The day of formation of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan is May 7, 1992. On this day, a presidential decree was signed on the creation of its own national armed forces and the first minister of defense in the history of the country, Colonel General S. K., was appointed. Nurmagambetov. General of the Army of Kazakhstan - the highest military rank of the republic. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the state received at its disposal a huge amount of weapons and military equipment, buildings and structures of military units, a system of military commissariats. However, the difficult economic situation inherent in the entire post-Soviet space of the late twentieth century largely hindered the effective use of the rich Soviet heritage. Years of cuts, transformations have led to the emergence of the armed forces in their current form. The army of Kazakhstan, whose photos of numerous exercises and parades are impressive, continues to develop.
General information
As of today, the organizational army of the Republic of Kazakhstan is represented by three types: ground forces, air forcesdefense and naval forces. The army of Kazakhstan, numbering about 100 thousand people, is one of the hundred most combat-ready armies in the world.
Ground Forces
The Ground Forces are formed in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Defense and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan". Their main purpose is the protection of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the protection of its sovereignty, the defense of state and military facilities, the defense of land borders, participation in peacekeeping missions. All these tasks are solved by the army of Kazakhstan. The country makes a big bet on the ground forces. They are the largest branch of the armed forces in terms of the number of personnel. According to rough estimates, about 50 thousand people are serving in the ground forces.
Regional Army Commands
There are several regional commands:
1. The command "Astana" is located on the territory of the Karaganda region, as well as the northern regions of Kazakhstan on the border with Russia. It is the reserve of the Supreme Commander of the Republic.
2. The "West" command is located within the administrative borders of the Mangistau, Aktobe, Atyrau and West Kazakhstan regions. Among the tasks of this command, the protection of the economic interests of Kazakhstan in the Caspian region and in the Caspian Sea in accordance with the agreements between the countries is of particular importance.
3. Command"South" is located in the south-east of the Republic of Kazakhstan and performs an extremely important task in the current geopolitical situation - covering the southern borders of Kazakhstan from possible threats of Islamists, preventing drug trafficking, developing military partnerships with its southern neighbors - members of the CSTO.
4. The Vostok command is located in the eastern part of the country, on the border with Russia and China. Designed to provide a significant military presence in the region, demonstrate defense capabilities and organize forward defense lines in case of conflict with other states.
Technical equipment
The Ground Forces are armed for the most part with Soviet-made equipment, partially upgraded at Kazakh enterprises. There is a small amount of equipment acquired from Russia after the declaration of independence, as well as samples of weapons obtained as a result of military-technical partnership with NATO countries. According to various estimates, the ground forces have at their disposal about 2,500 tanks in various degrees of readiness for combat operations. According to most experts, no more than one thousand tanks are in a fully technically fit condition. The overwhelming majority are T-72 tanks produced at Uralvagonzavod, in modifications "A" and "B", inherited by the Republic of Kazakhstan from the Soviet army. A smaller, but still significant share is occupied by older T-62 tanks, also produced in the USSR. Information about the presence of other types of tanks in the ground forces in the mass mediainformation is not found and even purely hypothetically is unlikely.
In large numbers, the ground forces are equipped with Soviet-made armored fighting vehicles. The total number of vehicles of these types in service is almost impossible to accurately estimate, but it is at least one thousand tracked vehicles (BMP-1, BMP-2, MT-LB) and about five hundred knee armored personnel carriers (BTR-60K, BTR-70, BTR- 80). In addition to the above samples, there are a significant number of lighter class combat vehicles, such as, for example, the Turkish Otokar Cobra and the HMMWV obtained as a result of a military partnership with the United States. The niche of reconnaissance vehicles is occupied by the Soviet BRDM-2 in the amount of 150-200 units.
Air Defense Forces
The air defense forces are a system of objects of the air force, anti-aircraft missile and radio engineering troops, designed to provide cover from air strikes on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, to assist the ground forces in repelling a ground invasion, as well as to carry out transport and passenger transportation in the interests of the Ministry of Defense.
The air defense forces are armed with many types of aviation equipment that allows them to perform the entire range of tasks. Fighter aviation is represented by MiG-31 (25 pieces), Su-27 (30 pieces), as well as light front-line fighters MiG-29 (about 25). The main strike aircraft of the air defense forces today are the Su-25 andMiG-27. Army aviation is equipped in sufficient quantities with widely used Mi-8 helicopters, as well as Mi-24 helicopters. Against this background, Eurocopter helicopters, which are assembled on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan in accordance with a contract concluded in 2012, look rather exotic. In addition to all this aviation equipment, there is a significant number of Soviet-made military transport aircraft and 12 Czechoslovak training aircraft L-39.
The level of air defense pilots deserves special mention. This figure is 100-150 flight hours per year, which is comparable to the same indicator in the Air Force of the Russian Federation.
Almost all of the above-mentioned aircraft and helicopters were produced back in the Soviet period, and, despite a significant reserve for modernization, in the next decade, the military leadership of the Republic of Kazakhstan will face the question of rearming the air defense forces. A similar situation is observed with the fleet of anti-aircraft missile systems.
Navy
The naval forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan have the main task of protecting the economic or other legitimate interests of Kazakhstan in the Caspian Sea. In addition to the Caspian Flotilla itself, the naval forces include marines, coastal artillery and naval aviation.
Due to the specifics of the Caspian Basin, as well as the geopolitical situation, the naval forces are armed with fairly small ships and boats. According to information from opensources, the Kazakh Navy has about 20-22 small ships and boats.
Conscription system
Conscription in the army in Kazakhstan takes place twice a year: from April to June and from October to December. The draft contingent is formed from young men aged 18 to 27 years. Service in the army of Kazakhstan for citizens is 12 months. Soldiers can serve both close to home and in another region of the country. Deferment from the army in Kazakhstan or even complete exemption from service is granted upon reaching the maximum draft age, for he alth reasons that do not allow military service, if there are close relatives killed in the line of duty, if they have an academic degree.
Summon Features
In 2015, the number of conscripts will be 29 thousand people, which will fully cover the needs of the army of Kazakhstan in conscripts. The total number of conscripts in the armed forces is gradually decreasing and stands at 35%, according to the previous year. Evasion of military service, according to the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, has always been and is a crime and is punishable by a large fine and imprisonment.
Hazing
Hazing in the army of Kazakhstan is a topic for a separate discussion. It should be noted that in recent years, thanks to the joint work of the prosecutor's office, the command of the armed forces, as well as educational bodies, there has been a positive trend in the army to reducethe number of cases of hazing, cases of conscripts committing suicide and self-mutilation have practically disappeared. Thus, it can be argued that the army of Kazakhstan, in which bullying still persists, has chosen the right vector to counter such behavior of old-timers in relation to new recruits. It should be mentioned that such a phenomenon as hazing is an inevitable cost of the conscription system for manning the armed forces of any state.
Conclusion
Summing up, it should be added that the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan are quite a serious force on the scale of the Central Asian region. Kazakhstan, of course, does not claim a leading role, but the attention paid to the army and its development allows the republic to provide a high level of defense capability, as well as participate in the international fight against terrorism and in peacekeeping missions, which is an important part of international cooperation in the field of defense.
