Hungry soldier is like a machine gun without cartridges

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense only after the end of hostilities in Karabakh recalled the law on state secrets.

“In recent days, social networks show videos that undermine the authority of the Azerbaijani Army and darken our victory in the Patriotic War, and various biased comments have been purposefully written to them. Thus, violating the relevant requirements of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On State Secrets", information about our army is being disseminated, and unreliable news undermines the authority of our servicemen," reads the statement of the Ministry of Defense published on December 23. It is a reaction to the videos of soldiers increasingly appearing on the social network about the terrible living conditions of the field army.

The ministry notes that "the check revealed minor negatives" in the rear support of the army, and the guilty suppliers were allegedly punished; but it is not reported who they are. The people know their heroes who forged the victory, whose names no one hides. Why does not the Defense Ministry publish the names of those who poorly supplied the heroes and thereby undermined the combat readiness of the army? The supply of soldiers, their maintenance in combat conditions is an indispensable condition for the level of combat readiness and the success or failure of a combat operation depends on it.

If there are only minor negatives in supplies for the army, then why did the “Bravo” chain of markets start doing this? Why should “Bravo” fill the supply gaps, and the voyages of their representatives were widely covered in the media?

Because of violations of the law on state secrets, the conditions for which created the Ministry of Defense, everyone who monitored the war could receive a lot of information about the moral and psychological state of the Armed Forces, discipline, and the preparedness of military personnel. From the first days of the war, video on various contents were distributed on the network.

Why did the Ministry of Defense allow the use of mobile phones in the army, and even more, in combat conditions? The Defense Ministry saw this and did nothing, because everything that was posted on the network was done in violation of the law on state secrets. On the other hand, if such stories did not appear, then how could society learn about the negatives in the army? Their current elimination would be impossible with all the ensuing consequences leading to defeat.

I think that in cases of undermining the combat readiness of the armed forces, threatening the health of servicemen, ignoring negative signals by the command, the soldier has the right to make problems public domain, and thus eliminate the threat.

What we could see thanks to the amateur videos of the soldiers. Every touch is important here, because each of them is information. How the soldier is dressed, how he is equipped, his shoes are clean or not, whether he is shaved, how he communicates, how he behaves on the front line, what he eats, what he sleeps on.

I have discovered for myself that our army, with the exception of special forces, has made little progress from the semi-partisan army of the early 90s. Lack of uniformity, low discipline, familiarity. I never noticed dry rations, a camp kitchen, and thermoses for hot food. All this appeared after the complaints of the soldiers. Throughout the war, on numerous videos on the net, I have not seen raincoats, army tents, or a field bath. People sleep anywhere, do not eat in accordance with the standards, and cook themselves. Modern requirements for the nutrition of soldiers in difficult, stressful conditions of war require from 4500 to 5000 kcal per day per person. Did the soldier get such calories? I doubt it.

In a modern army, a soldier should not starve, should not sleep in the rain, in the cold under the open sky. It may happen only in exceptional cases, but not in our case. In this case, he is no longer the soldier who can and is capable of following orders. There is a saying that clearly reflects the picture: A hungry soldier is like a machine gun without cartridges.

The question also arises of where the relevant state structures controlling the execution of laws and standards in the army look. That is, they have also shown their inefficiency or dependence on a system of mutual guarantee.

In such a situation, proceeding from the security of the state, one of the pillars of which is the army, it is necessary to consider the use of civilian control in the Armed Forces (real, not fake), which is an important guarantee of avoiding negatives. It is necessary to create various control institutions: a special department to control the army, parental committees, specialized NGOs and ensure their interaction.

P.S. Məqaləni bitirdikdən sonra YouTube-da hərbi qulluqçunun cəbhə arxasındakı həmvətənlərinə videomüraciəti qarşıma çıxdı. Əlində avtomatla hamıya Yeni İli necə qarşılamalı olduqlarını, Yeni İl yolkası qurub-qurmamağı diktə edirdi. Təkcə bir şey aydın deyildi: O, Müdafiə Nazirliyi adından danışırdı, ya səngər yoldaşlarının adından? Amma başqa bir şey aydın idi: Əli silahlı insan siyasətə qayıdır. İstər Müdafiə Nazirliyi ilə, istərsə də onsuz - bunun artıq əhəmiyyəti yoxdur.