‘It is impossible to train a mobilised soldier perfectly in a month”: senior instructor of an assault battalion

In recent years, the military in Ukraine has increasingly expressed concern about the quality of basic training for new recruits. This problem is gaining momentum in society and military circles, especially in the context of active hostilities. Military personnel face the fact that the time allocated for training does not allow them to acquire enough skills to be ready for real combat situations. This calls into question the effectiveness of training, and thus the overall combat capability of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Mykhailo ‘Kot’ Kovpak, a senior sergeant with the separate assault battalion ‘Arey’ of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army (UDA), spoke in detail about the shortcomings of basic training for recruits. In his opinion, the main problem is that the training period is too short – just one month. This is the time a recruit spends in a training centre preparing for combat missions. However, Kovpak notes that in this short period, it is impossible to fully prepare a person who, for example, has previously worked as a welder or driver, for real combat operations.

The senior sergeant emphasises that servicemen should receive longer and better training. Compared to what is currently offered to new recruits, this one-month course is insufficient for soldiers to acquire the skills necessary to perform complex combat operations. Extending the training period will allow for a more thorough approach to training and increase their effectiveness on the battlefield. According to him, ‘it is impossible to train a perfect soldier from a civilian in a month’.

“The fighters come to us after the training centre, but we do not send them to the frontline until they have completed our training. We tailor each soldier to our battalion, which performs specific tasks. You need to understand that the training centre teaches one way, and our battalion teaches another. We all have combat experience, so we know what is best. Every time the guys return, they thank us for the training.

During a month, a mobilised soldier undergoes general military training in training centres, and then specialised training. Then, for two weeks, we improve their skills and add our own. Previously, our training lasted a month, but now it’s a bit tense, so the timeframe has been reduced.

We put a lot of emphasis on tactical medicine. We have a medical instructor with the call sign ‘Fierce’. He explains the MARCH algorithm (priorities and procedures for assisting the wounded – UNIAN) to the guys so that people who have nothing to do with medicine grasp everything. We also focus on shooting. We have our own training ground where we teach the guys to shoot on the move, from a trench, from the knee, lying down, so that every soldier is on a first-name basis with weapons,’ Kovpak said.

He also stressed that despite the limited time, much depends on the soldier himself. If a recruit is willing to learn, even a short period of time can be the beginning of further self-improvement.

“Frankly, we have poor basic training in Ukraine. Perhaps because of time constraints. A soldier stays in a training centre for a month. During this time, it is impossible to perfectly train a person who, relatively speaking, was a welder or a driver.

I think that the training period should be extended in the first place. But in general, everything depends on the person. I keep saying that if there is a desire, we will work out the rest,’ the soldier emphasises.

This emphasises the importance of motivation and personal commitment to learning in the context of military service.

As for the organisation of training, Mykhailo Kovpak noted that his battalion has abandoned the old Soviet approaches to military training. Soldiers are not taught using textbooks that were used in 1939. Instead, the training is based on modern experience that takes into account the realities of the current war in Ukraine. Kovpak, who has many years of experience in the army, including participation in assaults and command of combat groups, has personally observed how approaches to military training have changed. He has seen with his own eyes what modern warfare looks like, and it is this experience that his battalion relies on to train its soldiers. This allows the soldiers to be ready for real combat, rather than working according to outdated methods.

However, not all recruits have a positive experience of the training. In his interview, Kovpak touched on the complaints of some soldiers who say that in training centres they are forced to do jobs that are far from combat training, such as collecting garbage, instead of preparing for war. He believes that this situation depends on the management of specific training centres and their approach to training. In his opinion, to fix this problem, it is necessary to send such commanders to the front line so that they understand that the mobilised cannot be used only as labour.

Mykhailo Kovpak noted:

“It probably depends on the command, the heads of training centres. How to eradicate them? Perhaps they should be released to the frontline once, so that they realise that mobilised people cannot be used as labour.

How does the training take place here? We have classes in the morning until lunch, then have a short rest, and then study until the evening. In the evening, people can clean, sweep, and wash the room where they live. But they do it for themselves, no one forces them to do it like in barracks. This is not welcome here. As our commander says: ‘We are one big family’. That’s why every soldier is a human being, not a labour force.

‘We are one big family’. This means that servicemen can perform small household tasks in their free time, such as cleaning the premises where they live, but this is done solely on their own initiative, not under duress. This approach helps to create an atmosphere of mutual respect and support among the soldiers, where everyone feels like a valuable member of the team, not a labour force for secondary tasks.”

Regarding the unmotivated men who are being mobilised, the soldier said:

“Our battalion is based on volunteers. But we also get people from military enlistment offices. We have a recruitment team that conducts interviews, and we try to select those who want to serve and fight, not those who are caught in a shop or at a bus stop.

There are, of course, some difficulties in training in any case, because, as I said, it is difficult for a welder or a driver to learn to be a soldier so quickly. There are always such people, and it is difficult to teach them. It seems that there is nothing to learn, but in fact, in addition to being able to shoot, you also need to have a head on your shoulders, to navigate the terrain and different situations. Not everyone can do this easily…

For example, you can complete the entire MARCH or all the shooting from different positions in a week, but some people need a week just to learn how to aim. But because they don’t understand it well, we won’t give up on them, we will keep working with them, teaching them, and getting them to where they need to be. If they don’t get it through their heads, they will get it through their arms and legs, through physical training, through a slightly different method.”