Army service in the rear militia units. Soviet construction battalion, or soldiers without weapons
"Royal troops" or construction battalion were a real legend in the USSR. True, rather in a bad sense of the word - many conscripts shunned this type of troops, and the military leadership generally opposed its existence.
"Royal Troops"
Military construction detachments (VSO), or in common parlance - “construction battalion”, date back to February 13, 1942, when the Military Restoration Directorate was formed by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, which was engaged in the repair and construction of facilities in territories liberated from German occupiers.The term "construction battalion" was officially withdrawn from circulation in the 1970s, but did not completely disappear from the lexicon, remaining as part of the military and civilian jargon. Also, the phrase "construction battalion" continued to be used in relation to some groups of foreign troops. "Stroybatovtsy" ironically called themselves "royal troops".
According to one version, due to the large number of personnel: in the 1980s, it consisted of approximately 300 to 400 thousand people, which exceeded the number of military personnel in the Airborne Forces (60,000), the Marine Corps (15,000) and the Border Troops (220,000) taken together. According to another version, the self-name was associated with the name of the designer Sergei Korolev (all spaceports of the USSR were built by construction teams).
Terms of Service
Among the Soviet youth, the construction battalion was considered not the most prestigious place for military service. His unpopularity was largely due to the fact that he had only a formal relationship directly to military affairs.Nevertheless, recruits who replenished the composition of the construction detachments had certain advantages over those called up for other branches of the army. According to order No. 175 of the Minister of Defense of the USSR dated May 30, 1977, a military builder was charged for work wage, from which, however, the cost of food, uniforms, bath and laundry services, cultural events and other types of support - those that were united by the concept of "things debt" was deducted. As one of the employees of the construction battalion recalled, about 30 rubles were withheld from him every month for household services - “washing, washing, uniforms.”
The salary in the construction troops (for the period of the 1980s) ranged from 110 to 180 rubles, but in some cases reached up to 250 rubles. Everything depended on the specialty. As a rule, those who worked on tower cranes and excavators received more than others. The money was deposited to the employee's account and issued upon dismissal to the reserve. True, in case of urgent need, they were allowed to send money to relatives.
At the end of the service, the “construction battalion workers” sometimes took out up to 5 thousand rubles.
Were at the "construction battalion" and additional sources earnings, in particular, on the so-called "hacks", where they paid in the region of 10-15 rubles for one working day. They also received benefits. They were received by ensigns and officers who had the opportunity to quickly solve their housing problems.
Personnel
The VSO was recruited mainly from conscripts who graduated from construction educational establishments. Often, construction teams were replenished with people from rural areas who “know how to hold a tool in their hands.” Disadvantaged youth were also sent there, sometimes with a criminal record.Although it was not customary to talk about it, the national sign was another selection criterion for the construction battalion. Thus, the share of the Caucasian and Central Asian peoples in some construction battalions reached 90% of the personnel. It is widely believed that the reason why people from Central Asia and the Caucasus were admitted mainly to construction work had a poor knowledge of the Russian language. The national composition of the construction teams scared away many conscripts.
Another category of conscripts who were "ordered" to go to the construction battalion are young men with health limitations. Their parents, by hook or by crook, were looking for all sorts of workarounds to protect their children from labor service.
Criticism of the construction battalion
The very fact of the existence of military construction detachments was repeatedly criticized by the top military leadership, which considered such formations to be ineffective and even “illegal”. In 1956, Defense Minister Georgy Zhukov and Chief of the General Staff Vasily Sokolovsky reported that “the use of military personnel in industry is a violation of the Constitution of the USSR, since, according to Article 132 of the Constitution, military service ... should take place in the ranks of the Armed Forces of the USSR, and not in the construction organizations of civilian ministries THE USSR".Experts drew attention to the fact that the production activities of the military construction units were poorly organized, and their material and living conditions were at an extremely low level.
"Royal troops" or "construction battalion" were a real legend in the USSR. True, rather in a bad sense of the word - many conscripts shunned this type of troops, and the military leadership generally opposed its existence ...
"Royal Troops"
Military construction detachments (VSO), or colloquially - "construction battalion", date back to February 13, 1942, when the Military Restoration Directorate was formed by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, which was engaged in the repair and construction of facilities in territories liberated from German occupiers.
The term "construction battalion" was officially withdrawn from circulation in the 1970s, but did not completely disappear from the lexicon, remaining as part of the military and civilian jargon. Also, the phrase "construction battalion" continued to be used in relation to some groups of foreign troops. 
"Stroybatovtsy" ironically called themselves "royal troops".
According to one version, due to the large number of personnel: in the 1980s, it consisted of approximately 300 to 400 thousand people, which exceeded the number of military personnel in the Airborne Forces (60,000), the Marine Corps (15,000) and the Border Troops (220,000) taken together. According to another version, the self-name was associated with the name of the designer Sergei Korolev (all spaceports of the USSR were built by construction teams).
Terms of service
Among the Soviet youth, the construction battalion was considered not the most prestigious place for military service. His unpopularity was largely due to the fact that he had only a formal relationship directly to military affairs.
Nevertheless, recruits who replenished the composition of the construction detachments had certain advantages over those called up for other branches of the army. According to order No. 175 of the Minister of Defense of the USSR dated May 30, 1977, a military builder was charged wages for work, from which, however, the cost of food, uniforms, bath and laundry services, cultural events and other types of support were deducted - those that were united by the concept of "clothing debt." 
As one of the employees of the construction battalion recalled, about 30 rubles were withheld from him every month for household services - “washing, washing, uniforms.”
The salary in the construction troops (for the period of the 1980s) ranged from 110 to 180 rubles, but in some cases reached up to 250 rubles. Everything depended on the specialty. As a rule, those who worked on tower cranes and excavators received more than others. The money was deposited to the employee's account and issued upon dismissal to the reserve. True, in case of urgent need, they were allowed to send money to relatives.
At the end of the service, the “construction battalion workers” sometimes took out up to 5 thousand rubles. 
The “construction battalion workers” also had additional sources of income, in particular, on the so-called “hacks”, where they paid around 10-15 rubles for one working day. They also received benefits. They were received by ensigns and officers who had the opportunity to quickly solve their housing problems.
Personnel
The VSO was recruited mainly from conscripts who graduated from construction schools. Often, construction teams were replenished with people from rural areas who “know how to hold a tool in their hands.” Disadvantaged youth were also sent there, sometimes with a criminal record.
Although it was not customary to talk about it, the national sign was another selection criterion for the construction battalion. Thus, the share of the Caucasian and Central Asian peoples in some construction battalions reached 90% of the personnel. 
It is widely believed that the reason why people from Central Asia and the Caucasus were mainly allowed to work in construction was a poor knowledge of the Russian language. The national composition of the construction teams scared away many conscripts.
Another category of conscripts who were "ordered" to go to the construction battalion are young men with health limitations. Their parents, by hook or by crook, were looking for all sorts of workarounds to protect their children from labor service.
Criticism of the construction battalion
The very fact of the existence of military construction detachments was repeatedly criticized by the top military leadership, which considered such formations to be ineffective and even “illegal”.
In 1956, Defense Minister Georgy Zhukov and Chief of the General Staff Vasily Sokolovsky reported that “the use of military personnel in industry is a violation of the Constitution of the USSR, since, according to Article 132 of the Constitution, military service ... should take place in the ranks of the Armed Forces of the USSR, and not in the construction organizations of civilian ministries THE USSR". 
Experts drew attention to the fact that the production activities of the military construction units were poorly organized, and their material and living conditions were at an extremely low level.
One of negative examples associated with military construction detachment No. 1052, which in November 1955 was placed in an unfinished building. The commission revealed unacceptable living and sanitary conditions for the maintenance of employees. The workers had to sleep dressed, as the temperature in the rooms did not exceed +3 degrees. For a month they were deprived of the opportunity to take a bath and change their linen, as a result of which many got lice.
Dangerous regions
Contrary to popular belief, service in construction teams was by no means safe. In 1986, the “construction battalion workers” were sent to eliminate the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster - according to some reports, they made up at least 70% of the contingent working in the contaminated zone. Two years later, construction teams went to Armenia to dismantle the rubble and rebuild cities after a devastating earthquake.
They also served in Afghanistan. In 1979, immediately after the entry of Soviet troops into this country, the question arose of quartering personnel. In the shortest possible time, the builders were required to create and improve military camps with all the infrastructure, residential and military-administrative buildings, build warehouses for ammunition and equipment, fortifications along the perimeter of military units, and airfields. 
In 1982, a Soviet construction battalion was sent to the Falklands to Port Stanley to extend the concrete runway. It was at this time that British troops invaded the islands, disputing control over these territories with Argentina.
According to a participant in those events, Soviet soldiers mined all approaches to the airfield, armed themselves with captured weapons, and for three days withstood a siege by the British military. Only thanks to the intervention of Moscow, the local military conflict was stopped - Soviet soldiers ordered to lay down their arms.
Taras Repin
Which branch of the military was most treated with humor? To the construction site. There are many anecdotes among the people related to construction troops. And all this was due to the specifics of the formation of personnel - about 90% of the military personnel of these troops were conscripts from Central Asia and the Caucasus. Therefore, the bulk of Russian young people tried to avoid service in the construction battalion units - even then, from time to time, the question arose regarding tense international relations, only this was not put on display.
However, despite this attitude, the construction battalions carried out quite serious tasks, erecting facilities both for defense and for National economy. It can even be said that the construction battalions are indirectly connected with the engineering troops, whose duties have always included the construction of various fortifications and rear facilities. The construction battalion took over some of the tasks that had previously been performed by units of the engineering troops.
historical moments
In 1942, on February 13, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR issued a decree on the formation of the Military Restoration Administration, whose main tasks included the construction or repair various objects in territories liberated from German occupation. This day is the date of birth of military construction units, abbreviated as VSO.
In the 70s, the name "construction battalion" was assigned to these troops, which has remained in the lexicon to this day. For the period of the 80s, the number of construction units exceeded the total number of military personnel of other military branches. For example, there were about 60 thousand people in the Airborne Forces, 15 thousand people in the Marine Corps, about 220 thousand people in the border troops, and about 300-400 thousand people in the construction troops of that time. Of course, as one well-known anecdote says, a construction battalion is such a terrible army that they don’t even trust weapons. But often, even in these troops, service was directly connected with danger.
1986 was the year terrible disaster that occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. And one of the first who took part in the elimination of the consequences of this accident were the fighters of military construction detachments, many of whom paid with their lives for working in the contaminated zone. Two years later, an earthquake in Armenia - and again the construction battalions were the first to take part in the removal of rubble.
The military personnel of the construction battalion also served in Afghanistan, when in 1979 it was necessary to organize the quartering of personnel of a limited contingent of troops in that country. In the shortest possible time, all the necessary infrastructure was organized there by the efforts of the military construction troops.
And in 1982, an event occurred that proved the presence of fighting spirit in the ranks of military builders. A construction battalion from the USSR was sent to the Falkland Islands to reconstruct the runway. At this point, British troops invaded these islands, because. there was a confrontation with Argentina for control of the territory. The fighters of the construction battalion were not at a loss: they mined the approaches and, using captured weapons, held back the advance of the British combat units. Only thanks to the intervention of diplomats from Moscow, the development of the military conflict was stopped.
The courage of military builders is also confirmed by the case when a barge without food and water with four servicemen of the engineering and construction troops - Ziganshin A., Poplavsky F., Kryuchkovsky A. and Fedotov I. - was carried away to the open spaces of the ocean. They lasted 49 days without losing their human appearance.
These units were formally related to military affairs, which is why this branch of service was not very popular among young people. But military builders had some advantages over military personnel from other branches of the armed forces. In 1977, on May 30, the order of the USSR Ministry of Defense No. 175 was issued, according to which each military builder was paid a salary. Although the cost of food, the price of uniforms, payment utilities and other support. But the size of the allowance significantly exceeded the costs, so the soldiers could accumulate considerable funds. In addition, military personnel could earn extra money by working where they paid extra. And ensigns and officers had benefits that allowed, for example, to quickly solve housing problems.
The unpopularity of service in these troops, caused by the recruitment of conscripts from Central Asia or the Caucasus, bore fruit - from the Slavs, disadvantaged youth or young people with a criminal record were sent there. Yes, and people from the Caucasus or Central Asia often ended up in a construction battalion from distant villages, where there was a poor knowledge of the Russian language. Even sometimes the sergeant staff helped the recruits to take the oath, reading out the text of the oath in one sentence, which was then repeated by the privates. By the way, often non-Slavic servicemen managed to deceive commanders, citing a lack of understanding of the Russian language. There was even a joke in the USSR: in a construction battalion, soldiers say “don’t understand” until a year old, and after a year “it’s not allowed.” Therefore, officers of the construction troops working with personnel had a difficult time.
Guest workers instead of construction battalion: what do we have today
Since 1992, there has been a wave of disbandment of military construction units, which was given impetus by the order of the President of the Russian Federation on the disbandment of the VZO, which are under the jurisdiction of the Moscow department. By 2006, the liquidation of the last military construction formations was completed.
Today there is no WSO, but the very idea of using the labor of citizens of the near abroad has remained. Organizations, including those constructing military facilities, often employ guest workers. Although, like the Soviet military builders, today these hired workers do not cost free, the houses are built much cheaper than by the forces of any large SMU. So the saying, “Two soldiers from a construction battalion replace an excavator,” popular in the Soviet Union, is still relevant today - albeit from a slightly different perspective.But the gain from the disbandment of the WZO is doubtful. The fighters of the construction battalion went to the barracks after work - there was no unnecessary wandering around the streets, drug trafficking, mass fights, robberies or rapes. And after the end of his service life, the former serviceman departed for his republic. So you can once again make sure that it is easy to destroy a properly functioning system. And in return, instead of a “beautiful distance”, we often get a bunch of problems.
SERVICE IN THE CONSTRUCTION BATT OF THE SOVIET UNION The "Royal troops" or the construction battalion were a real legend in the USSR. True, rather in a bad sense of the word - many conscripts shunned this type of troops, and the military leadership generally opposed its existence. "Royal troops" Military construction detachments (VSO), or colloquially - "construction battalion", date back to February 13, 1942, when the Military Restoration Directorate was formed by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, which was engaged in the repair and construction of facilities in the territories liberated from the German occupiers. The term "construction battalion" was officially withdrawn from circulation in the 1970s, but did not completely disappear from the lexicon, remaining as part of the military and civilian jargon. Also, the phrase "construction battalion" continued to be used in relation to some groups of foreign troops. "Stroybatovtsy" ironically called themselves "royal troops". According to one version, due to the large number of personnel: in the 1980s, it consisted of approximately 300 to 400 thousand people, which exceeded the number of military personnel in the Airborne Forces (60,000), the Marine Corps (15,000) and the Border Troops (220,000) taken together. According to another version, the self-name was associated with the name of the designer Sergei Korolev (all spaceports of the USSR were built by construction teams). Conditions of service Among the Soviet youth, the construction battalion was considered not the most prestigious place for military service. His unpopularity was largely due to the fact that he had only a formal relationship directly to military affairs. Nevertheless, recruits who replenished the composition of the construction detachments had certain advantages over those called up for other branches of the army. According to order No. 175 of the Minister of Defense of the USSR dated May 30, 1977, a military builder was charged wages for work, from which, however, the cost of food, uniforms, bath and laundry services, cultural events and other types of support were deducted - those that were united by the concept of "clothing debt." As one of the employees of the construction battalion recalled, about 30 rubles were withheld from him every month for household services - “washing, washing, uniforms.” The salary in the construction troops (for the period of the 1980s) ranged from 110 to 180 rubles, but in some cases reached up to 250 rubles. Everything depended on the specialty. As a rule, those who worked on tower cranes and excavators received more than others. The money was deposited to the employee's account and issued upon dismissal to the reserve. True, in case of urgent need, they were allowed to send money to relatives. At the end of the service, the “construction battalion workers” sometimes took out up to 5 thousand rubles. The “construction battalion workers” also had additional sources of income, in particular, on the so-called “hacks”, where they paid around 10-15 rubles for one working day. They also received benefits. They were received by ensigns and officers who had the opportunity to quickly solve their housing problems. The personnel of the VZO were recruited mainly from conscripts who graduated from construction schools. Often, construction teams were replenished with people from rural areas who “know how to hold a tool in their hands.” Disadvantaged youth were also sent there, sometimes with a criminal record. Although it was not customary to talk about it, the national sign was another selection criterion for the construction battalion. Thus, the share of the Caucasian and Central Asian peoples in some construction battalions reached 90% of the personnel. It is widely believed that the reason why people from Central Asia and the Caucasus were mainly allowed to work in construction was a poor knowledge of the Russian language. The national composition of the construction teams scared away many conscripts. Another category of conscripts who were "ordered" to go to the construction battalion are young men with health limitations. Their parents, by hook or by crook, were looking for all sorts of workarounds to protect their children from labor service. Criticism of the construction battalion The very fact of the existence of military construction detachments was repeatedly criticized by the top military leadership, which considered such formations ineffective and even "illegal". In 1956, Defense Minister Georgy Zhukov and Chief of the General Staff Vasily Sokolovsky reported that “the use of military personnel in industry is a violation of the Constitution of the USSR, since, according to Article 132 of the Constitution, military service ... should take place in the ranks of the Armed Forces of the USSR, and not in the construction organizations of civilian ministries THE USSR". Experts drew attention to the fact that the production activities of the military construction units were poorly organized, and their material and living conditions were at an extremely low level. One of the negative examples is connected with the military construction detachment No. 1052, which in November 1955 was placed in an unfinished building. The commission revealed unacceptable living and sanitary conditions for the maintenance of employees. The workers had to sleep dressed, as the temperature in the rooms did not exceed +3 degrees. For a month they were deprived of the opportunity to take a bath and change their linen, as a result of which many got lice. Dangerous Regions Contrary to popular belief, service in the construction teams was by no means safe. In 1986, the “construction battalion workers” were sent to eliminate the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster - according to some reports, they made up at least 70% of the contingent working in the contaminated zone. Two years later, construction teams went to Armenia to dismantle the rubble and rebuild cities after a devastating earthquake. They also served in Afghanistan. In 1979, immediately after the entry of Soviet troops into this country, the question arose of quartering personnel. In the shortest possible time, the builders were required to create and improve military camps with all the infrastructure, residential and military-administrative buildings, build warehouses for ammunition and equipment, fortifications along the perimeter of military units, and airfields. In 1982, a Soviet construction battalion was sent to the Falklands to Port Stanley to extend the concrete runway. It was at this time that British troops invaded the islands, disputing control over these territories with Argentina. According to a participant in those events, Soviet soldiers mined all approaches to the airfield, armed themselves with captured weapons, and for three days withstood a siege by the British military. Only thanks to the intervention of Moscow, the local military conflict was stopped - the Soviet soldiers were ordered to lay down their arms.
"Spirits, hang yourself!" - was heard from all sides when we crossed the threshold of the military unit.
“Something we are not very welcome here!” I thought. The warm summer evening, which I enjoyed on the way, seemed to have remained behind the gates of the unit that had closed behind us.
There were five of us: a boy from Fedorovka, tall, angular, wiry, like me, a student of the Kustanai Pedagogical Institute; a boy from some district, not tall, frail, wearing thick horn-rimmed glasses, outwardly he looked like a boy, and two more not from Kustanai. A new “cotton” (everyday soldier's uniform) hung on us in bags, new boots, covered with dust, rubbed our feet terribly.
Heads stuck out of the open windows of the barracks, legs dangled. On the large parade ground between the barracks, many soldiers crowded in small groups. Who smoked, who stood twisting the belt in his hands, here and there horse laughter was heard (in the jargon - rzhach) and spitting spitting was heard.
We crossed the parade ground, accompanied by an ensign, under one hundred percent general attention, hooting, and smiles ....... greasy smiles. I tried to look at the faces, but I couldn't remember any. Which of them is the "grandfather", which is the "spirit" - it is not clear.
The only thing left on us from civilian life was hair. This is where our soldier days began. The ensign led us into a room where on the walls above wide shelves, such as tables, hung mirrors. He handed us the cars and told us to cut our hair bald. I asked, maybe under a comb? I don’t remember the answer, but judging by the fact that we immediately began to cut each other’s hair, the answer was reasoned.
Here is the last curl left my head. My head hurt. The cars were mechanical, from the time of the First World War, with broken teeth. Therefore, some hairs came out from under the skin along with the bulbs. You know, there are people who are very bald, I would even say with a bald head, these people are even very pretty. So this is not about me. Looking at myself in the mirror, I was finally convinced of this. However, it helped me a little, after the haircut, even grandfathers began to treat me with caution.
The first day ended, in principle, calmly, we were fed dinner when there was no one in the canteen, then they gave out a bed, showed the beds and lights out.
Here I am lying in the barracks, events are scrolling again in my head today.
In the morning we (those who rode in the wild express) were lined up in front of a large barrack. The doors opened, and one by one my comrades began to disappear into its opening. It's my turn. I go in and after the bright daylight I try to make out the room where I am. “Che erpsh got up like a horse! - a loud cry helped my vision - "I took off my shirt and ran along the corridor." (It is very difficult to describe army life without profanity, I would even say impossible, since it was normative there. Therefore, in the future, in direct speech, I will express this vocabulary with “random” letter combinations).
I saw long corridor, on the right side of which there were rooms without doors. Moving quickly along the corridor, we left some of our clothes in each room: shirt, trousers, shoes with socks, shorts. I saw mountains of clothes in these rooms. Further received boots, HB, shorts, a belt, a cap, accessories. Having jumped out on the other side of the barracks, I was already dressed, shod.
The crowd was already cheering. Everything in green means not a fleet. But it was upsetting that the letter “F” flaunted on the shoulder straps that we were given. Unclear. 2 or 3 years? Doubts were dispelled by some ensign who appeared after some time:
“Well, fighters! You will serve in the construction battalion of the twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet. Two years!" And how I dreamed of getting into the Marine Corps!
Drops of recent rain fell from the branches of the trees. Huge Maple leaves, painted golden in autumn, covered the long avenue of the park with a thick carpet. A loving couple walked slowly down the alley. She clasped her two hands bent arm her beloved and pressing her cheek against his shoulder, she smiled and listened attentively. He was telling something with inspiration slightly waving his free hand. Happy! I'll be back home!...
Our ZIL stopped at a crossroads waiting for a green traffic light. I fixed this fragment of beautiful autumn and love in my memory while sitting in the back. Yes, maple leaves in Kaliningrad are larger than Kustanai ones, but our palette of colors is much richer. For some reason, since childhood, I really loved autumn. In Kustanai, it was often warm and really golden, and in some places fiery red. The poplars turned yellow, the elm remained green for the longest time, but the maple played with iridescence of red colors. Dry, warm, colorful!
Behind a year of service. Getting up and down in 45 seconds, lining up on a parade ground with mattresses, washing floors, cramming the charter - all this has already sunk into the past. Looking at the spirits, I remember myself at that time with a smile. I remember in one of my classes...
"Comrade senior lieutenant, why do we have to dress in 45 seconds?"
“And because the Americans have 1 minute for this, therefore, in the event of a war, we will be 15 seconds ahead of them, in combat conditions we will arrive at combat positions 15 seconds earlier, and this is a big advantage!” he answered. I thought: “What if the Americans cut it down to 45 seconds? We definitely can’t make it in 30!” I even wanted to ask, but changed my mind in time. He could start training the whole platoon. And we would achieve this result.
In general, we loved and respected him very much. During my service, I saw a lot of officers, and even classified them. Conventionally, I divided them into three categories.
First- these are the ones we saw in feature films about the Red Army. Brave, smart, fair, strong, intelligent. In battle, they don’t hide behind the backs of soldiers, they shoot cool, they fight, for such soldiers they went on the attack even under lead rain. The army is their calling, they are professionals.
Second. Those who, after watching the same films about the Red Army, rushed after school to a military school, with the hope of a quick military career. But faced with army reality, they turned into artisans. They are waiting for new stars, they come to the service as if they were a regular job. They do their job well. Among them are good people and good commanders, but the warriors of them are not important. There are many of those.
A third category is "drones". At a young age, they imagined themselves with a sword on a horse, and around were enthusiastic ladies throwing caps into the air. This, in principle, is all that they needed from the army. But life goes on, there is no horse, no sabers, no one throws caps into the air. They hate the service, but they don’t have the strength to return to civilian life, because they have to work there.
I'm lucky. My direct commanders were real officers.
The class I got into was new. This company was formed to train non-commissioned officers for the construction battalion. We were placed in one barracks on the territory of some consolidated naval unit. Marines and Coast Guard sailors lived here. Three platoons, assembled for training from all parts of the construction battalion of the Baltic district, wandered from corner to corner for the second day, since the platoon commanders had not yet arrived. All the fighters have six months of military service behind them. We already had the status of "scoops" ("Sherpak" - a soldier who served six months). Everyone arrived here, as our platoon commander liked to say, "voluntarily-compulsorily." After serving in the troops of the construction battalion, the concept of discipline was very approximate. Many adjusted the HB on themselves so that only the color reminded that it was military uniform. The belt, which, according to the charter, was supposed to fit tightly around the waist, fell well below the navel; those who served know exactly where it hung. Getting everyone into line took much longer than an American intercontinental missile to cross the ocean. On the third day, two platoons received commanders, young lieutenants after school, and ours wandered around the territory for another two days, receiving different tasks type of area cleaning. Well, we kind of cleaned up.
Early in the morning they put us in a classroom (everything was like at school: desks, blackboard, pointer, chalk ...) and they said that the company commander would come to us now. The door opens, the company commander comes in, and together he takes off a stately starley in the form of a marine. We froze. “Let me introduce, this is your platoon leader! Please love and respect!" - said the commander and left.
Silence in the classroom! Starley looked around the class and said, “I don’t like being lied to and I love to run. My favorite distance is 25 kilometers.
A light chuckle went through the class. Joker, eprst! We didn't even know then that he wasn't joking. By evening, the uniform of each soldier fully complied with the requirements of the charter. In the evenings before going to bed, on his duty, the company commander would definitely come to our cockpit to wish good night. Once, having appeared in the cockpit, when everyone was already lying in racks, he asked everyone to show their legs. Slowly moving along the rows, glancing from right to left, he suddenly exclaimed, stopping near one fighter:
“What are you, soldier, preparing for the competition!?” “Which ones, comrade senior lieutenant?” the soldier asked with ill presentiment. "Tree climbing!" the company commander answered angrily. Everyone, of course, got up on their racks to see what the company commander had in mind. Friendly laughter broke the silence of the sleeping garrison.
The fighter's nails protruded from his toes by three centimetres. Indeed, with such nails it was possible to climb a sheer cliff without any devices. The fighter blushed. Got scissors, disappeared from the cockpit.
“Comrade senior lieutenant, but I can’t go out for exercises tomorrow, my stomach hurts” - a voice from the corner. “That’s because you don’t push up enough! Fell, wrung out 20 times! - cuts the starley. He was a good "doctor". Nobody in the platoon got sick. Moreover, he easily distinguished the simulator from the really sick. We did push-ups and squats a lot. And they didn't want to get sick.
Baltic. January. On the street, as they say, "dog cold", a blizzard sweeps, howling in the wires. The first and second platoons are already seated in their classrooms and their commanders are drawing on the boards the pre-battle and battle order. Denoting the soldiers with circles, drawing the positions of a potential enemy with squares and lines. We also prepared to listen and take notes on the topic. The platoon commander enters the class, in field clothes: “Building on the parade ground in 5 minutes complete set!" “So we have tactics class today!?” - a voice from the class.
"That's right, comrade soldier. So we will study tactics in practice "-" So others are engaged in classes, but on the street there is a creepy dubak !? “Comrade soldier, formation for you in four minutes in a gas mask! Does anyone else have any questions?"
There was no one else to ask questions, everyone was already running in the direction of the armory. Not only because the orders of the commander in the army are not discussed, or we were cowards who were afraid of our platoon leader. No. We just respected him and believed him. We knew that he would run and crawl with us, that he knew better than anyone what he would teach us.
He more than once stood up openly for his fighters before the unfair attacks of the highest ranks and was not afraid to defend his point of view, regardless of the rank and number of stars on the opponent's shoulder straps. We knew that he was the commander of a marine reconnaissance company in the rank of captain and was demoted to starley and exiled to the construction battalion for breaking the jaw of a presumptuous demobilization who mocked the young. We knew that in the entire Baltic region he was the best in throwing knives and one of the best in hand-to-hand combat. We knew that in his notebook, which he always carried in his upper left breast pocket, verses by the best Russian poets were written. I am grateful to fate for the fact that I had the opportunity to learn from such a commander. And I'm glad that I managed to thank him a little for that. Six months after training, an article about my platoon was published in the Guardian of the Baltic newspaper with my photo. Those who studied with him at that time told how he walked around the unit with this newspaper in his hands and proudly said that this was his cadet.
The command "hang up" has already sounded. But everyone is excited, they cannot sleep. Today we received weapons. Some boys unloaded the boxes and said that they all different sizes. Will be issued tomorrow.
I was already drifting off to sleep when someone touched my shoulder. "Get up, come with me, there's business." It was a platoon. We went down to the basement, to the armory. It was full of boxes. “We need to put everything in order here. Rewrite all numbers. Compile an account book. Will you help me?" he asked. " Of course I'll help". Then the platoon commander goes to the largest box, opens it and takes out a large object with a butt, then from there he takes out a long barrel and attaches it to the object. Got a machine gun. I looked spellbound. We studied AKM at school, I could quickly disassemble and assemble it. On the oath, we were given to hold some kind of carbines. (Well, at least they didn’t hand over the shovels, the construction battalion is still!) But I saw THIS for the first time in my life.
But training was over, and in May we all returned to our units. Hello Stroybat!
Mikhail Ramensky
