During the gathering of heads of information structures of the Russian Armed Forces, a report on which our magazine will publish.1 in the first issue for 1999, the issue of improving the work on reflecting the progress of reforms in the army was repeatedly raised not only in the army media, but also in regional media. That detailed conversation was still somewhat incomplete. Today we continue the topic, giving the floor to the head of the press service-Assistant to the Commander of the Far Eastern Military District for public relations and mass Media, Colonel Sergey VASILIEV.

"Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat." I often think of these truly immortal words when it comes to, don't be surprised, our daily work. The armed forces are now on the defensive everywhere, and like any defending army, it is especially difficult for them today. This is acutely felt when you pass through dozens of pages of newspaper information and a lot of TV and radio messages every day.

What is the essence of the press service of any military district or fleet? Inform the public (especially the army) about events in the country and in the army. But to do this in such a way that our soldiers and officers have the most objective view of the events that are taking place, which is very, very difficult to form with the current information freedom of the mass media. Everyone knows how often the same fact from one TV program to another, from the first radio message to the second, from one publication to the next, with a wave of a seemingly insignificant word, turns from a banal violation of the internal service charter into a crime-a patrimony of the criminal code.

However, this problem is more common in the central districts, where there is literally no end of journalists writing on the topics of the army and navy. However, their reference points are mostly all sorts of incidents, scandals, and the like. Unfortunately, today it is not customary to write about the topics of military traditions, combat training, and the experience of commanding and educational work. And if we take into account the specifics of the Far East: huge distances, poorly developed communications, difficulties with the delivery of information, the lack of a TV and radio center in the Far East-it becomes clear that one of our main tasks is to attract regional media to cover the life of parts and formations of the district. They don't want to come to us themselves.

But this raises a lot of questions. First, where can I find professionals who would knowingly and objectively cover the life of the troops? Secondly, how to attract them to work without having a single penny of funds for such expenses? Third, where to get expensive equipment, how to create a team consisting of directors, cameramen, installers and other technical specialists. But if you do not solve these issues, it means letting the coverage of the district's life take its course, having received a lot of so-called "fried", unprofessional and one-sided stories about the army. Therefore, we have taken the path of close cooperation with the main and most influential mass media.

For example, Alexander Chekhov, a TV journalist with the State TV and Radio Broadcasting Company "Far East", now an employee of the RA, has been working closely with us for several years. The year before last, as they say, with mutual interest, we "calculated" and called up two capable journalists to serve in the army. Today, senior Lieutenant Igor Mikheev, an employee of the press service of the district, is one of the best reporters of the Far Eastern Experimental Television Studio. And Senior Lieutenant Evgeny Anoshin is a promising journalist of the Khabarovsk Regional radio. And for almost two years now, a monthly one-hour joint radio program "I have the Honor" has been broadcast, which is prepared by the press service of the Far Eastern Federal District and the State TV and radio Broadcasting Company "Far Eastern". In addition, by common agreement, Senior Lieutenant Anoshin prepares daily reports on both general and military topics. So our main information program "Amur Region: day after day" regularly talks about the army in a bright and objective way, and most importantly, professionally and interestingly.

We work with television in much the same way. The editor of military programs, Alexander Chekhov, broadcasts the half-hour program "Serving in the Far East" twice a month, and also prepares stories for the daily information program "Panorama".

We also have good relations with the experimental television studio, which is better known in the Far East as SET TV Company. It is located next to the district headquarters, which is very helpful in preparing the most operational materials. Senior Lieutenant Mikheev almost daily appears in the information program "Today" with news from the Far Eastern Military District.

As a result, in 1998 alone, the press service, together with the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company "Far East", prepared 11 one-hour radio programs and 20 thirty - minute television programs, and more than 100 other informational TV and radio messages.

However, it would be wrong to say that we have no problems on this "front". Often, the local television authorities, generally supporting the army line, make claims to us in ... " excessive positivity, lack of sensationalism, and so on. We react calmly to this, realizing that there are enough hunters for "fried" facts without us. On the other hand, the regional media have nowhere to go:

try, for example, to get to the garrison without the help of the press service, where, as the song says, "you can only fly by plane.".. And if we had a professional video camera, we would get rid of a lot of problems in relations with TV companies.

An equally important area of our work is the involvement of regional print media in covering the problems of military personnel. In a number of newspapers and magazines, we managed to establish close cooperation with correspondents specializing in military topics. It is to them that we give priority in covering the life of the troops, providing journalists with constant information. Those, as a rule, respond to such cooperation with good materials. We have developed good business relations with the editorial offices of the newspapers "Pacific Star", "Priamurskie Vedomosti", "Khabarovsk Izvestia", "Young Far Eastern". And yet...

Ten large federal subjects are located on the territory of the district. Now Yakutia, the largest republic in Russia, is also being transferred to us. In total, 156 regional newspapers and magazines are published in the Far East with a total circulation of 1 million 347 thousand copies (excluding Yakutia). It is very difficult to organize constant interaction with them. Kamchatka, Chukotka, the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin, the Magadan Region-the names speak for themselves. In this regard, the introduction of the institute of assistant commanders and chiefs of various ranks for public relations and mass media is a very correct decision. We need press groups in armies, corps, republican, regional, regional military commissariats, and divisions, brigades, and individual regiments need at least one officer - an assistant commander for public relations and the press.

"Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat.".. And in our difficult times, we simply have to keep our information positions, not giving them up to the momentary conjuncture, various speculations on army topics, low-grade near-war shows. A soldier, an ensign, or an officer are state people. And the conversation with them should be conducted seriously, carefully, at the proper level.

- Hello, yes, Colonel Yemelyanov is on the line, I'm listening... I know, flight N ..., you will be met at the airfield, the hospital is already waiting...

The head of the medical service of the Air Force and Air Defense Association, Colonel Viktor Vasilyevich Yemelyanov, gave me a slightly guilty look: I couldn't talk to him calmly and thoroughly again, although we had already agreed to meet several times. Staff turnover. The three telephones on his desk were ringing with an urgency and consistency worthy of better use. Visitors were also glad to find the chief medical officer in the office.

A middle-aged, portly retired man knocked on the door. Your health has been shaken, you need to take a course of spa treatment.

A female dentist, a captain of the medical service, has reached the end of her contract, and it's time to extend it. Extended - a good specialist and to the point with the soul refers.

Finally, another call informed Yemelyanov that he was urgently expected in one of the wards of the military units: an anti-influenza preventive vaccine had arrived, and the control group of pilots needed to be monitored for vaccinations.

"Come with me," said Nachmed. "Honey, let's talk.

I had already realized that I might not have another opportunity to talk to Viktor Vasilyevich, and I readily agreed. And it was interesting to watch this man in his native element. Because the office, it was easy to see, wasn't one.

Although Colonel Yemelyanov assured me otherwise, I still tend to think that in his army life there were many moments and episodes that, as they say, determine the life of a military man. Especially a military medic serving in the air force.

The beginning of Viktor Yemelyanov's military and professional biography did not portend any special twists and surprises. There were no military medics in the family, he was the first. Now, however, his son Stanislav is graduating from the Rostov Medical Institute, but whether he will connect his life with the army is up to him to decide. And Viktor was motivated to go to the service by an ordinary everyday circumstance: while studying at the medical institute, he got married, the young family needed some financial stability. And the lieutenant's shoulder straps promised her. Plus the legitimate public respect and natural desire of a strong guy to do an interesting, truly masculine thing. Let me remind you that this was long before perestroika...

Some of the comrades dissuaded: why join the army? Risk, responsibility, difficulties. Well, it is true that they say that a person does not know his fate in advance. Vaughn, bosom friend and friend Mikhail Chernov remained "in civilian life", worked in his native Budyonnovsk as a forensic expert. In the summer of ' 95, while dissecting almost a hundred and fifty bodies of innocent dead countrymen in a city bathhouse that turned into a morgue, he received such nervous stress that he still cannot recover from it. Friends, including Yemelyanov, are still concerned about how to help Misha. They take out scarce medicines and support their families. Fate...

Chance and his superiors immediately gave the young military doctor the opportunity to verify the firmness of his decision. In the remote Trans-Baikal aviation garrison, where he was sent, like nowhere else, all the conditions necessary for this were combined: the harsh climate to the extreme, the proximity of large medical centers where you can ask for help from more experienced colleagues in case of anything, and the special nature of human relations inherent in this remote and harsh land.

His wife, Tatyana Alekseevna, took the need to change her native fertile Stavropol Territory to the salt-marsh, frozen steppes of the so-called "Manchuria" calmly, as if it were her duty. This circumstance greatly encouraged Yemelyanov. Everyone knows: a reliable family rear and help to the service.

In the part where Yemelyanov was appointed head of the medical service, the newly baked bearer of the Hippocratic oath was treated in a friendly way, although for some time they looked closely: what is good for, can you rely on him?

An incident as significant as it was curious helped to dispel doubts.

The battalion had to make a multi-kilometer march by car. And medical support for this event was entrusted to Yemelyanov-young, quick-witted. Who better than him?

Viktor Vasilyevich prepared himself thoroughly, equipped his well-worn nurse, carefully selected the necessary medicines and accessories. A fine September day would probably have been good-natured, if not for the thick plume of dust raised by the wheels of powerful KAMAZ trucks, and not for the feeling of unease that has settled somewhere "in the pit of the stomach". After all, the first march in a new capacity. Will he be able to handle it if you need his help?

Yemelyanov was indulging in his lieutenant's thoughts when the road to the column was suddenly blocked by several people. They crowded around the commander's UAZ truck, talking animatedly to the colonel who got out of the car, while for some reason pointing energetically at the Yemelyanovo "pill" with red crosses on the sides. The commander listened to them for a couple of minutes, then motioned to the chief medical officer: come here, they say.

"These are the pies, Doctor," he said at once. - The woman is going to give birth to them, but there is no hospital in the village. They are afraid that they will not take you to the regional center. And then they saw our ambulance. Can you help me?"

And without waiting for an answer, he turned to the petitioners:

"But we can't hold the column, and we need a nurse." If anything happens, will you take the doctor to Borzi?..

To be honest, obstetrics and gynecology were not Yemelyanov's favorite subject during his studies at the Medical Institute, somehow he did not connect his future with this specialty. But a doctor should be able to do a lot, if not everything. Moreover, the situation left him no other choice.

Strange, after all, is the structure of man. God alone probably knows the intricacies of his brain convolutions and all sorts of subcortex. As he drove down the street to the house where the woman in labor was staying, his memory obligingly pulled out of its depths almost the entire section devoted to the obstetric process in textbooks. Yemelyanov crossed the threshold already collected, knowledgeable Doctor. After a quick glance at the faces of the heroine's relatives and neighbors crowded into the hall, he took off his dusty tunic, carefully cleaned his trousers, and changed his boots for the slippers offered by the owners. He dropped it briefly:

"Vodka, please."

Everyone looked at each other in disbelief: the lieutenant seems to be starting with the wrong one. However, one of the guys obediently darted into the hall and brought a bottle of belogolova.

Yemelyanov leaned over the washstand:

- Lei.

After washing his hands, Viktor went to the clean room, to the woman in labor...

An hour and a half later, Yemelyanov, flushed from three glasses of boiling tea and smiling with good luck, was sitting in the red corner at the festive table. Everyone vied with each other in congratulating their young parents, trying to give the best piece to the doctor.

- What do you call the guy? someone asked. The feast quieted down curiously.

"And what is your name, Comrade Lieutenant?" - the young father answered the question with a question.

"Viktor," Yemelyanov nodded, as if introducing himself.

"That's my son now, Victor. Let him remember who helped him to be born a white nation...

They caught up with the battalion column in the late afternoon. At a halt, the commander called the chief medical officer to him:

"Report back."

- It's all right, Comrade Colonel, the boy was born.

It was then that Yemelyanov, for the first time in his officer's life, heard from the commander's lips: "I respect you, doctor..."

And everyday life flowed, filled to the limit with the troubles and worries of an aviation military medic. Many times since then, Yemelyanov was convinced of the correctness of the bison teachers from the military department of his native Saratov Medical Institute, who never tired of reminding students: they would have to take care not only of the physical health of the pilots, but also think about their peace of mind and balance. You need to learn how to build a pilot's trust, because it's not just body temperature and blood pressure that determine their readiness to fly. It is equally important to know: what is in his heart, does he get along with his comrades, does he reliably warm his home? After all, the current aviation technology and the laws of modern air combat require the pilot to maximize concentration, composure, and exceptional reaction. Here, perhaps, any everyday trifle that can affect the health and mood of the pilot is important. Therefore, a military medic is obliged to think about such trifles.

Yemelyanov repeatedly thought about the complex system of service and interpersonal relationships that has been developing for many months and years between a military medic and the pilots he takes care of. Why do they sometimes speak to him with such frankness, with which they would not speak to their relatives and friends? Does the rule only work?: "The whole truth to the doctor about yourself, how ...to the doctor." It would seem that there are people in any military team who, as they say, are required by the state to delve into all the subtleties of characters and circumstances, to understand the twists and turns of psychology and morality. Doctors, with the exception of specific specialists, are not directly charged with this responsibility. And yet, in almost any flight unit, a doctor is a kind of accumulator of other people's problems and sufferings, hopes and romantic beginnings.

An explanation for this wonderful and at the same time naturally ordinary phenomenon did not come to Yemelyanov with a lightning epiphany. No, it accumulated gradually, as the fertile soil accumulates in layers on a carefully groomed peasant field. Viktor Vasilyevich never tried to protect himself with strict barriers of functional duties-from now to now. On the contrary, no matter where he served - in the Trans - Baikal Territory, in Poland, in the North Caucasus-he always tried to get a closer look at the life that was boiling and bubbling outside the walls of his office-on the tarmac, airplane parking lots and in the barracks. And not only because he was really interested in everything that was happening in the unit. I understood that this is the only way to become my own for pilots and technicians, soldiers and officers of auxiliary units.

As for the pilot's frankness...

Captain Sergey B. was known in the regiment as an experienced and knowledgeable pilot. However, something was wrong with him lately: the captain was often frowning and unsmiling. This did not directly affect the service yet, but the comrades saw that such a state of mind would not lead to good for Sergei. It got to the point that once Yemelyanov did not allow him to fly.

"What's the matter, Doctor?" - then asked the regiment commander. "Why did you suspend the captain?"

"His throat is reddish," Yemelyanov said. - Apparently, he caught a cold, let him heal.

"Well, well," the Colonel chuckled. After a moment's hesitation, he added:

"Actually, it's only right that you should report to me like that. I already know the truth, and you're supposed to keep a doctor's secret. Otherwise, who among the pilots will trust you?

Viktor Vasilyevich knew the true state of affairs. The day before, he had visited B.'s home and talked to him and his wife. The other one, a pretty brown-haired architect by training, was looking downcast. There were all the symptoms of "garrison sickness" - regret for the" ruined youth", the loss of a favorite job-what architects in the country wilderness, longing for the noise and amenities of big cities.

Yemelyanov reassured the woman as best he could, tried to convince her that there would be flowers and ovations in her life, you just need to be patient, support your husband in the service, and therefore in her career. Otherwise, you won't become a general's wife...

I had a manly chat with the captain. He did not utter loud phrases, but he reminded me about how important calmness and restraint are for a pilot.

The situation was not ignored by the regiment's command. The women's community has joined in. In the end, the captain's wife found the case to her liking. The pilot cheered up. Maybe it wasn't because his wife was assigned to work. The main thing - do not frostbite the heart with indifference. What we could do, we helped. Important - they wanted to help.

For some reason, Viktor Vasilyevich considers his work in the medical service of the association as a senior officer, deputy chief, and then chief medical officer no less interesting, but still more dryly administrative, or something. Although there are plenty of lively, dynamic and responsible cases here.

His new position coincided with the implementation of the next stage of the Armed Forces reform, when the Air Force and Air Defense Forces were united. Probably, it is not necessary to explain what this means for the head of the service, who has not only dramatically increased the staff of subordinates, but also significantly increased the volume of tasks to be solved, the level, if you will, of responsibility for the assigned area of work.

Of course, he does not make it from scratch and not from scratch. Viktor Vasilyevich is sincerely grateful to his former boss and predecessor, Colonel Vladimir Veniaminovich Yamensky, whose efforts began to establish a new mechanism for medical support for units and divisions of the Air Force and Air Defense association. However, life, as you know, does not stand still and throws up problems with enviable regularity.

Take this new situation, for example. Many radio engineering units that are now part of the responsibility of the medical service are many hundreds of kilometers away from their units and headquarters. Often, such "points" are located far away from medical centers, hospitals, and clinics. And the only representative of the medical staff here is a military paramedic. He, of course, will be able to provide first aid to a serviceman in need - Colonel Yemelyanov's staff is trained and qualified. Well, what if there is, and this sometimes happens, a difficult, extreme situation? After all, people cannot be left without help, moreover, assistance must be effective and timely. One of the ways to achieve this goal was the implementation by Colonel Yemelyanov and his subordinates of a new model of medical and medical services for military personnel, developed by the leadership of the Main Military Medical Department. This model provides for the territorial principle of attaching divisions to medical institutions, regardless of their subordination and departmental affiliation. According to this practical mechanism, in cases where there are no military medical institutions nearby, soldiers or officers can use the services of civilian doctors. This approach brings the serviceman in need of medical assistance closer to the doctor, significantly reduces the time of transportation of the patient.

When the need arises, a well-established system comes into operation, the leading "gear" of which is the medical service of the association. This is what binds together the complex chain "patient-transport - treatment facility". Yemelyanov or one of his subordinates apply to a hospital that has the necessary conditions and specialists, ask the command to allocate a "board" or a car. By the way, here the military medics have a complete understanding with the leadership. There are almost no cases of failure. These are Colonel Yemelyanov's everyday life. ...Leonid Golberg, the head of the Neklinovskaya special youth school with initial flight training near Taganrog, looked in on Ogonyok. This educational institution is in no way part of the association's structure and is subordinate to the civil authorities. But Leonid Isaakovich is a frequent guest both at the command and at the head of the medical service. Because without their help, the problems of the school can not be solved in any way. Clipped the damned crisis wings of boys who dream of the sky. Funding is minimal. And now it's time to let the students go through the pressure chamber tests. We turned to "civilian" specialists. They requested an amount equal to the annual budget of the special school for their services. Where to run? To the medical service, to Yemelyanov. The chief medical officer listened and reported the situation to the command with "passion". The boys were tested on the basis of the association, free of charge. The medical service also donated equipment for the dental office and an ambulance to SYUSH.

...Lieutenant Colonel Anatoly Orlov asked for an appointment. Trouble with a person. Some time ago, he was seriously wounded in the head. He was treated at the Military Medical Academy clinic. Now it is necessary to continue the course of treatment, and this requires expensive medicines, which are not allocated centrally for military personnel. You can't buy them on an officer's salary - that salary won't be enough.

And again Yemelyanov-to the commander. How can I help you? After all, Orlov is not the only one. Over the past year, dozens of military personnel and their family members have applied to the medical service with similar requests. But there is no money provided for such needs. But the opportunity was still found, the lieutenant colonel bought medicines.

...Nachmedov's car braked smoothly at the gate of the checkpoint. The regiment's doctor, who was waiting for Colonel Yemelyanov to arrive, reported that everything was ready for the flu vaccine injections. Viktor Vasilyevich nodded in satisfaction:

"Well, then, let's get to work!"

Lieutenant Colonel Yuri SELEZNEV, Permanent Correspondent for the North Caucasus Military District

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