There is a different combat readiness. Its degrees differ significantly in those activities that every soldier, unit of equipment, unit, and so on, must perform for a specific period. There are certain exceptions (behavior in different situations for certain types of troops). Nevertheless, for the most part, willingness concerns the vast majority of employees, significantly affecting their actions, equipment, weapons, and in some cases even their emotional and mental state.
What is combat readiness?
There is a very simple definition of what combat readiness is. Degrees, features, preliminary preparation - all this is very important, but the fact itself is much more significant. So, by this concept they mean the ability of a certain unit, army, group of forces to begin to perform its immediate functions. There are various standards for response time, which directly depends on the specific type of equipment used, the characteristics of the department and so on. But all of them are required to be carried out strictly on time. Any delay will be punished, and there is also a difference. The higher the alert, the more severe the punishment for misconduct.
Factors
There are a number of signs that directly affect the readiness of units, regardless of whether they are Russian tanks, aircraft or infantry units. So, one of these factors is the provision of reserves. It implies absolutely all types of property that may only be needed for warfare, from dry rations to ammunition, fuel, communication systems, and so on. In this case, their actual presence is taken into account.
The second factor is the equipment. This includes the number of soldiers in accordance with the staffing list, etc. To put it simply, we can put it this way: will there be enough employees to make the helicopter, plane, armored personnel carrier or any other equipment go / fly and be able to fight?
Next comes the technical condition factor. It is understood that all property, objects, equipment, weapons, and so on, must be in good condition. This also includes equipment options. That is, are the soldiers armed with modern weapons, or will they be forced to go hand-to-hand attack.
The fourth factor is the training of command personnel. Will the employees managing the units be able to adequately respond to the situation and fight.
The fifth factor is the moral readiness of troops to act in battle.
Sixth and last is considered to be how trained personnel are. That is, can soldiers even shoot, can they act as part of a group, and so on.
Maintaining readiness
Naturally, separate training is needed to increase combat readiness. The degrees here may also be different, but for the most part they simply take into account whether this or that training is carried out in a timely manner and in full, or not. So, soldiers are taught to walk in formation, hit the target, perform engineering work, react to chemical attacks, they are taught the basics of tactics, they are developed physically and so on. This is only a short list of possible types of training designed to maintain the desired level of combat readiness. The same item includes various types of exercises, the education of soldiers, their psychological preparation for completing tasks, and so on.
Not the least role is played by the system of rewards and punishments. She, working correctly and stably, strongly motivates an individual employee. Also, one should not forget about regular maintenance of equipment, intelligence work, providing parts with everything necessary and the like. It is from such small or large factors that the general combat training of both one particular unit and the entire group of forces of the country as a whole develops.
External features
All that was mentioned above applies only to those items that can be performed directly by employees. However, there are other factors that are not directly related to them, but on which the combat training as a whole and the level of combat readiness in particular depend. It is very important that the country's transport system is as efficient as possible. The state must be able to wage war for a long time. All parts must be re-equipped in a timely manner. The army itself as a structure must look strictly positive in the eyes of the majority of the population. And, of course, all this should be allocated a sufficient amount of funds. Partly, some of the factors can be influenced by the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation and other equally high-ranking officials directly interested in solving problems. However, ordinary soldiers here can not do anything. For example, in part, excellent training can be carried out in all directions. The employees will be just great. But if you do not give them modern weapons, do not allocate funds for development, and so on, then there will not be much use from such training.
Constant readiness
As mentioned above, there is a different combat readiness. Its degrees differ from each other very significantly. The simplest, ordinary and standard is called - "permanent". It represents the most classic unit operating mode. That is, it is in this state every day. The military unit is engaged in training, training, conducts scheduled maintenance of equipment and so on. A helicopter, an airplane and other combat units carry out training flights, and life goes on. Naturally, even in this state, a part is obliged to be able to protect itself and in which case at least somehow start to fight. Among other things, it is the most economical form in terms of resource costs that can be on alert. A constant, stable and thoughtful sequence of actions is not violated by anything, and everything is going as planned.
Increased
This is the second degree, which already has certain differences from constant readiness. So, the entire composition of the unit is collected, if necessary, it is understaffed to the required level. Also, increased combat readiness implies the need to check all available equipment, weapons and the like equipment. It will be necessary to further focus on combat coordination. A combat readiness check of such a level will also have to reveal that the unit is completely ready to change its current situation, all the material stocks are in the right quantity, and the transport is quite enough to move the army unit. The transition to this mode of operation automatically leads to a much more significant cost of funds, and therefore it is most often resorted to only within the framework of exercises.
Danger
Under this concept appears the third degree of readiness. Its name is somewhat different from the rest, but the essence remains the same. High alert officially sounds like a “military danger,” and that would be a more correct name. It begins with the fact that a combat alert is declared. Immediately after this, the unit is obliged to carry out the following actions: it will go to the point of concentration of troops, get food, communications, ammunition, protective equipment there and organize guard guard. This applies to any combat arms. For example, Russian tanks will have to advance to the right place, where they will receive ammunition, will be refueled, and so on. The same is true for the remaining types of units, no matter what they are. Naturally, all data and information for a specific destination is strictly classified. The cost of funds in such a situation will be even more significant than in the two previous cases.
Full combat readiness
This is the last degree. Most often, a certain district is checked. Nevertheless, the announcement of such readiness throughout the country may be the last step before the immediate outbreak of hostilities. All units are required to advance to pre-specified positions, receive their own missions, deploy available weapons and proceed to combat protection. This applies to all employees, starting from the very last soldier and ending with such a high post as the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation. This is the most expensive level of preparedness in terms of financing, and therefore it is used only in exceptional cases. In particular, for the implementation of global audits. Only some units operate in this mode on an ongoing basis, but this is already a mandatory security requirement of any country in the world.
Features of the military branches
Considering the features of possible military operations in the modern world, when a strike can follow at any moment and simply does not give an opportunity to react in time, some types of troops are always in full readiness. They are always as complete as possible, are in the right positions and so on. Naturally, combat training and the like are also carried out, which are characteristic of other, ordinary, units. However, if necessary, such a unit is able to start responding immediately. Such categories include radioengineering, border, missile and anti-aircraft forces.
Elite units
Some parts of the army are more privileged. But not in the sense that they live better than anyone else, but in what they are most asked of. Such units are also in full combat readiness all the time. In principle, this is not a completely correct term, since, in fact, they are located in their places of deployment and some elements inherent in this degree are not inherent in them, but if necessary, they, like missile defense troops, can instantly begin the fight. These include special forces, protection of heads of state, strategic troops, and so on. The combat readiness of units of this type is so high that it is almost impossible for an ordinary employee to join the staff of such a detachment. Only the best ones are selected, who have shown excellent results in all respects, who have the right vision, a stable psyche, and so on. Many military personnel would like to serve in elite units, but not everyone has been given this for one reason or another.
Mobilization readiness
This concept also refers to the armed forces, but the state as a whole plays the main role here. This type of readiness means the country's general readiness for war, the availability of personnel reserves, means, weapons, strategic resources, and so on. That is, this is not a direct indicator of how quickly a country can start fighting, it reveals how long it will last. For example, a country’s entire army is capable of immediately starting hostilities. But mobilization readiness is extremely low. As a result, if the war starts, the army will be able to immediately open fire, but will not be able to continue to do so for a long time. That is, in such a situation, the emphasis is on lightning capture and achievement of goals. In the opposite case, if the army is not too prepared, but huge mobilization reserves are accumulated, the country will be able to turn the tide in its favor after a certain time, when the enemy’s resources run out.
Combat duty
This is the most basic type of event in part during full readiness. So, in a normal situation, it consists of a guard and garrison service, as well as guarding the territory. But in case of military operations it is also supplemented by combat and guard guards. Sometimes a curfew is added. Combat duty performs such functions as constant monitoring of the situation, protection of military installations (from external and internal problems), and so on. In addition, exercises are being conducted with all employees on the topic of vigilance and the adequacy of decisions in a variety of situations that could theoretically occur. All this is aimed at hindering the work of reconnaissance of the enemy with maximum efficiency and in no case prevent his sudden attack.
Different countries
Features of preparation for certain actions can vary quite a lot in different countries. It depends, first of all, on the state itself, and only on the second - on its armed forces. For example, if a country has not fought for a very long time and, in principle, is not going to do this, then the degree of preparedness may be different. That is, the same situation in North Korea and Switzerland will lead to completely different reactions. It is believed that the better trained the soldiers, the less time it takes to fully prepare for an immediate war. But in fact, given that after the Second World War there were no more global conflicts, it’s absolutely impossible to say for sure now. Most experts agree that if this happens again, then all countries that have nuclear weapons will simply exchange blows and humanity will cease to exist after that. During that time, while this will happen, not a single standard part will have time in any way more or less adequately respond to the situation and even more so nothing can do.
Total
In general, all of the above related to the performance of service during the Soviet era and remains relevant today. Some items or features are subject to change. Naturally, in order to combat the intelligence of other countries, they are not reported. In general, all the complexes of measures taken with an increase in combat readiness for each new stage are becoming more and more rigid and aimed at the immediate reaction of the units to the emerging threat. How effective will they be in the event of such a need? One can only hope that the world will never know about it.