On December 17, the Strategic Missile Forces celebrate the 55th anniversary of its founding. According to the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, Colonel General Sergei Karakaev, the missilemen are capable of reliably carrying out assigned combat missions in any situation. Read about service in the missile forces today and what awaits the Strategic Missile Forces military personnel in the future in our material.
There are 400 ballistic missiles from the Strategic Missile Forces group on combat duty in Russia every day. “Approximately two-thirds of the nuclear warheads of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces are concentrated there.” — said the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, Colonel General Sergei Karakaev.
In total, about 400 missiles with warheads assigned to them are on combat duty.
“In 2014, we continued to re-equip the group with the latest missile systems, which have increased capabilities to overcome the existing and future missile defenses,” Karakaev said. According to him, the troops received 16 RK YaRS intercontinental ballistic missiles. 12 of them are mobile ground-based, and 4 are mine-based. As part of the rearmament, the personnel of three missile regiments underwent retraining for new missile systems.
In addition to new missile systems, the Strategic Missile Forces are equipped with modern digital information transmission technologies, advanced electronic warfare systems and camouflage systems.
Active rearmament will make it possible by 2015 to significantly increase the share of modern missile systems, both mobile and stationary, in the Strategic Missile Forces grouping. “By the end of December this year, the share of modern missile systems will be about 50%,” Karakaev said.
Photo: Strategic Missile Forces
It is planned to create the latest combat railway missile system (BZHRK) “Barguzin”.
According to Karakaev, it will be developed at enterprises exclusively of the domestic military-industrial complex and will become the embodiment of “the most advanced achievements of our military rocket science.”
Currently, components and assemblies of the latest heavy liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile "Sarmat" are being tested. It is planned that the rocket will be created by 2020.
Since July 2014, the “State Missile Center named after Academician V.P. Makeev” has been extending the service life of the Voevoda missile system.
Ukrainian enterprises were withdrawn from industrial cooperation, which ensured the maintenance of the complex in technical readiness.
In 2015, the Strategic Missile Forces will increase the number of combat training and test launches of missiles. “14 launches are planned for 2015, providing for flight testing of promising weapons and monitoring the technical readiness of missile systems put into service,” Karakaev said. In 2014, 8 launches were carried out, two more are planned for December.
Military units of the Strategic Missile Forces will not be formed on the territory of Crimea.
According to Karakaev, this is not necessary: “the firing range of modern ballistic missiles allows them to hit targets anywhere in the world, without approaching the borders of Russia.”
More than 98% of missile officers have higher education, while the average age of Strategic Missile Forces military personnel in 2014 was 31 years.
Interest in serving in the Strategic Missile Forces does not wane, as evidenced by the high “competition bar.” “This year, 4.3 thousand candidates were selected, only 2.7 thousand of the best of them received contracts,” says Karakaev.
Today, more than 40% of military positions of privates and sergeants are staffed by contract servicemen.
It is planned that in 2015 the number of contract soldiers in the Strategic Missile Forces will increase to 50%.
Photo: Andrey Luft/Defend Russia
In 2014, command post exercises of the missile forces with the Tatishchev and Barnaul missile formations took place in the Altai Territory, during which more than 4,000 military personnel and about 400 units of military equipment were involved.
Particular attention was paid to the issues of withdrawing units and subunits of the Strategic Missile Forces from the attacks of a mock enemy and countering modern and promising means of air attack, as well as warning about the threat of their use in cooperation with formations and units of the Central Military District.
In 2014, about 800 military personnel received permanent housing, and another 206 received housing through housing subsidies.
Once I managed to get into the Teikovsky missile formation in the Ivanovo region. Journalists and bloggers were shown the departure of the Yars PGRK launcher, fragments of the actions of security units to repel an attack by potential saboteurs, a training base and a new type of barracks.
The reason for inviting the press was the rearmament of the second regiment of the Teikovsky missile formation with the Yars PGRK with the RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile.
The technical specifications of the Yars PGRK are currently closed to the press. They only said that in its main characteristics it is in many ways comparable to the performance characteristics of the Topol-M PGRK, but more perfect. Unlike monoblock Topol-M missiles, the RS-24 missile has multiple warheads, i.e. the warhead hits several targets at once. Compared to the Topol missile system, the Topol-M and Yars mobile ground systems have improved combat and operational capabilities, the safety of the complexes has been increased in case of emergency situations: lightning strike, short circuit in electrical circuits, fire, etc. .
2. Yars leaves the hangar
4. In all its glory (filming is allowed only from certain approved angles)
6. Driver
10. Crew member
11. After we were shown the missile system itself, we witnessed a training session on repelling the actions of a sabotage group.
12. The supposed enemy is surrounded
13. and destroyed
14. Military personnel return to their duties
After the spectacular action, a hearty lunch awaited us in the headquarters canteen. Then we went to look at the life of military personnel: new barracks and classrooms. In addition to the rearmament of the regiment, the missile unit's housing stock was updated, and modern simulators appeared for the training of driver-mechanics of the Yars PGRK and escort vehicles.
15. Soldiers' mess
18. Simulators for practicing the processes of controlling and launching missiles
21. In the guard service premises, training for repelling a sabotage attack took place
Soldier's life. Modern cockpit-type barracks were built.
25. Beds are now single-level
26. Gym
27. Funny wooden models of machine guns, knives and blades
29. Copter
30. Dryer for clothes and shoes
31. Showers
33. Here you can put the uniform in order: hem, iron, stretch the hat
34. Classroom
Finally, the most interesting thing is 3D simulators for training driver mechanics. Everything is very realistic. The simulator helps simulate various difficult situations: from poor visibility and off-road conditions to shelling. You can also simulate breakdowns of the machine itself. At the same time, the car behaves very naturally: it shakes, tilts, and even makes real sounds. The simulators mainly work out situations that are difficult or impossible to work out in real conditions.
35. Driver's cabin PGRK
37. Driver's cabin of the escort vehicle
Those who wished were allowed to try their hand as a driver :) It is worth noting that I don’t know how to drive a car - I tried it once - I took off and drove in a straight line for several tens of meters. Of course it was difficult. At first I didn’t feel any control at all. For the first few seconds, despite the reality of the sensations inside the cabin, the 3D landscape ahead was somewhat confusing. I managed to get used to this quite quickly. But I tried to steer too gently :) Then I realized what needed to be done, and was finally able to get my wheels into the rut and drive a short distance (not without the help of a real driver, of course). I even made it through a couple of easy turns. But at a sharp turn I flew off the road and fell into a ditch :) Denis says that my virtual accident even slightly scratched the very real door of the simulator.
Every future conscript, before joining the army, asks himself two questions: where is the best place to serve in the army and how to get into the right unit. To answer this question, you need to understand what goal you want to achieve when going to serve in the army. It is worth deciding on the presence of some specific skills and acquired knowledge in civilian life.
When going through the draft board, each conscript will be asked where the conscript would like to serve. The military registration and enlistment office will make a note about the conscript’s preferences, where it is best to send him, taking into account his medical characteristics and abilities.
True, often this mark does not play a special role. Distribution at the recruiting station occurs according to the needs of the “buyers” who came for young recruits. However, in some cases the wishes of the conscript are taken into account, and the region in which the conscript lives is also taken into account. In some cases, he may be left to serve close to home if there are certain reasons for this. Then, the conscript should take care of this issue in advance and choose for service those troops that are located in his home region.
Types of troops
What kind of troops are there and what skills do you need to have in order to join these troops? All troops can be divided into three types: ground, navy, aviation. It is impossible to classify any type of troops as elite. Each type of troops performs specific tasks and has its own goals. Therefore, it is better to worry in advance and decide where it is better to go to serve in the army.
Land
- Tank troops. They are the main attacking force of the ground forces. Defensive and offensive tasks in battle are carried out. For these troops, conscripts are selected who are no more than 174 centimeters tall, preferably of strong build, and who do not have significant vision problems.
Find out: What is the Russian tank army?
- Motorized rifle. They have versatility and the ability to perform any combat missions in any weather and in any terrain. There is no special selection for these troops. Health category goes from A1 to B4. The troops include many units, so everyone will be assigned to serve.
- Railway troops. Participation in military operations involving trains, as well as eliminating the consequences of natural disasters on railway tracks. A conscript who is not in very good health has every chance of ending up in this type of army.
- Special forces Performing special tasks that are beyond the capabilities of any military unit. Recruitment for this unit is made from candidates who have already served in military service. The strictest selection and testing is carried out.
Air
- Airborne troops. Conducting special operations on enemy territory. Organization of sabotage activities and disruption of control and communications, as well as the capture of enemy targets. A candidate for these troops must meet very high requirements. Health category not lower than A1, physical endurance and psychological stability.
- Aerospace Forces (VKS, Strategic Missile Forces, Air Defense). Protection and control of the aerospace space of the Russian Federation and repelling enemy attacks from the air. Conscripts with technical and engineering specialties have a better chance of getting into these units. During selection, the emphasis is on the psychological qualities and mental abilities of the conscript.
Marine
- Navy. Carrying out combat missions in sea and ocean waters, repelling enemy attacks on the water and conducting offensive operations from the sea. Includes surface and submarine forces, as well as naval aviation and marines. In order to be called up for military service in the Navy, you must be at least 180 centimeters tall, have a health category of at least A3, and have good mental stability.
Where to go
If one or another branch of the military is considered prestigious, then this issue is very controversial. Any army has its own elite units, such as reconnaissance and special forces. It is honorable and prestigious to serve in such units, but you will also have to work hard. Getting into such units is not an easy task. To serve in these units, some conscripts initially only need to be in good physical shape and mental stability. In such a platoon, there is a high probability of learning useful skills such as hand-to-hand combat, weapon handling and other types of special skills.
Find out: How many are conscripted in the Russian army in 2019?
But at the same time, as practice shows, the selection of recruits occurs without the knowledge of the conscript. At the recruiting station, “buyers” usually say that the best troops are exactly where they came from, and their task is to take the best with them. If a recruit goes to the recruiting station with certain knowledge, then there will be fewer problems with him in the combat unit. But after the oath is taken, re-distribution is carried out. At this moment, in most cases, attention is paid to what advantages the young soldier has. In accordance with his skills, the unit is distributed among units.
In order to get into good troops, before going to serve in the army, you must take the following actions:
- Increase physical activity. Good physical shape is valued everywhere.
- To increase organization and independence, you need to learn self-discipline.
- Get a profession. Soldiers with any skills are in demand in the army.
Pre-conscription training
It is worth mentioning the pre-conscription training of a conscript, because it is advisable to think in advance about where to go to serve. If you have a strong desire to serve as a driver or in an airborne brigade, it would be a good idea to take care of this in advance. In Russia, in every major city there are DOSAAF branches that are engaged in pre-conscription training. Through this training system, you can not only get a license, but also increase your chances of serving behind the wheel of any military equipment.
Rocket science began to actively develop in the second half of the 20th century. Previously, people had an idea about rockets, but it was from this period that they began to be actively used. Rockets are also used in the space industry, but they are most actively used in military affairs. The advent of missiles completely changed the concept of warfare. And with the advent of nuclear weapons, missile launchers have become the main deterrent that prevents the outbreak of a nuclear conflict.
What is the Strategic Missile Forces
Strategic Missile Forces are a branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, which is the main component of the strategic nuclear forces of the Russian Federation.
They became a separate branch of the military on March 24, 2001 by presidential decree.
Prior to this, the Strategic Missile Forces were considered a type of military force that was first identified by the Decree of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of December 17, 1959. The date December 17 is considered the official day of the missile forces.
The Strategic Missile Forces report directly to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and belong to the troops of constant combat readiness. Since August 2010, the chief of staff of the Strategic Missile Forces has been Colonel General Sergei Viktorovich Karakaev.
Purpose of strategic missile forces
The main weapons of the Strategic Missile Forces are intercontinental ballistic missiles (abbreviated as ICBMs) with nuclear warheads, which are capable of hitting a target anywhere on our planet. They come in two types:
- mine;
- mobile.
The main purpose of the Strategic Missile Forces is to contain a nuclear conflict and eliminate possible aggression. They can carry out their tasks as part of the strategic nuclear forces of the Russian Federation or individually (mass, group, single) nuclear missile strikes on enemy strategic targets, constituting its military or military-economic potential.
In peacetime, the Strategic Missile Forces carry out the task of deterring large-scale aggression from potential adversaries. The implementation of this goal includes the following activities:
- combat duty;
- demonstration actions;
- demonstration and strike actions.
In the event of a nuclear missile war, the Strategic Missile Forces are capable of destroying important enemy targets in a given strategic direction.
Composition of missile forces
The Russian Strategic Missile Forces include:
- the main headquarters, which is located in the village of Vlasikha, Moscow region;
- 3 missile armies (each with its own headquarters), which includes 12 missile divisions;
- State interspecific training ground, location - Kapustin Yar, Astrakhan region;
- test site in Kazakhstan;
- 4th Central Research Institute;
- Military Academy named after. Peter the Great in Balashikha;
- Serpukhov Military Institute of Missile Forces.
In addition, the Strategic Missile Forces include factories for the repair of military equipment, bases, warehouses and arsenals in which weapons and equipment are stored.
Additionally, the Strategic Missile Forces own 7 airfields and 8 helipads. Aviation consists of Mi-8 helicopters, AN-12, 72, 26, 24 aircraft.
The Strategic Missile Forces also have engineering units that are equipped with special vehicles MIOM, MDR, Listva and KDM.
How to get into service in the Strategic Missile Forces
You can get into service in the Strategic Missile Forces by conscription, on a contract basis, or after graduation from a relevant higher educational institution.
Training at a military university lasts 5 years; after successful completion of studies, the cadet receives an officer's military rank and a military specialty.
The duration of training is counted towards the total military experience.
By call
It is not difficult to get into military service in the Strategic Missile Forces. You must declare your intention to serve in the Strategic Missile Forces at the military registration and enlistment office, and it is better to do this in advance, before receiving the summons. Such a responsible approach by the future conscript increases the chances that his wishes will be accurately taken into account when assigned to the troops.
On a contract basis
The armament of the Strategic Missile Forces is gradually being updated and equipped with the latest missile launchers, which require qualified personnel to operate and maintain.
Therefore, emphasis is placed on increasing the number of contract employees and the transition to a professional army. This task is performed in the following ways:
- The contract is concluded with graduates of educational institutions of the Strategic Missile Forces who arrive at their first duty station after assignment. They already have an officer rank and the necessary knowledge base, so they are qualified personnel potential.
- You can switch to a contract basis if you wish after being drafted into the army; to do this, you need to submit a report of your intention to the unit commander and provide the necessary package of documents. When a conscript already has a higher or secondary vocational education, this can be done immediately, otherwise he will have to serve 3 months of military service.
- You can join the army on a contract basis after completing military service. To do this, you must contact the selection point for military service under a contract and submit an application, providing the relevant documents.
Features of service in the missile forces
Service in the missile forces has its own characteristics, which are determined primarily by the complex and large-scale technical equipment of this type of troops, as well as the location of the missile divisions.
Conscription service
Service in the Strategic Missile Forces for conscripts is not as exciting as many people think. To operate and maintain missile launchers, you must have a higher military education and an officer rank.
Conscript soldiers are only allowed to do menial work. At the same time, missile divisions are located far from populated areas, so recruits will also not be able to have a fun time while on leave.
Under contract
For those who have expressed a desire to serve in the Strategic Missile Forces on a contract basis, there are undeniable advantages over conscripts:
- the opportunity to study and obtain a military specialty;
- stable monthly salary and annual financial assistance payments;
- the opportunity to obtain official housing, and later your own through a mortgage, anywhere in the country.
In addition, contract workers have the right to material, food, pension and medical support, as well as compulsory life and health insurance at the expense of the state.
Basic requirements for candidates
The candidacy of a person wishing to serve in the Strategic Missile Forces, in accordance with the Regulations on the procedure for military service, approved by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of September 16, 1999 No. 1237, is not considered if:
- A guilty verdict has been passed against him and a punishment has been determined, a criminal case is underway, an inquiry or preliminary investigation is being conducted.
- There is an outstanding or unexpunged conviction.
- The candidate was serving a sentence of imprisonment.
- The candidate was given an administrative penalty for using narcotic or psychotropic drugs without a doctor’s prescription until the end of the punishment.
The suitability of a candidate to serve on a contract basis is assessed by a military certification commission. The grounds for refusal in accordance with Article 5 of the Regulations on the Procedure for Military Service may be:
- Conclusion of the medical commission recognizing the candidate as partially fit, temporarily unfit or unfit for military service.
- Assignment of the fourth degree of professional suitability to the candidate based on the results of professional psychological selection.
- Recognition of the candidate as unsuitable for military service on a contract basis due to the level of education or physical fitness.
The physical fitness of candidates is assessed in accordance with Appendix No. 20 of the Manual on Physical Training in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, approved by Order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation dated April 21, 2009 No. 200.
The candidate is required to perform 3 exercises to choose from the provided list to assess physical condition according to three criteria: strength, endurance and speed.
Service in the Strategic Missile Forces is not only an honorable duty for the benefit of the Motherland, but also a good stable income with a reliable social guarantee.
To the officers and soldiers of the Makhachkala Regiment
I dedicate to the wild Caucasian division of the Strategic Missile Forces...
Wild Caucasian Division of the Strategic Missile Forces
I served in the army, first Soviet and then Russian, for exactly 20 years and reached
pension with the rank of lieutenant colonel. And my service began at the end of August 1978, when, after graduating from Moscow Higher Technical School, I was assigned to TsNIIMASH in what is now Korolev and quickly realized that no one there was particularly needed there. I was sent to build some garages, they didn’t give me a dormitory, they didn’t give me a registration, and at a family council we decided that I needed to join the army. You will still have to serve someday...
From Zagorsk the military registration and enlistment office sent us with one boy from ZEMZ - Kolya Chuprin to
Vinnitsa, to the headquarters of the army of the Strategic Missile Forces. In Moscow, visit us
Another guy who worked in the Komsomol Central Committee joined. All the way on the train we
They played pref and wrote bullet after bullet, pinning them onto a nail in the wall of the compartment.
At army headquarters we were redirected to the shores of the Caspian Sea - to the Makhachkala regiment
Ordzhonikidze division, nicknamed Dikoy among two-year officers
Caucasian. We arrived there on the weekend and, since no one from the authorities was there, again
We played cards for two more days.
And on Monday morning we were dressed in field uniforms and taken to the commander
division. As I remember now, he was sitting in a smoking room on the street, and in front of him stood at attention
a hefty lieutenant with his head bandaged. It all looked like it was in combat
The situation is quite scary. But later it turned out that two-year officer Seryoga Seryogin
during the missile regulations, he stuck his head somewhere in the wrong place and got hit on the
a tripped air valve...
We were divided into divisions. Who got into the launch preparation groups (LPT), who
to headquarters, and I was assigned to the regimental regulations group.
There we honestly served our two years and returned home - some to civilian life, and some as
I remained in the ranks and continued to serve in the Strategic Missile Forces...
One MIC out of a thousand
In the meantime, my colleague, two-year student Yura Marulin, a lieutenant like me, but only from Kazan, and I were assigned according to the calculations of the Regulations Group. I ended up as the head of the 4th crew serving the underground MIC (installation and testing building) of the 1st division of the regiment, where combat missiles were delivered for inspections during routine maintenance. During the interval between flights of American spy satellites, installers took them out of the mines, placed them on special transport carts and delivered them along a concrete path to what was now my MIC.
Regulations were carried out once every six months, and the rest of the time I was busy studying various technical manuals and filling out a thick stack of ZHUTS (technical condition logs) with replies about supposedly daily inspections of MIC technical equipment that I carried out. After which he went to the surface, sat in the smoking room and once again stupidly looked at the surrounding nature, consisting of small mountains and a low oak forest. It was boring. But the allotted two years had to be endured and served.
But at the time of the regulations, life was in full swing. My crew, consisting of Tajiks and Belarusians, fussily ran into their pockets and manually opened the multi-ton hydraulic gates. The use of automatic equipment, as always happens in the army after an emergency, was prohibited by the higher command, since two soldiers in one of the regiments were crushed while riding on the same gate.
One day, my soldiers were taken from me to work in the vineyards of a neighboring collective farm, and I alone opened both gate leaves, manually pumping the hydraulics of first one gate, and then the other. Gasping, I ran under the obscene screams of the officers, who had already rolled two carts with missiles, from one pocket to another pocket to open first one and then the second armored doors - each weighing 8 tons. I barely had enough strength. But I managed...
The 8K65 missiles on which we served are huge metal ingots more than 24 meters long and about 2.5 meters in diameter, stuffed with sophisticated equipment. There was practically no free space inside the engine compartment, and my duties included climbing through the hatch inside and checking with a special probe for the absence of electrostatic electricity. I had difficulty squeezing between the nozzles and tubes, and sometimes I would take a nap there so as not to have to climb back and forth while the regulations group officers were fixing some problems...
Captain Tuzov
Service in the division was not easy. If someone thought otherwise, then it is not so. Every day, early in the morning, officers and warrant officers living in Makhachkala got into PAZs and kungs and went 70 kilometers to their divisions. Ours was the farthest.
A dirt road along the foothills of the Caucasus is not the Red Army Avenue. Sometimes in winter, cars would drift to the edge of the road on the ice, and we would hover in horror over a terrible abyss. It was especially scary when the drivers were inexperienced first-years. But you get used to everything, and the old officers no longer paid attention to these “minor” incidents, and soon we all also became fatalists...
They also all left the regiment together, cursing and waiting for an hour and a half for the division commander, who always gave orders to the duty shift at the very last moment. On weekends, as a rule, all those who were not on duty for long or short shifts (4 or 3 days, respectively) were on duty in the barracks - supervising the soldiers.
The officers were practically not provided with housing; almost all of them lived in rented apartments. Getting the next rank was also difficult. If a person retired as a major, it was considered good luck because major positions were few and far between. And there were only a few lieutenant colonels in the regiment.
That is, no career growth, no apartment prospects. And to retire, you had to serve 25 years. And it was possible to quit early only either due to disability or drunkenness. This is how these people SERVED. And we, who accidentally fell into their circle from different capitals and large cities, were only amazed at their patience and perseverance.
Their heavy, hopeless bondage was brightened up by their families, whom they saw only at night, and the usual male entertainments - hunting, fishing, and sometimes just vodka at night.
With all this, among the career officers there were the most talented specialists, professionals from God. I remember two.
The head of our department, Captain Alexander Nikolaevich Smirnov, knew the entire rocket perfectly. If we, young people, had difficulty mastering some of the motor parts, some of the control system, then he knew EVERYTHING. I don’t remember a single regulation so that there were no failures - there was always some kind of check that was not carried out. And then the brainstorming of our smartest and most intelligent commander began. And he almost always brilliantly found the solution to the malfunction of one or another parameter, one or another device.
And when he was unable to find the reason for the refusal, then the head of the regiment’s engineering service, Captain Tuzov, came. Above average height, a slightly stooped man with a worn-out face and wearing an officer’s cap with a broken visor and a spring taken out long ago for foppishness, possessed some qualities inexplicable by material Marxist science. He was a genius.
I remember that all the officers gathered around him in a circle and watched with reverent surprise his seemingly chaotic manipulations over the control panel for routine checks. But minutes passed, a maximum of half an hour, and everything began to WORK again! It was incomprehensible. But, apparently, thanks to precisely such folk nuggets, often with only a secondary military engineering school behind them, our missiles hit the target. From 1969 to 1974, the regiment conducted live firing at the training ground three times and performed them “excellently.” Many officers and soldiers then received well-deserved military orders and medals...
Usually, after successfully completing the regulations, we gathered at the divisional officers' hotel and poured half a flask of alcohol into cut glasses for stew with boiled potatoes. Moreover, as the veterans said in a low voice, the regulations for just one rocket were to dispense 20 liters of alcohol, but we tested as many as three of them! But, as they say, everyone needs alcohol, including the command, which received numerous checks from Moscow and from army headquarters in Vinnitsa...
The thin face of Captain Tuzov, who was often brought to the regulations directly from another binge (which is why he was never supposed to receive major's shoulder straps), was illuminated with inspiration. He made a short speech and traditionally proclaimed our main toast: “For those in the pit!” (for those who don’t know, rocket scientists call their mines a pit)…
Groundwater
With my conscription, 17 two-year officers from Moscow, Kazan, Tula and Kuibyshev (now Samara) arrived at the same time to the regiment. Without the supply of specialists from civilians, the then huge army could not exist, since there was a catastrophic shortage of regular officers. That is why, after graduating from universities, we were awarded the rank of lieutenant and called up for service.
Among our brothers there were mostly ordinary guys, but there were also talented technicians, and even just heroes.
One of these heroes was Valera Kuznetsov from an earlier conscription, originally from Podolsk near Moscow, a graduate of the Moscow Aviation Institute.
One day, an inspection from Moscow came to the regiment. Inspectors at high ranks, accompanied by local commanders, went down into the missile silo, and then, as if on purpose, the unexpected happened - groundwater, unknown how it had broken through the defenses, poured into the mine premises!
The inspectors - pot-bellied guys - instantly found themselves at the top, and so did everyone else. And only when they were safe did everyone suddenly realize that if water broke into the shaft itself, where the fueled missile with a warhead stood, the consequences would be unpredictable. Only Valera Kuznetsov was not at a loss, he did not panic and did not rush up after everyone else, but remained in the mine. Not thinking about the danger threatening him, he, tearing his hands bloody, battened down the hatch to the missile silo and only then hurried out. The rocket was saved.
The accident was repaired, the hole was repaired, and the water was pumped out. And the head of the Moscow inspectors silently took the watch off his hand and gave it to Valera. No one offered him a medal for courage and bravery - no one was going to report to the top about the emergency that had happened - it was more expensive for themselves...
Failed brakes
Lieutenant Eldar Rafikov, a Tatar originally from the remote village of Verkhnyaya Tereshka, lived with me in a private apartment. He was younger than us, from the next draft after us.
He was assigned to serve in the RSD (missile installation department) of the 1st Division. He was a thin, slightly strange guy. We didn't notice anything outstanding in him. But one day he came back from the division all pale, as if taken down from the cross. We begged him for a long time to tell us what happened to him. And he told a terrible story.
It was necessary to transport a training rocket to the 2nd Division. If combat missiles are transported accompanied by security, and in front and behind the convoy are insured against car accidents by huge KRAZ vehicles, then the training missile was sent on an old tractor, driven by a young first-year soldier. Our Eldar was appointed senior to his cabin. In the army, soldiers did not travel independently, but were always accompanied by an officer. That's how it was supposed to be.
We left in the afternoon, through the window between the American satellites. The road to the 2nd Division lay along a plateau between endless poppy fields. And then, on one of the descents, the hydraulic brakes completely unexpectedly failed, and a multi-ton tractor with a huge rocket gradually accelerated downwards, sliding off the road towards the abyss. The soldier fell into a stupor, grabbed the steering wheel and froze, closing his eyes. Eldar, who was driving such a tractor for the first time in his life, tried to turn the steering wheel, but the hydraulics failed everywhere - both the brakes and the steering wheel did not work. Then the lieutenant tried to open his door - it turned out that there was no inside handle on his door!
And then Eldar climbed over the soldier and jumped out of the tractor through his door to the outside. Jumping down, he looked around in panic. A huge colossus with wheels the size of a man had already slid off the road and was rolling straight into the abyss.
For the death of a rocket, even a training one, one could end up in court - and this is a prison! In despair, Eldar threw his cap under the wheels - the tractor continued to drive. Then the overcoat - the tractor was driving. And then the young lieutenant, instantly looking around, noticed a huge stone fifty meters from the road and ran towards it. How he lifted him, how he dragged him, Eldar no longer remembered. He only remembered how he threw it under the front wheel of the tractor, and the multi-ton colossus finally stopped...
He pulled the shaking boy out of the cabin, sat down next to him, exhausted, and, clasping his face in his hands, began to sob...
Fallen warhead
Our regiment was equipped with outdated missiles, and therefore the equipment on it
the weapons were quite old. This inevitably led to various accidents. But sometimes they happened for other reasons. I remember one such incident for the rest of my life.
At night, a convoy of KrAZ trucks and security vehicles drove towards a secret railway station, where new missiles from the arsenal were to be brought in special carriages disguised as ordinary civilian ones. I, like several of my comrades, rode as the eldest in cars. Along a deserted road, accompanied by traffic police, we reached the station, attended the loading of missiles onto transport carts, and took them to another division. Having safely handed them over to our colleagues, we went to the officer’s hotel to get some sleep. And in the morning we learned that an emergency had occurred during the night.
When trying to attach a warhead to the rocket, the installer, in which the novice driver was sitting, turned over, unable to withstand the weight of the warhead, and it hit the concrete with all its might. They say it even struck a spark!
You can imagine a silent scene: everyone froze for one, most terrible, moment in fear, and then the commanders rushed with obscenities to inspect the fallen warhead, and then find out the causes of the accident and look for those to blame. A nuclear explosion, thank God, did not threaten us - there is protection not only against such accidents - they realized this almost immediately. But the warhead was dented. And this is already a judicial matter.
They began to find out WHY the installer overturned?! It turned out that the soldier forgot to place the crane on special stops that protect it from tipping over (or maybe they were simply faulty). And for some reason the senior officer didn’t remember about this either...
What to do here?! To report to the top about such an emergency would cause the heads of not only the regiment and division commander to fly, but also those of people with much bigger stars. Therefore, they kept silent about the accident - by general agreement, and punished one old major, the commander of the ESD, who was already preparing for retirement, by demoting him to captain and transferring him out of harm's way to another regiment. That's where the matter was hushed up...
War, especially nuclear war, never starts suddenly. There is always a certain period of deterioration in the political situation between rival countries, during which the command takes measures to save its nuclear potential. Realizing that the location of missile silos has long been known to both one side and the other, in order to save their missiles from a nuclear strike, our army created special combat readiness restoration units from improvised vehicles. At the pre-crisis moment, upon command from above, they had to go to specially designated points away from the missile silos, which would be targeted by a missile strike from a potential enemy, in order to then return to combat positions and try to restore dilapidated military installations and organize a retaliatory salvo. By the way, this is no longer a secret, the missiles of our Caucasian division were aimed at the northern cities of China, relations with which the USSR did not have very good relations in the 70s...
We had such an OVBG in our regiment. It included almost all the vehicles of the Regulation Group in which I had the honor to serve. But the trouble was that our regiment was old, and the vehicles in it were old and worn out. Of course, from time to time we received brand new cars, but such was the order in the brainless Soviet country that they were immediately sent along with the soldiers, as we used to say, to “virgin lands” - that is, to harvest the collective farm harvest somewhere in Siberia or the Urals. From there they returned broken into trash. It was on these half-dead machines that we were tasked with restoring the combat readiness of the nuclear forces of our beloved regiment.
These machines, to my misfortune, were registered with me as the head of the 4th crew of the Regulations Group. When my predecessor handed them over to me during the generously covered “clearing,” I still didn’t suspect anything, because even today I’m not very strong in automotive technology. But after “acceptance” it turned out that not every car has engines. Therefore, our VBG detachment, leaving for the next “training”, resembled a column of disabled people on crutches, only the crutches were rigid couplings on which cars with motors pulled cars WITHOUT motors.
It was terrible. But it was so, and we had to live with it...
I think that our combat readiness restoration detachment would have coped with the combat mission in any case, but not because, but DESPITE all the circumstances. Because there were people who served there who were not afraid of any difficulties.
And when leaving the regiment, I handed over my cars in the same way through a covered “clearing” to my replacement - young lieutenant Andryusha Kvas from the Kyiv Polytechnic. We officers trusted each other, and what difference did it make whether there were engines or not - we would still have to fight with what we had. I didn't come up with this...
Japanese truth
I was told, a long time ago, when I was still serving, that they saw a funny Japanese cartoon about our and American rocket scientists. For the Americans, everything in the cartoon was automated, everything was accurate and cool. But when they aimed the rocket at a large paper target (like the one at the shooting range), it took off and fell... next to the target, not reaching the target.
And then they showed our rocket scientists. Soviet officers in uniform with large red stars, dressed for some reason in windings and bast shoes, drank vodka and slurped cabbage soup from a common pot in some kind of wooden hut, apparently symbolizing the barracks. At the alarm signal, they quickly ran to the Soviet missile, opened its warhead like a lid and began to pour fuel inside with buckets, by eye. Then they raised the rocket with a rope thrown over a tree branch into a vertical position. Launch - and she hit EXACTLY the target!
Yes, that’s how it was, by and large...
And yet... Despite all these stupidities, accidents and absurdities, our army is alive. The Strategic Missile Forces are also alive. It is they, our formidable “troops that never fight” (and, God forbid, that they ever fight) who have kept and are keeping the arrogant Americans from imposing their will on the whole world. It is because of our missiles that there are no more world wars on the planet.
Let's remember this.
And I believe (I’m just SURE!) that our missiles will ALWAYS hit the target, despite all this past and present chaos in our country. Because guys like Valera Kuznetsov, Eldar Rafikov and Captain Tuzov served, are serving and will always serve in the “troops that do not fight”...
