MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax-AVN) - The commander of Russia's Airborne Forces has hailed an initiative by heads of higher education establishments that students undergo military training during their summer vacations.
This would serve to raise combat training standards in the armed forces, Col. Gen. Vladimir Shamanov argued on Monday.
"I take a positive attitude to it. It isn't a revelation that it was a somewhat hasty decision to go over to one-year draft service," he told reporters.
He explained that part of the one-year service plan was to enlarge the proportion of soldiers serving under a contract. However, this didn't happen, he claimed, putting the current proportion of soldiers doing contractual service at 35%.
Nor would students have to travel a long way from home to do their summertime training, according to Shamanov. "The majority of our units are located in large regional centers," the general said.
"During those three months [a student] would learn the profession, and we would simultaneously accomplish two tasks - accumulate mobilization resources, and one doesn't look for a reason to avoid serving. Eventually, both the state and the individual would win, and it's in our own interests as well," Shamanov said.