Admiral Komoyedov appreciated the reformatting of the role of the Navy Commander-in-Chief

As MK learned – this information was recently confirmed by one of the high-ranking admirals at a meeting with Navy veterans – the Russian fleet will soon face major structural changes. By the end of the year, four fleets and the Caspian flotilla will be returned to the direct subordination of the General Staff of the Navy; today they are operationally subordinate to the commanders of military districts and directly to the General Staff.

For clarification, MK turned to the ex-commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov.

– Vladimir Petrovich, do I understand correctly that during the period of Serdyukov’s reforms, command functions were taken away from the Main Command of the Navy, transferring them to the General Staff? Since then, the Main Command of the Navy has performed only the functions of a supporting body, and all operational-strategic formations of the Navy are commanded not by the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, but by assistants to the Chief of the General Staff?

– Not certainly in that way. The fleets and the Caspian flotilla are subordinate to military districts. All except the Northern Fleet. Only the Northern Fleet has been subordinate to the General Staff in recent years as a separate district. But, be that as it may, I can say that this may have been the stupidest decision of the times of Serdyukov’s reforms.

– So you think that they are now planning to return everything to normal? Do you support this decision?

– I believe that there should be unity of command in the fleet. The fleet must have a father in the person of the commander-in-chief. He must be, first of all, a leader and responsible for the combat readiness of the fleet, its construction, and the preparedness of the Navy personnel. So of course I support this decision. I only regret one thing: it was accepted too late.

Unfortunately, everything here is slowed down to such an extent! First, the “reformers” made a mess, and then the whole world begins to think for a long time about how to correct the mistakes. It was impossible to do this then! Was it really not clear to anyone?

– “MK” at that time also criticized these decisions of Serdyukov a lot. But it seems that those who received them did not hear either us or you.

– Yes… And now it won’t be easy to restore everything that was destroyed then.

– Do you mean the restoration of the command structure of the fleet?

– Not just command. This was, after all, a well-functioning system for controlling strategic submarines, an effective mechanism for bringing nuclear forces into combat readiness, maintaining combat readiness, preparing and maintaining weapons that are supplied to submarines and surface ships. A lot of everything…

The Russian fleet operates in several environments. Marines – on land, surface ships – at sea and in the ocean zone, submarines – in the underwater environment, naval aviation – in the air. Dealing with all this is certainly not easy.

I remember how my head “smoked” when I had to command such diverse forces. But now we have electronics. The control system is carried out through computers. Of course, in this regard, we would like to strengthen our space constellation of communication and observation satellites so that we have more control capabilities. At least as much as the Americans have.

– Perhaps the decision to return four fleets and a flotilla to the command of the Navy Commander-in-Chief is also related to this? That is, the right decision, albeit belated?

– Of course it’s belated… You know, sometimes it’s too late to drink Borjomi when your stomach has already given up.

– But is it necessary to do this anyway?

– Of course it is necessary. But now try to restore that “stomach” so that it works fully! Costs will be required, cash injections. And who will be responsible for the destruction of everything that now needs to be restored? Maybe Serdyukov or the former Chief of the General Staff Makarov? I doubt.

And when these guys were destroying everything, what was most important to them? Remove the main headquarters from the building in the center of Moscow! It hurts to remember. I don’t want to get upset again.

When they took control functions away from the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, who did they turn him into? Impotent! I’m not talking about a person, but about a position. It turned out that there seems to be a commander-in-chief, but he is capable of little. The fleets do not obey him. He cannot assign tasks to them. He was instructed to deal only with combat training, the training system and personnel. And even then not all of them – he no longer appointed command in the fleets.

I feel sorry for those commanders-in-chief of the Navy who, after such a “reform,” were forced to try to manage the fleet in this reduced capacity. They were left with only a high rank and position, but were deprived of basic powers.

So, of course, I am in favor if the decision to return real command functions to the High Command and the Navy Commander-in-Chief is finally made.