05.03.2009
The Russian Pacific Fleet will reduce its size by shedding 5,000 personnel in the coming few years, an official with the headquarters of the Pacific Fleet told Ria Novosti.
The cuts will touch first and foremost commissioned officers, warrant officers, and noncommissioned officers(NCOs); those whose military service is coming to an end or have voiced the desire to leave voluntarily. All will receive severance payments and housing, the source said.
In the framework of the reorganization of the armed forces, a process set to complete in 2016, 117 units and divisions out the Russian Navy's 240 will be dissolved.
The reform, which was announced in the fall of 2008, will concentrate on the reorganization of the central management of the military, with a reduction in the number of officers, the dismantling of the institutes of ensigns and midshipmen (but midshipmen will continue to be in the fleet), and the dissolution of some military divisions and learning institutions. The reduction will touch even the crews of multipurpose nuclear subs, including the electrical and mechanical department, which is responsible for servicing nuclear reactors, the
Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported.
The Pacific Fleet is a strategic division of the Russian Navy, whose main responsibility is to ensure Russia's military security in the Asia-Pacific region, including nuclear deterrence, the defense of the economic zone and space, and protecting naval shipping routes. It is the second-largest fleet after the Northern Fleet. The headquarters of the Pacific Fleet is located in Vladivostok. Here are some of the Fleet's bases: Viliuchinsk, Vladivostok, Magadan, Nakhodka, Rybachy, and Fokino. The Fleet has been under the command of Vice Admiral Konstantin Sergievich Sidenko since December 6, 2007. As of October 2008, the Fleet has 5 strategic missile submarines, 18 multipurpose submarines (including 10 nuclear), 13 combat surface ships for sea and ocean zones, and 43 near-coast zone ships.
Picture: Vladivostok (Hotelfuns (liveinternet.ru))
