A former United States general
predicted Russia’s newly announced conscription will be a ‘disaster’, just
as Google searches for ‘How to break an arm at home’ rocket in the
country since Vladimir Putin announced the new measure.
Mark Hertling, formerly an
Army lieutenant general specializing in troop training, took to Twitter today
to explain that Russia’s barely existent military training program is sure to
spell further disaster for Russia in their sputtering invasion of Ukraine.
‘Putin’s announced
mobilization of 300,000 ‘reservists’ was jaw-dropping to me this morning, but
not for the reason some might suspect,’ Hertling tweeted, ‘Why? Because [sic]
know how Russian soldiers are trained, in basic training & in their units.’
Hertling went on to explain
how the US Army drills about 150,000 recruits per year in ten weeks of rigorous
basic training, then send them off to specialized training before the troops
‘report to their units ready to be integrated into the specific mission.’
In the Russian army, however,
Hertling said recruits often receive no basic training at all and are sent
straight to their units where they receive training that sometimes lasts
only a handful of days.
Meanwhile, Russians seem to
agree with Hertling’s assessment of their front-line prospects, as Google
searches for ‘как сломать руку в домашних условиях’ – which translates to
‘how to break an arm at home’ – skyrocketed in the country mere hours after
Putin announced he was conscripting 300,000 citizens to join his invasion of
Ukraine.
Hertling said he previously
visited Russia and saw their basic training, which he described as ‘awful.’
‘During 2 visits to RU, I saw
basic & unit training. It was awful,’ he wrote, ‘Familiarization versus
qualification on rifles, rudimentary first aid, very few simulations to
conserve resources, and… most importantly…horrible leadership by ‘drill
sergeants.”
‘The issue is the Russian army
is poorly led & poorly trained. That starts in basic training, and doesn’t
get better during the RU soldier’s time in uniform.’
‘Mobilizing 300k ‘reservists’
(after failing with depleted conventional forces, rag-tag militias…)’
Hertling argued Russia’s
rushed training process coupled with their use of questionable recruits was
sure to spell disaster for their offensive.
‘…recruiting prisoners &
using paramilitaries like the Wagner group) will be extremely difficult,’ he
wrote.
‘And placing
“newbies” on a front line that has been mauled, has low morale &
who don’t want to be portends more RU disaster. Jaw-dropping. A new sign of RU
weakness.’
