Events
Volfovich explains details of army test report received by president
Photo courtesy of the Belarusian Defense Ministry's news agency Vayar
MINSK, 15 October (BelTA) – State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Aleksandr Volfovich talked to reporters about details of the report he had delivered earlier on 15 October to the head of state. The report covered the test of army units the State Secretariat of the Security Council is conducting upon instructions from the commander-in-chief, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Volfovich told reporters: “The head of state once again heard out a report on progress of the test, which, by the way, is in the final stage. On the whole, as far as everything concerning the training of structural elements of the military organization of the state is concerned, the president personally keeps an eye on it and constantly inquires about where and how our units are training, primarily the Armed Forces.”
The state secretary pointed out that the military and political situation around Belarus demands it: “Everything concerning the protection of sovereignty, of the territorial integrity of the country, its national interests is a priority for the head of state. This is why the Armed Forces and other structures of the military organization of the state are always paid this kind of attention to.”
According to Aleksandr Volfovich, the head of state was informed about progress of the army test in detail. All the army units have been brought to combat readiness, have completed rather lengthy marches, and have reached the training areas specified by the instruction. “Combat training sessions are in progress in military training areas today. They focus on shooting skills, tactical skills, and engineering skills,” he specified. In particular, on 15 October tank crewman fire standard ammunition out of their tanks while motorized infantry units perform qualification shoots out of BTR-82s.
The state secretary noted that personnel of the State Secretariat of the Security Council are always nearby to track progress of the army test. “I have real-time information about progress of the army test,” he added.
The physical conditioning of the military personnel is also being tested in addition to combat skills. According to Aleksandr Volfovich, it is an important part of the test. “In addition to these classes the units are supposed to undergo fitness tests. They are built around muscle-building exercises and endurance exercises. Just what a military specialist needs on a battlefield taking into account the experience of modern warfare,” the official stated.
As a peculiarity of the army test the state secretary of the Security Council noted that it had been launched after the military academic year was over. The military personnel have completed the entire series of events starting with individual training and ending with combat shakedown. “They demonstrate what they have learned in the course of combat drills in army units. Judging by this test it will be possible to make conclusions on whether we have taken everything into account in our military personnel combat training programs,” Aleksandr Volfovich stressed.
The reporters asked the state secretary of the Security Council to clarify how army units had been picked for the test. “Certainly, we don’t test the same army units over and over. In the first half of the year we focused on testing units of the Western Operational Command. In the second half we redirected our efforts to testing units of the Northwestern Operational Command. In other words, priorities get separated,” he explained. “Apart from that, we test our Air Force and Air Defense Command units. We schedule flights of control targets and see how our Air Force and Air Defense Command units detect them and respond to them.”
print version
make home page
add to bookmarks
