By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow: Russia’s armed forces are ready for a major war, chief of the military’s General Staff Colonel General Valery Gerasimov said Saturday.
“No one rules out the possibility of a major war, and it cannot be said that we are unprepared,” Gerasimov said, speaking at an Academy of Military Sciences meeting.
His address covered key issues the Russian armed forces face today – including outsourcing.
Conceding that outsourcing was necessary to relieve soldiers of certain functions, Col.Gen. Gerasimov added that “outsourcing is only needed in peacetime and only at permanent bases”.
He also stressed that these activities would be carried out by troops during combat or training.
President of the Academy of Military Sciences, army General Makhmut Gareev said that the Russian Army’s approach to outsourcing needed to be completely reviewed.
“We think that the outsourcing system needs to be given a root-and-branch review: laws should be passed covering combat scenarios, their transfer to a war footing, and their full subordination to unit commanders,” Gareev explained.
He also warned that unless this was done, the logistics and technical support systems would collapse.