Most people who are not related to the army have a very vague idea of ensigns, which has developed on the basis of watching television series or once heard anecdotes. For them, an ensign is, at best, an enterprising businessman in uniform who, on occasion, "will not miss his own", and at worst, a kind of stupid drinker.
But in fact, everything is not so at all.
Ensign: the meaning of the word
The history of the word "ensign" goes back to the Church Slavonic language, in which the banner was called the "ensign". Therefore, an ensign is a person carrying a banner. But the word "banner" comes from the lexeme "know". Other words, such as “meaning”, “familiar”, also came from him. Therefore, the banner is an attribute elevated to the level of a symbol, by which the belonging of a military unit, its “face” was determined. Going into battle, the standard-bearer was always ahead of the advancing army, carrying a banner. Moreover, in the event of the loss of the battle banner, the military unit to which it belonged was disbanded with disgrace. Therefore, the bravest and strongest people, both physically and morally, were selected for such an honorable mission.
Ensign as a military rank
Military rank"ensign" was first introduced in 1649 by the second of the tsars of the Romanov dynasty - Alexei Mikhailovich. Moreover, this title was an award, which had to be earned on the battlefield with one's valor, dedication and courage. But Peter I, the son of Alexei Mikhailovich, who succeeded him on the royal throne, when creating his new regular army, transformed the rank of ensign into a military rank in 1712. Now the youngest of the officer ranks in the infantry and cavalry has become so called.
In 1884 things changed again. The title of "ensign" ceased to be the first among officers. In the active army, he was replaced by a "second lieutenant" ("cornet" in the cavalry). However, as an officer rank, he was retained for the reserve military and the Caucasian police. Also, the title of "ensign" could be assigned to soldiers who particularly distinguished themselves during the hostilities.
Since 1886, junior military ranks had the opportunity to get the rank of warrant officer by passing special exams, but after that, already being in the "reserve", they had to undergo an annual one and a half month military training.
The next changes with the possibility of obtaining a rank occurred during the reign of Nicholas II. In 1912, the monarch approved a provision that allowed the assignment of the rank of ensign to cadets of military and special schools in the event of their accelerated release (after 8 months of training) in connection with mobilization into the army.
Thus, during the war of 1914-1918, the "early"ensigns formed the basis of the commanding staff, leading small units or machine-gun crews.
55 years without ensigns
With the coming to power of the Bolsheviks (1917), the military rank of "ensign" was abolished, as, indeed, all other military ranks. Interestingly, the first Supreme Commander of the Red Army after the 17th year was N. V. Krylenko, who under Nicholas II was just an ensign.
55 years the Soviet army existed without the institute of warrant officers, and only on January 1, 1972, by order of the USSR Ministry of Defense, this title returned to the country's armed forces. The military department considered that the positions occupied by foremen and junior lieutenants could be occupied by a separate category of military personnel - ensigns (midshipmen in the navy). Thus, it turned out that the ensign is a separate type of military personnel who are neither soldiers nor officers, but at the same time clearly marked the border between them.
Another attempt to get rid of ensigns
In December 2008, Anatoly Serdyukov, who at that time was the Minister of Defense, again decided to liquidate the institution of ensigns, hoping that they could be replaced by contract sergeants with higher education. At the same time, he dismissed from the ranks of the Russian Armed Forces about 140,000 military men with the rank of "ensign". But Sergei Shoigu, who replaced Serdyukov in April 2013, reversed this decision.
However, especially for warrant officers it wasreworked the staffing table with a special wish of the new Defense Ministry - "no warehouses and bases".
New staffing for ensigns
Designed specifically for ensigns (midshipmen), the new staffing included about a hundred posts, all of which were "combat". Which were generally divided into two groups:
- Commanders (commanders: platoons, battle groups, combat post, vehicles).
- Technical (electrician, head of the radio station, head of the repair shop, head of the technical unit, etc.).
That is, all the positions that Serdyukov decided to make sergeants from December 1, while absolutely not taking into account the fact that they require special secondary vocational education. The Ministry of Defense, under the leadership of Shoigu, corrected this by giving positions for the sergeant staff, which correspond to their prof. training (commander of a squad, combat vehicle, deputy commander of a platoon, etc.).
But even without warehouses still not done. The position of "warehouse manager" for warrant officers still remained, only now it concerned exclusively military warehouses - weapons. As for clothing and grocery items, it was decided to give them to the service of civilian specialists.
How to get the rank of ensign in the army
Currently in Russia there are 13 ensign schools, where specialists are trained for the armed forces. Therefore, to get the title of "ensign" in the army, you can use the following methods:
- Join the army for military service. There,having shown himself on a good side, apply with a written request to the command of the unit to send ensigns to study at the school. But there is one caveat. As a rule, the command considers reports only of those military personnel who have already served more than half of the prescribed term.
- If the military service is already over, and the reserve soldier has a desire to re-enlist in the army under the contract, then he can immediately declare his desire to enter the ensign school without first being sent to the military unit.
- After the conclusion of the contract, submit a report on the desire to study at the ensign school directly to the commander of your unit.
Also, some universities allow the admission of cadets who, even without having completed conscription service, but having enrolled and studied at the university under the program of secondary special education, graduate with the rank of ensign. Thus, the Academy of the Strategic Missile Forces trains drivers for mobile missile systems, as it is planned to completely eliminate the use of non-commissioned officers in this position.
Terms of study at ensign school
Terms of study at school directly depend on the military speci alty chosen by the cadet. They can be 5-10 months if the cadet has already completed military service and already has a specialized speci alty.
In the case of starting training "from scratch" (a cadet enrolled without military service or does not have a specialized military speci alty), the term can be up to 2 years 10 months.
At the endensign schools, military personnel enter into a contract with the MoD for a period of at least 5 years.
Ensign today
In modern realities, the prevailing stereotypes about ensigns as warehouse managers have become irrelevant.
Today, an ensign is a "techie" in charge of complex military equipment and communications. He controls the transport carrying the launchers, takes up combat duty with the officers.
The ensign in the modern Russian army has turned from a supply manager into a real military specialist.
