longer have anyone to throw it off, because we are unfortunate conscripts. As such, hazing, in principle, was not - that we came, that someone was six months earlier. We are conscripts, and it’s not that they wipe their feet on us, but we no longer have anyone to throw off any task. This forced us to unite and act together.

The army is the school of life. Or not?

This is a double-edged sword. If I had not served all this time, but worked, then, of course, I would have won more financially and in everything else. But in the army there is no mom and dad, no relatives, there you rely on yourself and learn to live in a team. The army taught me, at least, that the initiative is punishable. And that's it. The only thing that bothered me a little was that, in principle, there was nothing to do on a large scale in the army. Due to this, the principle works there: it is not the result that is important, the process is important. You have to kill time. Sometimes it reached the point of absurdity, when we painted the hull of the ship in one color, then in another. These are tasks that are not rational and illogical.

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