MOSCOW, February 27 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country will keep a one-year draft and that it will not revise it. "The armed forces should be 100-percent staffed with privates and sergeants in 2013-2014." As before, conscripts will be drafted for one year; the term will not be revised, the president said at a meeting of senior Defense Ministry officials on Wednesday.
The share of professional servicemen in the army will be increasing. In this connection, it is necessary to launch the system of training of officers, sergeants and privates while taking into accounts the growing requirements for troops.
Also, the quality and intensity of combat training of each officer and commander should increase, along with the requirements to them.
"The combat training program should not be too soft, when even privates know six months in advance when a practice alert might sound; it should be as close as possible to reality, to the conditions of modern fighting. It implies actions in unfamiliar terrain, quick maneuvers to great distances and teaming up of various branches of troops.
The West 2013 drill should be arranged along such lines. "It's necessary to field-test new models of armaments, and check the troops control system and coordination of units and formations," the president said.