08 June 2004 12:26
War game shows Russian army move from reorganization to combat training
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Moscow, 8 June: The Mobilnost-2004 exercise to start in Russia soon "proves that the army is shifting from
reorganization to regular combat training", Viktor Zavarzin, chairman of the State Duma's Defence Committee,
told Interfax- Military News Agency on Tuesday [8 June]. "Mobilnost-2004 is a follow-on of the large-scale
exercises and command post exercises started within the armed forces last year," he said.
He also said that "there are some peculiar features of the manoeuvres to be held: they will deal with the
mobility issues of the armed forces and their capability to airlift detachments and larger units to various regions of
the country". According to him, these issues are very important now that the armed forces have been radically
reduced as compared to those of the USSR. "Given the current economic situation in the country, we cannot afford to
keep large groups of forces in all strategic theatres. Therefore, mobility turns out to be vital," Zavarzin
emphasized. "During the exercise we will work through the liaison among branches and services of the army and also
check the mobilization capabilities of the country, for example, in the sphere of cooperation of military and civilian
organizations for transporting military units," the legislator said.
[Interfax-AVN military news agency web site] |
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