What is a construction battalion, in general, most citizens know, especially older generations. The secret name of these units is “Royal troops”. They can be attributed to the legendary military units of the times of the USSR. True, most often this is due to the negative side of reality, since many conscripts categorically did not want to get there, and some representatives of the military leadership opposed its existence at all. The essence of the service and its features in the construction battalions are reflected in many jokes and comedy films.
History of education
To understand what a construction battalion is, it is necessary to turn to the history of the creation of these units. Military construction detachments began to form in the winter of 1942 to repair and restore facilities in territories liberated from fascist invaders.
The concept of "building battalion" was officially withdrawn from circulation in the 70s of the last century. Nevertheless, the term remained part of the army and civil slang vocabulary. The soldiers of the building battalions themselves called themselves ironically the “Royal troops”. There are two versions of the occurrence of this name:
- Due to the large number of personnel. In the 80s, there were over 350 thousand people, which exceeded several times the number of fighters of the border troops, marines and airborne forces combined.
- The second option for the emergence of self-name is associated with the designer S. Korolev, since all Soviet cosmodromes were built by the forces of the "construction battalion".
Terms of Service
Among the Soviet draftees, the troops of the construction battalion were not considered a prestigious place for military service. This attitude is caused by the fact that these units were only formally concerned with military training. Despite this, young men who joined the ranks of construction battalions received a number of advantages over recruits from other branches of the army.
For example, in accordance with the order of the Ministry of Defense of 1977, employees of the construction battalion accrued salaries. True, food taxes, cultural events, bath and laundry services, and other types of allowances were kept from it. The average amount held at that time in favor of the so-called “clothing debt” was about 30 rubles.
Financial support
Let's continue to learn more about what is a building battalion? Salaries of the military of this kind of troops ranged from 110 to 250 rubles per month. The final figure depended on the specialty of the fighter. The most "expensive" were considered the profession of crane operators and excavators. The cash allowance was accumulated on the account of a military man, being given out in his hands upon discharge to the reserve.
In case of emergency, a fighter could send money to close people, with the permission of the commander of the appropriate level. During the service, a person could accumulate several thousand rubles. In addition, often the construction workers earned extra money on "hacks." The fee for one working day was about 10-15 rubles. Warrant officers and officers of these units received benefits to quickly solve existing housing problems.
Equipment
Many are interested in the question related to the construction battalion: what are these troops? For the sake of justice, it is worth noting that officially these parts are called "engineering". In Soviet times, the detachment was replenished mainly by recruits who graduated from construction schools. Rural residents who know how to handle all kinds of tools became frequent representatives of the "construction battalion". Another segment of the personnel is dysfunctional youth, often with a criminal record.
One of the main selection criteria for construction battalions was a national attribute, although this is not officially confirmed anywhere and is silent. It is worth noting that the share of representatives of the peoples of the Caucasus and Central Asia amounted to about 85-90 percent of the personnel of the “building battalions”. The type of troops of this category was considered acceptable for them because of poor knowledge of the Russian language. Many recruits were scared away by the national composition of the units.
Criticism
Many warlords of the highest rank criticized the construction detachments and advocated their disbandment. Specialists, in addition to violating constitutional rights, noted the poor organization of the production activities of construction battalions, along with low material and technical support. Marshal Zhukov himself, along with the Chief of General Staff Sokolovsky, indicated that servicemen should serve in the armed forces, and not at construction sites and facilities of the USSR civil ministries.
What is a building battalion, you can understand on one of the real examples. In the fall of 1955, the military construction unit No. 152 was located in an unfinished building. Arriving commission revealed flagrant violations in terms of domestic and sanitary maintenance of soldiers. The temperature in the bedrooms barely exceeded three degrees, the soldiers did not wash for weeks and did not change their clothes, they suffered from head lice and other diseases.
Interesting Facts
Service in construction teams, as it might seem at first glance, was not at all safe. The following facts testify to this:
- Elimination of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident. About 70% of the contingent in the contaminated area were precisely representatives of the construction battalions.
- In 1988, units were sent to Armenia to resume settlements after a devastating earthquake.
- Construction of administrative and residential buildings, as well as the formation of fortifications during the Afghan campaign.
- In 1982, units of the construction battalion were located in the port of Stanley (Falkland Islands) to modernize the landing strip. Just at that time there was an invasion of the British military, who disputed the rights to the territory with Argentina. Soviet soldiers mined approaches to the airport, held the object for three days, armed with trophy weapons. Only an order from Moscow allowed to stop the local confrontation, the soldiers had to lay down their arms.
