MOSCOW. July 6 (Interfax-AVN) - The number of non-combat deaths is growing in the structures of force, where military service is required by law, said the Public Chamber's commission on war veterans, servicemen and their family members.
"Despite some positive dynamics, the results of the analysis of non-combat deaths in the first quarter of this year are still discouraging. In general, the total number of deaths among servicemen rose from 197 (in the first quarter of 2008) to 227 (in the first quarter of 2009), which is an increase by more than 15%," commission chairman Alexander Kanshin told Interfax-AVN on Friday.
The rise in non-combat losses is due primarily to their 40% increase in Russian Federal Security Service's Border Troops and an 11% increase in the Russian Armed Forces.
"We are alarmed by the growing number of servicemen killed in car crashes, accidents, and as a result of negligent handling of a weapon," Kanshin said.
This indirectly proves how ill organized the military training of young men is both in the civilian and army service, he said.
"At the same time, there is a positive aspect as well: a decrease in suicides in the army. Oddly enough, the FSB Border Troops were the only exception here," Kanshin said.