Service in the home zone, as it turns out, does not always meet the expectations of fighters who are ready to give their lives for their country. Talks by the military that priority is given to aspects that have little to do with military training and defense capability indicate the existence of serious problems in the internal system of the army.
He also touches on the topic of service organization and training of conscripts, who face the same problems as rear units. His story gives an understanding that the Ukrainian army needs to be reformed in order to make it modern and effective and to get rid of sovkov traditions and rituals.
The author's name and surname are known to the editors, this person is indeed serving in one of the rear units after being wounded at the front, but we do not publish them for security reasons. Then direct speech.
Everything is perfect on paper
I do not pretend to know the general situation, but I know that such a state of affairs, as in my unit, which I will describe here, exists in others, both in NSU and in the Armed Forces. I really hope that there are units where everything is wrong.
There are objects that need to be guarded, this is usually done by security companies. Security posts have been set up, the service is scheduled, and officers regularly come with inspections. A pile of papers is being written. Everything is clear, logical, correct and necessary. Papers will confirm everything. Unfortunately, only papers.
T-shirt and socks
For example, in such divisions, they check that the uniform is uniform (and not, for example, pixel pants, but cartoon top) and must be tucked into the pants. So that if it was a coat, then there was a T-shirt under it, not a polo shirt. And a military T-shirt, not just any. But the jacket is always worn buttoned up, don't you think? Right. But the examiner will turn back the edge to see what's underneath. And socks cannot be light-colored. I'm really surprised they don't check the underpants.
They also check that the posts are clean and orderly - exactly the order that this particular inspector imagines. They also check that the soldiers know by heart several specific articles from the statute.
What is not checked
As you can see, really "necessary" things are checked, without which the defense of the object would be impossible. Such "trifles" as the presence of ammunition at the posts (cartridges, grenades and grenade launchers on some, where it would be appropriate), good visibility of the firing sector from the positions, the inspectors are absolutely not interested. And there is no such BC at the posts - only four stores in each. Why BC, when the soldier has a standard neatly tucked-in uniform and he, like a poem, can recite articles from the statute? This is critical for protection and defense.
"Open lessons"
When I studied at school, sometimes we had so-called open lessons, when someone from the authorities from the district came to the lesson. And some teachers rehearsed this lesson. Also, students were told to dress in a certain way, not as usual. Didn't think I would have to see this madness again in my adult life, but before some checks here in the units the same thing happens.
"Tomorrow there will be an inspection from the TCC, there will be a colonel so-and-so, so that the uniform must be exactly like this. Tonight, everything should be cleaned, there is nothing superfluous, everything should shine."
As usual, the colonel checks the cleanliness, remarks to someone that the pants are sloppily tucked into the beret, and someone is badly shaved. Checks knowledge of articles from the statute.
And sometimes they look into the inside of the barns, even in the summer, so that it is also clean there. God forbid if someone throws a few napkins there and the inspector sees them there! This is the main duty of our Ukrainian officers, they studied for it in the academies.
Even now, during a full-scale invasion, they don't let some fighting over there distract them from these incredibly important little things while checking rear units.
The presence or absence of BC at guard positions, the schedule of shifts, the algorithm of actions in the event of an attack or an attack by the DRG — this is not what interests the colonels who are traveling with inspections. They are also not interested in units on the front line, but writing a big report about how many shortcomings were found in the rear is another thing.
"Write more"
Both mobilized and contract soldiers serve in the rear units. Previously, conscripts also served. Military personnel are sometimes transferred there after being wounded, but most of the personnel, according to my observations, have not changed much since 2022.
Soldiers fill out logs and reports on actions that exist only on paper and that, frankly, no one cares about, but according to some standards from Soviet times, they should have been carried out.
"Write more, otherwise you'll be damned if you didn't write enough," say the commanders.
Term workers
Until April-May 2024, there were conscripts mobilized in 2022 in the rear units. Some of them were demobilized, some remained to serve after signing a contract or after mobilization.
I crossed paths with them in the security unit and was convinced that conscription was a waste of my life time (always thought so). By becoming a conscript, you literally become free labor for a few months of your life. Well, there is a salary of 400 or so hryvnias, you are fed and you have a place to sleep. Although the food they feed you, according to many conscripts from different parts, is not always edible. They dig, build, unload and load cars and trucks, rearrange and reorder things in warehouses.
Before the full-scale invasion, shootings occurred quite regularly in some units, about once a month or a half. Before that, there was a short briefing. Some of them, in addition to shooting once a month, had theoretical training about the types of grenades, mines, tanks, etc. Some units even have regular physical exercises. This, in fact, is all the military that they had.
After the invasion, most units began to conduct more theoretical exercises, but shootings began to occur even less often. Again, this is not the situation in all units throughout the country, this is the situation in those units in which people with whom I personally crossed paths were serving time. No statistical validity.
Maybe I was so "lucky" that I encountered people from the worst parts of our country, and in most others, conscription really did involve meaningful training and military training. I would like to believe it, but something is not.
Scoop rituals
At some point it occurred to me that such units not only do not help us to win, but in fact hinder us on the way to victory, because considerable funds are allocated for their maintenance: salaries and expenses of soldiers and officers, money for medical treatment, later also for pensions Protection of objects according to the "Guards" charter, scooping rituals with breeders and bringing "political information" to the personnel are all useless Soviet vestiges that are performed only during inspections, but fill dozens of pieces of paper every day, which, again, simply from 'eats working man-hours.
All this is part of a bigger problem — UPA (Ukrainian paper army). But if in the case of combat units, pieces of paper distract and interfere with actual fighting, then in the case of security units, pieces of paper are the essence of their existence.
