KNOW THE ARMY LOGISTICS

Red Star. September 23, 2008. By Anatoly Dokuchaev

"Logistic Support Facilities" is a new, seventeenth volume in the "Russia's Arms and Technologies. The XXI Century Encyclopedia" series published under the general editorship of the Russian Federation Defense Ministry Anatoly Serdyukov. The edition has been compiled by logistic experts of the Russian Armed Forces and by staff members of the Publishing House "Arms and Technologies".

The readers are introduced to the complete spectrum of facilities used by the Logistics of the Russian Armed Forces. The book describes in brief the forces and means intended to provide material, transport, veterinary and sanitary, trade, welfare and other types of supports to carry out the set of measures for keeping the permanent operational and mobilization readiness of troops. "Given the specific structural changes currently underway within the Armed Forces of Russia, — notes Nikolai Spassky, Director General and Editor-in-Chief of the Publishing House "Arms and Technologies", — special attention is given to improvements in the logistical support system and introduction of new facilities to support units and elements, particularly in matters of food and clothing supply and fuel deliveries".

The book is prefaced with a program article by General of the Army Vladimir Isakov, Chief for the Logistics of the Russian Federation Armed Forces and Deputy Defense Minister of the Russian Federation, entitled "Guidelines for Improving the Logistical Support System of the Russian Federation Armed Forces". As far as the materiel of the logistical support system as such is concerned, this takes up most of the 616-page, well-illustrated edition. Its 18 sections present the facilities of special troops and logistic services, including the Logistics Staff of the Armed Forces, the Railway Troops, the Central Road Building and Motor Vehicles Directorate of the Russian Federation Defense Ministry, the Central Propellant and Fuel Directorate of the Russian Federation Defense Ministry, the Central Food Directorate of the Russian Federation Defense Ministry and the Central Clothing Directorate of the Russian Federation Defense Ministry.

Introduced first to the reader is the Staff of the Logistics Service of the Armed Forces, the central logistical command and control authority. Its capabilities include the "Center" automated control system of the Logistics Service, which is integrated in the ACS of the same name for the Armed Forces and has interfaces with other automated control systems of the Defense Ministry. A mobile automation complex has been developed and brought into service to provide support at the operations and troops levels. The reader familiarizes himself with the information system intended to fit out automation complexes and improve the efficiency and quality of information support in decision-making by the military command and control bodies of the army logistics. Described in details are the I-300 data exchange complex, the MT-65 staff vehicle for the chief of the logistics (armament) service — deputy commander of the front (army) troops for logistics (armament), the MT-66 staff vehicle for chiefs of the front and army logistics (armament) services, the MT-513 mobile computer complex for the front (army) logistical control post and other facilities. The section also includes the PKTO comprehensive logistical support train. To the author of this review, the most interested item in this section was the mobile type cantonment complex (there is such, it turns out) designed to provide accommodation and welfare services for personnel of a motor-rifle battalion or an equivalent subunit during long-term field deployment (for more than 6 months) or when the construction of a stationary cantonment is economically unreasonable.

Shown encyclopedically are the Railway Troops, which include the command of the troops, control departments of railway corps, separate railway brigades (of reduced strength), part of personnel of railway brigades, military units, research institutions, organizations and military educational establishments for occupational training. Lieutenant General Sergey Klimets, Commander of Railway Troops, introduces the reader to the development prospects of the troops, and Major General Viktor Poplavskiy, Chief of the 61st Research and Testing Institute (of Railway Troops), tells about the activities of this institute. There are also articles on the scientific achievements and new designs used to build systems of facilities and advanced managerial technologies.

There is a broad spectrum of field machinery presented. These include track-laying machines (the ZS-500 length laying assembler, the ZS-500M mobile railway length assembler, the PB-3M tractor track-layer and others), bridge equipment (in range from the MLZh-VF-VT unified float railway ribbon bridge to the KSM-K sand drying and screening machine), repair means, diagnostic and measuring equipment, water-supply systems, portable ACS facilities and special trains (up to 40 units in total).

Lieutenant General Fedor Aleksakov, Chief of the Central Road Building and Motor Vehicles Directorate of the Russian Federation Defense Ministry, tells about the state and development prospects of the road building and motor vehicles service's materiel. In Russia, the necessity to organize road support of troops emerged with the formation of the regular Russian army. It was as early as in 1724 that training of road and bridge building and maintenance personnel was begun in St. Petersburg. The creation of the first motorized squads within the Russian army in 1906 gave birth to automotive support of troops. At present time, automobile formations and units carry annually over 10 million tons of various military cargoes. Daily, more than 100,000 motor vehicles are involved in transportation. The forces and means of road troops are responsible for recovery of bridges across water obstacles in combat areas and during natural disaster response activities.

The volume presents high-level and low-level portable road bridges, portable floating road bridges and special ferries, pile drivers, traffic control facilities and road maintenance machinery. The reader can familiarize himself in detail with each facility and see it in respective illustrations. Thus, the TARM tactical portable road enables rapid erection and recovery of low-level bridges across water obstacles of up to 50 m wide and up to 3 m deep, shallow canyons and eroded road banks. The NARM portable floating road bridge can be used to erect bridge crossings of the capacity 60 t and the length 225 m, as well as ferry crossings of the capacity 40, 60, 90 and 120 tons.

The modern state and development prospects of the Fuel Service are analyzed by Lieutenant General Viktor Kauk, Chief of the Central Propellant and Fuel Directorate. Noteworthy is that the use of fuels, lubricants and special fluids by the military dates back to the years of World War I. In 1914–1918, Russian army had in service up to 10 thousand automobiles, 700 airplanes and 300 armored vehicles. The annual consumption of fuel was over 2 thousand tons of motor petrol and up to 450 tons of aviation petrol. Nowadays, the fuel service is an indispensable component of Russian army and fleet. The encyclopedia volume introduces 43 units of fueling and fuel transportation facilities (propellant transports, multi-service fueling trucks, field fueling points, aircraft servicing trucks, beach ship refueling facilities and others), 7 models of field trunk and depot pipelines, 16 models of propellant and rocket fuel transfer facilities and 6 models of propellant and rocket fuel storage facilities.

Logistic services place special emphasis on food supply, primarily on improving the organization and quality of personnel catering. Most promising in this field is organization of catering through public catering establishments on a competition basis. At present time, such scheme is used to provide catering for 34 units, where nearly 32,000 personnel are messed at canteens. This brings about a reduction in the number of servicemen distracted from training exercises for canteen duties (over 800 daily). To improve the quality and nutritional balance of food, new food ration allowances were introduced on 1 January 2008, these taking a more full account of the physiological demand for food substances and energy for different groups, as well as medical and technical requirements to the food ration allowances. There is one interesting fact to this. The work done last year resulted in the development of a mountain food ration, field tests of which were conducted during an ascent of the Elbrus (5,642 m) by a highland motor-rifle company during a tactical exercise with the 33rd (highland) separate motor-rifle brigade. The readers are introduced not only to means of cooking, transporting and taking meals, but also to personnel rations (combat, day-to-day, emergency, survival and others). Major General Yury Burdyug, Chief of the Central Food Directorate of the Russian Federation Defense Ministry, tells about the state and development prospects of the food service's facilities.

As far as clothing support of personnel is concerned, a note should be made that uniform has always been the basis for development of discipline and order in servicemen of this country's army. Given the social significance of this, a new uniform has been recently developed for Russian servicemen. It was presented to Russian President on 28 January 2008 and was approved by him for subsequent adoption. We learn from the book that special equipment and outfit has been developed for personnel of special-task formations and units (including for two highland motor-rifle brigades in the North-Caucasian Military District). Expected to appear soon are new cast-sole combat boots to excel in quality the footwear currently worn by soldiers by an order of magnitude. Major General Anatoly Krivouz, Chief of the Central Clothing Directorate of the Russian Federation Defense Ministry, tells about the state and development prospects of the clothing service's facilities. Of much interest are equipments and clothes, and still more interesting are uniform models, including advanced special clothing.

Also presented to the reader is a broad and complete range of means for the fire fighting, rescue and local defense service, the veterinary and sanitary service, the Directorate of the Chief of the Environmental Safety of the Russian Federation Armed Forces. The book shows the activities by the Central Military Transportation Directorate of the Russian Defense Ministry, the General Trade Directorate of the Defense Ministry, the Farming Directorate of the Defense Ministry and some other logistic organizations. Military educational establishments of the Logistics of the Armed Forces and the Railway Troops are also told about.

I cannot but say (for a reader with an interest in military issues) that the book also contains information on the museums of the Logistic Service of the Russian Federation Armed Forces, including the Museum of Railway Troops in Shchelkovo, Moscow Region, the Museum of the Fuel Service of the Russian Armed Forces in Narofominsk, Moscow Region, the Museum of the Food Service of the Armed Forces in Monino, Moscow Region, and the Museum of Russian, Soviet and Foreign Military Uniforms in Shchelkovo, Moscow Region. The edition's closing section is devoted to the major enterprises and organizations operating for the interests of the logistics service.

The classification of military motor vehicles is based on the Unified Classifier of Items of the Russian Armed Forces which has been developed by the Defense Ministry and is parametrically compatible with foreign analogs.

To cut it short, the new volume provides a full account of the modern and future level of the logistical support facilities based on state-of-the-art knowledge-intensive and high technologies.