On the eve of the new training period, I ran into my good friend Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Krupenkov, senior assistant to the head of the educational work department of the UCP and information unit, in the garrison House of Officers. He looked preoccupied. "Is something wrong?" I asked politely. "In general, everything is in order, although there are enough problems," Vladimir replied and immediately identified the subject of his worries. Every six months, the unit holds instructor-methodological classes with the leaders of the social and state training groups. This is a headache for the command, as they are trying to find the best way to organize such training sessions, ensuring that they are not only interesting but also leave a lasting impact on the minds and hearts of the participants. It is a testament to the dedication and commitment of these individuals, who are willing to go above and beyond for the sake of their work. However, some may view their dedication to a non-monetary profession as outdated or quixotic. But they are the main, as they say now, "moral core" that makes any task possible.

Krupenkov lamented the difficulty of coming up with new and relevant forms of training for the heads of the OGP groups at each meeting. I recalled my encounters with some of his colleagues in the challenging task of teaching and supervising their subordinates, who rarely expressed such sentiments. For some reason, finding new forms of training is often considered a tedious and almost obligatory task. It is much easier to follow a well-established lecture or seminar format.

In the Leningrad-Pavlovsk Motorized Rifle Division, the approach to conducting social and state training is somewhat different. This was confirmed in a conversation with me by Colonel Vladimir Danilenko, Head of the Department of Educational Work at the Association: "Yes, there is a lot to learn here, especially in terms of working with the leaders of the social and state training groups. The officers of the association, commanded by Colonel V. Lunev, are able to equip this category of educators with the necessary knowledge that will be required by the students."

I wanted to attend the training camp myself. And I learned a lot of new things there. Take at least such a long-tested and sometimes unfairly rejected form of conducting classes as a"round table". At the training camp, we were able to make sure that with a creative approach to business, it becomes a good educational and training tool. Ostentatious occupation was demonstrated by military personnel of the reconnaissance company. Its theme is "Patriotism, loyalty to military duty - essential qualities of a Russian soldier". As expected, it was prepared in advance. Deputy Commander for Educational work, Lieutenant A. Vdovin appointed two "experts" from among the most trained soldiers, instructing them to familiarize themselves with the recommended literature in advance. At one of the classes, the group leader set the task for the students to prepare questions on a given topic. During the preparation process, students had controversial opinions that resulted in a discussion. To increase attention and enhance the perception of the topic, fragments from films about the Great Patriotic War were skillfully and thoughtfully used during the lesson. The passages from A. Bek's book "The Volokolamsk Highway" proved to be a great help.

page 64

Read by the head of the library, A. Veshnikina, and the story of the "Afghan" warrior, Major A. Slepchuk.

After the demonstration lesson, the participants of the training session asked a lot of questions to its organizers. They were interested in everything: how to prepare for the lessons, which students should be appointed as "experts," whether the lessons should be limited to academic time frames, and so on.

Along the way, I note that teachers of the Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University advised the command of the formation to hold a class in the form of a "round table". They are frequent visitors to the warriors. And I want to tell you more about this.

It is no secret that the educational work bodies have undergone significant changes during the reform of the Armed Forces. These changes have not always been beneficial.

There are very few personnel in the field of pedagogy and psychology in the military, especially at the lower levels. The Leningrad-Pavlovsk Division has found a way out of this situation by working closely with local higher education institutions. Experienced teachers, psychologists, and other specialists are invited to the units not only to give lectures, but also to provide methodological training for the leaders of the OGP groups. These meetings have proven to be very useful. For example, O. Kotionov, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Dean of the History Department of Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University, held a seminar entitled "Methods of constructing classes with students with incomplete secondary education". Head of the Department of Psychology of the Humanities University A. Shumaev gave a series of lectures on public speaking, sociologist S. Lyutov from the Medical University prepared a series of talks on the problems of interethnic relations. Ties are also being strengthened with Novosibirsk State University, where Colonel N. Markov is the head of one of the departments. There is already an agreement that the scientists of the Akademgorodok will take scientific patronage over one of the regiments of the Leningrad-Pavlovsk Division. It is assumed that the patrons will help in the training of psychologists and leaders of the OGP groups. As they say, time will prove the necessity of close relations between the army and scientists in the complex and arduous task of educating the armed defenders of the Fatherland. However, no one doubts the positive outcome. After all, the Siberians are used to winning.

page 65

Permanent link to this publication: