Positive and negative aspects of military service. A little about the rules, regulations, hazing, waiting girls and life lessons in the army. How to contact with the world around you, but not bend under it.
Some shout: "I did not serve - not a man!", Others - "There is nothing to do there, the army still does not teach anything." Both those and others got tired of it, because both positions are fundamentally wrong.
Before my own conscription, I was extremely negative. It seemed to me an unreasonable restriction of my freedom, depriving me of the right to make my own choice. Honestly, I belonged to the second of the camps I have described completely and undividedly. The conscription into the army became unexpected for me, very chaotic and hit my nerves that he was a metal guy on the strings of a guitar.
The first two months I was on the verge of hysteria. Moral pressure from the officers, old-timers, the environment - all this brought many healthy guys to tears. The main thing here was to endure. Find yourself some kind of business that you can periodically do, distracting from the realities of the service at least for a short while. It is desirable that at the same time you can be alone with yourself (which is quite difficult in the army).
After that I got used to it. Resigned, but did not break. All that remained was to humbly wait for demobilization. And then he got into a permanent outfit for an officer from the military investigation. Immediately after that, serving became easier and more interesting.
But this is my personal case, but what happens in general.
The military unit, of course, can turn out to be good, bad, or so-so. The good parts are those where the weak spirit of military brotherhood still hovers, periodically making itself felt. Bad news: these are special-purpose units, for example, the Airborne Forces. There, young soldiers are treated exactly like young soldiers: they need to be taught, tempered and trained. It is physically difficult there, but the team is close-knit - the soldiers stand behind each other with a wall.
In the part where it is "so-so", everyone just doesn't give a damn about everything. Your business is only your business, the officers there do nothing all day, the soldiers for the most part, too. It's bad that the security is below the plinth, but at least no one touches it for no particular reason.
Finally, worst of all are the "exemplary" parts. This is where the real hell happens. It's like modern Russia in miniature: no one knows what they are doing and why, but they continue to do it. Hundreds of moronic rules, contradicting each other and having nothing to do with the charter, and tyrant officers, in strict accordance with the vertical of power, engaged in mental intercourse with the brain of their subordinates. Treating soldiers like trash. The attitude of soldiers to each other is like enemies. In such parts, they just go berserk. At the exit, these are no longer people - they are potential criminals, tired of bending under the system, but having learned to bend everyone around under the system.
It is true that soldiers in military units are beaten. And even worse. I've seen enough in the military investigation, believe me. I brought my own company commander under the same investigation. That the soldiers beat each other is also true, although here at least everything is somewhat more honest. The fact that immigrants from Dagestan and other southern republics throw themselves at the Russians with a knife - and this happened, I myself have not seen, I participated in the investigation. That's how lucky you are. Even serving in the Kremlin regiment will not protect you from this. On the contrary, the sons of all colonels and generals serve there, who could not beg their dads to cut them off, and the simple guys there, in general, have a hard time. It is simply scary for a normal guy to defend himself from beatings, if such happen. Judge for yourself: if you give it in the eye, and then you will be sent to the disbat for three years (longer - already in prison), and constant pressure on your family from some major general of the FSB or FSO.
There is no security at all. Even the regiment with the best food in all the Armed Forces can only boast of fruit for the holidays and for the sick, and also the fact that tea and coffee do not interfere with it. Theft is rampant in most parts. They steal everything and everything - from personal belongings to form details. It is considered the norm to steal gloves, a hat, a hairpin for a dress uniform, a cap, ankle boots, or even the entire uniform in such a part. Nobody even lifts a finger to change something. Unfortunately, no one is left with a choice - steal back. A couple of times you will be left without a hat at a critical moment, when you need to, for example, urgently run to the formation, and any pity about what you have done will disappear instantly.
Girls. Oh, it's fashionable for them to say that they want their boyfriend to serve. Believe it guys, yeah. 80% of employed guys are free in the first two weeks of the army. Another 10% abandon girls themselves during the service. But the remaining 10% are happy with their chosen ones for many years.
Smoothly moving on to the positive aspects. So, the army is a year-long emergency condition. It differs from the zone, as they say, in that everyone has the same term. Life in such conditions tempers. A person, this is the past, is mentally ready for any surprise. It is much more difficult to break it, it has a better understanding and is less worried about trifles. Yes, in most units they do not teach at all to defend the Motherland. But all the same, this is an invaluable experience that will come in handy in one way or another in life. Experience in communicating with people, resolving conflict situations, thinking outside the box. A person who has gone through the army will not be afraid of the boss's anger - what is the boss to him when the battalion commander yelled at him (and the battalion commanders seem to have time at least once, but yell at everyone)?
So, returning to the two camps indicated at the beginning.
"Not served - not a man" is usually said by those who served in the "good" units. Where it was interesting to serve. They are joined by those who, from the realization of their own demobilization, artificially inflated conceit. This is wrong: you don't have to serve in order to be a man. There, in general, with a certain amount of bad luck, you can stop being a man forever. One search colonel did not advise captains to drink with company commanders. Seriously, we need to take care of the rear. In the army it is generally better not to drink. Most of those who served in the "bad" units cease to be people altogether - before that they become embittered and inadequate. They fall under a system that is wrong beforehand.
Those who believe that there is nothing to do in the army are also wrong. Whatever they say, the expression "the army is a school of life" is correct. Although this realization comes after demobilization. Then all this is remembered with a grain of irony and humor. With one foot in the sink and the other gripping a toothbrush, I thought I looked like a complete idiot and was doing a pointless business. Now I laugh at this with my friends: this has happened. Will you surprise me now by cleaning the house or a broken alarm clock? Unlikely.
Whatever you do and wherever you go, the most important thing is to remain yourself and live according to your conscience. Resign yourself to the world around you, but do not bend under it.
And I learned this lesson from the army.
