MOSCOW. July 23 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Armed Forces Chief-of- Staff Anatoly Kvashnin will inspect the 31st separate airborne brigade stationed in the city of Ulyanovsk this week, supposedly on Thursday to Friday, a competent source in the Defense Ministry told Interfax-Military News Agency.
"The aim of the two-day inspection trip is to check combat readiness" in the permanent-readiness brigade that is under command of Colonel Nikolai Nikulnikov, the source said.
According to him, the commission led by Kvashnin will focus on the progress in the correction of drawbacks in combat and airborne training and organization of guard-duty that were exposed by a special General Staff commission in March. It arrived in the brigade to investigate the desertion of two servicemen, who had killed a total of 10 people including six policemen while being on the loose.
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov punished several commanders and chiefs responsible for the organization of service and combat training and the state of military discipline in the brigade as a result of the first inspection. In particular, Airborne Commander Georgy Shpak and Airborne Chief-of-Staff Lieutenant General Nikolai Staskov were reprimanded.