When a person first enters the army, it seems to him that he found himself in another world. Everything he meets in a new environment is so unlike, so the result is complete disorientation. One of these factors is inappropriate relationships. In other words, this phenomenon is called “hazing.”
Start service
A recruit torn from his usual environment does not immediately get into a combat unit. In order for him to get used to the new way of life, he is placed in the RMS (company of a young soldier). Here, for the first time, he learns to wind footcloths and make an army bed on a thread. Gets used to the regime of the day and begins to engage in physical and drill training.
In the RMS, all recruits are equal, with the exception of the sergeants, who are sent from the units where the recruits will serve further. The company of a young soldier is the only place where officers and sergeants strictly monitor relations in the team.
The reason for the close attention is that a young soldier who has just entered the military environment is still a person. And a person, as you know, can have his own opinion, views and is capable of independent actions. The manifestation of hazing during this period will lead to mass unauthorized abandonment of the unit and a decrease in disciplinary indicators.
But already here, the sergeants are gradually preparing the young for the idea that soon a combat unit awaits them, where they will have to realize their place in the hierarchy.
Elephants, spirits, scoops and other evil spirits
Depending on the military unit, the tacit hierarchy among the personnel and sergeants had several steps:
- Spirit - a soldier who has not yet taken the oath. This period lasts about 1.5 months.
- Elephant. In some military units, the transition to this level depends on the length of service, and in others - on the transfer to the reserve of demobilized, which entails an automatic increase in the ranking table.
- War Elephant. It does not occur everywhere. Dwells in the Airborne Forces and means that the soldier made the first parachute jump.
- Cherpak - a fighter who has served 1 year or more.
- Grandfather is the highest stage of evolution of a soldier.
- Demobilization is the same grandfather who served until the release of the order to transfer to the reserve.
Hazing between servicemen of these categories proceeds differently.
Tacit hierarchy
Mostthe disenfranchised are “elephants”. All duties were assigned to them. If in the RMS the soldiers are in a more or less equal position, then upon arrival in the unit, they become the most disenfranchised. Whatever happens in the company, the "elephant" will always be responsible for everything. Also, young people are forced to do the dirtiest work: washing toilets, corridors, called “take-offs” for their great length. When joining the outfit, recruits do all the work for themselves and for their "senior comrades". In addition, the young are assigned to the “grandfathers”, and their duties begin to serve the older call.
“School” is relieved of this burden. He does not carry out the instructions of the senior call, he can steer the “elephants” a little, but without fanaticism - after all, this is the privilege of the “grandfathers”.
Uncrowned Kings
The old-timers in the army are the main backbone of conscripts. They have a close-knit team during their service. Therefore, young soldiers have no opportunity to resist them. “Grandfathers” are doing everything so that the “elephants” are disunited. Therefore, the principle of “divide and rule” flourishes in the army.
Among other things, the old-timers know the structure of barracks life better and find their bearings easier, while the younger conscripts are completely confused for the first six months.
Correct hazing
This phenomenon existed in the days of the tsarist army. The soldiers served for 25 years and at the end of their service they became grandfathers not only in a figurative, but also in the literal sense. In addition, the position of the “grandfathers” imposed on themduty to help and train young soldiers.
In the modern army, training is shifted by officers to the shoulders of old-timers and sergeants. This becomes the main cause of hazing relationships. After all, old-timers are responsible to officers for the decrease in training indicators. And those, in turn, ask the young. How they know how: through beatings, humiliation, punishment by physical training.
Another reason for hazing lies in such a phenomenon as “education through the team”. This is an indirect method of influence, in which the officers impose punishment not specifically on the culprit, but on the entire personal and non-commissioned officers. It is not difficult to guess what will happen to the offender after the general punishment of the company. Undoubtedly, all the old-timers will take an active part. At the same time, the officers themselves will remain as if they had nothing to do with it. They acted according to the charter.
Why officers benefit from hazing
Such relations in the soldier's team are beneficial to the commanding staff. This allows shifting the lion's share of their duties to the old-timers. Ensigns - foremen of the company - especially zealously contribute to hazing. It is convenient when the appearance of discipline is maintained and orders are carried out. Therefore, the responsibility for hazing lies entirely with the commanders. It is they who allow the excesses of the old-timers, and also try not to wash dirty linen in public, covering lawlessness in parts.
Why are so many cases, except for the most egregious ones, not made public? From all sides, young soldiers are instilled with the idea ofthat in the event of an escape, a disbat awaits, and also that it will not be possible to prove the bullying of the elders: the younger draft is intimidated to testify in the event of a trial, and the older one is united to testify against his own draft. The precedent with the trial is not at all beneficial for officers and warrant officers: 90% of cases of disciplinary violations remain within the walls of military units.
Does “hazing” exist in our time
Currently, such a phenomenon as “hazing” has ceased to exist in the army. This happened due to a decrease in service life from two years to a year. After all, a clear superiority between soldiers occurs when the difference in conscription is from a year or more. But hazing between military personnel has not ceased to exist.
Now disciplinary violations are committed mainly by young guys prone to antisocial behavior. Moreover, the motives of the crimes are the same as those of the “grandfathers”: unwillingness to do dirty work and the desire to dominate in the team. By becoming a leader in a military society where discipline violations are “put on the brakes” by the senior command, the “authority” can wield power and we alth belonging to other military personnel.
However, it should be noted that the scale of disciplinary violations has decreased significantly, despite the fact that statistics say otherwise. The service life played an important role in this - to receive an article for hazing and a real term, when before entering the reservethere is not much left, no one wants to.
Crime and Punishment
The Committee of Soldiers' Mothers has played a major role in reducing violence in the army. After his active intervention in high-profile investigations, military prosecutors' hotlines began to be posted in the army units, where conscripts can turn for help. In addition, the committee constantly oversees military units, and also organizes weekend trips home for servicemen.
It has become mandatory to conduct morning examinations of soldiers for bodily injuries, bruises, abrasions.
Officially revealed incidents of violence in military units affect not only violators. The responsibility of military personnel for hazing is imposed on the chain from direct participants to commanders of subunits and military units. A disciplinary sanction can be imposed on the command staff not only in the form of a reprimand, but also to deprive them of bonuses and delay the receipt of the next military rank.
What should a soldier do if it became impossible to serve
Work to clarify the situations in which young soldiers may find themselves should be carried out from the school bench. Conscripts should clearly understand that they, once in the army, remain persons protected by law. Educational work should consist in explaining to future soldiers how to behave in case of violation of their rights. To stop bullying by colleagues you need:
- Inform the unit commander about the incident. This is at least the commanderplatoon. Despite the fact that the charter prohibits addressing through the head of the immediate superior. Sergeants in this case will not get rid of the problem, since they themselves are at the bottom of the army hierarchy.
- If the first point did not help, then contact the company commander.
- Submit a report requesting a transfer to another unit.
- Notify in writing the military police of the garrison of hazing. This option may not help as emails are read before being sent.
- Call the military prosecutor's hotline. This method is the most effective, but it should be used last. In this case, the legal liability of military personnel for hazing will be borne not only by colleagues, but also by all higher authorities.
In the case of a call to the military prosecutor's office, each appeal is considered and a decision is made on it. A soldier has the right to defend his rights in all possible ways.
