MOSCOW/ROSTOV-ON-DON. May 20 (Interfax-AVN) - Substantial changes may be made to the system of bonuses for participation in combat operations to which servicemen at war in the North Caucasus are entitled, a competent source in the Defense Ministry told Interfax-Military News Agency on Monday.
"Correspondence on the matter has been maintained for a long time between the North Caucasus military district command and General Staff," the source said.
According to him, the district's commander Colonel General Gennady Troshev insists on sooner solution of the problem, as he is the person that has to deal closely with the issue.
Financiers of the district headquarters say the main problem is that the federal 2002 budget does allocate money for payment of bonuses for participation in combat, but military operations involve more people than it was expected by drafters of the budget.
Under current circumstances, the district command suggests total abolition of the bonuses or their differentiation. If the latter scenario is approved, the group commander will be paid the highest bonus and all other participants in the operation will get smaller bonuses depending on their obligations. In particular, a regiment commander's bonus will amount to 70 percent of the group commander's bonus, that of a battalion commander to 60 percent and that of a company commander to 50 percent.
At present a private and a battalion commander get roughly equal bonuses, which is unjustified taking into account the difference in their responsibilities.
The Defense Ministry has not made any decisions concerning the district command's proposal, but considers it "in serious," as officials of the ministry are tired of solving the problem of non-payment of combat bonuses, the source stressed.