Monetization of Pants in the Armed Forces

In 2012 the Ministry of Defense will start selling military form which stands out free of charge now to own officers and sergeants-contract employees; they decided in the department that thanks to such measure military men would become more economical and would buy only qualitative clothes, "Izvestiya" informs on Tuesday.

To provide each military man with clothes the state budget spent from seven thousand roubles (sergeant-contract employee) to 57 thousand roubles (general) annually. Complete set of formal and daily military of the officer costs on average 10-12 thousand.

According to plans of the Minister of Defense, salaries of officers will be 50 thousand, 70 thousand and 120 thousand roubles a month 50 thousand a month (all lieutenants of the Russian army will receive 50 thousand a month).

Why not to sell military man cartridges as well? Why not? They will become even more economical, they won't fire but think first. You know, they fire bursts though it is possible to do it after all in single shots - each shot costs, by the way, a dollar to the budget.

It'll be good to force mechanics-drivers to spare diesel fuel - you went by tank for refueling and see that solar oil there costs a dollar. You will think then - to burn diesel fuel down in vain or to save. I don't speak about pilots - each launch-landing is a real ruin to the treasury. Why not to draw up the document according to which the technics will be given in rent on the basis of full liability as to the taxi drivers? You broke a car - pay, now your salary is not small now. Or make insurance - also at own expense, certainly.

Well, initiative of the management of the Black Sea Fleet is good, economical. There already today they let sailors go home for the weekends not to give food in vain.

By the way, why the budget should pay for a food of military men? Let them eat at own expense - may be armies will become more slimmer...

Sounds ridiculous? To me not so much because it's almost not a joke. As soon as logistics service ceased to be quite army one, they start think out innovations very reminding monetization of social benefits, when liberally thinking citizens decided to save on privileges to pensioners for the budget. We still remember 2005 - at the end the treasury paid for "economy" 5 times more than it planned to receive from it. Though then there was plenty of money, now - situation is not so good. While liberally thinking people, having reached the military budget, can have tons to do - no way to Zurabov with Golikova.

If in essence, the form is same workwear. If the state doesn't provide with it, the military man can wear what he wants, even to walk naked. Certainly, calculation of requirement of the officer in trousers and uniform coats is being conducted following the norms of "Arbat district" - liberally thinking heads of the military budget don't go to other districts. While in field conditions, especially in operations, the Russian army looks without it as a crowd of ragamuffins. Though we know that in fighting conditions the officer has other things to care - to carry out battle mission and thus whenever possible to remain alive. Or may be he should think how to save up his breeches which were bought for half a salary?

As to the increase of a monetary contentment of military men. Why it will happen since 2012, not earlier? Somehow one recollects the date of elections on one hand and precedent of pre-election increase of salaries to all in Belarus - on the other. There pre-election "distribution of benefits" poured out in scale crisis - in the same way scale reprisals which were to extinguish by and large discontent of citizens whose incomes after devaluation of the national currency became even less, than before "increase".

The Russian treasury already today has no means to execute all promises totally - the army is only an example of how just after the promise to raise the salary, they start economizing on trifles. There's only one way out here - to carry out rouble devaluation to level own unexpected generosity right after so-called "elections". Otherwise the balance simply doesn't converge.

Though there will be obvious economy thanks to trousers. One recollects at once as in 90s officers started demanding replacement of "rations" (from the Soviet period officers received rations by money) on real products - as during war time. "Monetization of trouser" will end similarly, but military men will still have problems with it...

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