This year, the Main Operational Department of the General Staff will develop the future image of the Armed Forces

“This year the department plans to begin work on the image of the Armed Forces looking towards 2030, as well as reviewing ideas on their formation and development,” announced the Defence Ministry, adding that since its establishment in 2002, the General Staff’s Main Operational Department has taken part in the preparation of virtually all troop events. 2016 promises to be similarly busy.

“The process of the formation and development of the Armed Forces is continuous, so the work will cover all areas, especially as regards the practical training of troops, updating resources, improvement of application procedures and the development of theory and practice of troop management (taking into account the image of the Armed Forces). Various training exercises will be conducted, with most of these featuring officers from the Main Operational Department,” commented the Ministry.

An ability to respond quickly in urgent situations will be high on the list of priorities. To this end, a five-year action plan is in place to optimise both the military capacity and numbers of troops in the Armed Forces, re-equipment of the army with priority given to systems of management, reconnaissance, information, air defence, rocket troops and artillery and special operations forces.