Corps "The Right Sector". Officers. Motivations.

I assigned a meeting date with four of them at the same time. At their place, on the balcony, separated from the plaza in front of the barracks/dining room by the white camouflage netting. Such an observation point: they are not seen behind the mesh, but they can observe the fighters. Improvised table, chairs/benches, coffee ...

“Romashka” (Daisy) is an embodiment of balance, an officer from a military dynasty, a colonel. Graying hedgehog style hair is separated by a scar - an injury. Organized, always neat not only outside, but also emotionally. Also moderate in conversation. Romashka is an instructor of tactics and air scouting. Some soldiers, who decided to stay with the battalion under any circumstances, are following him around with maps and colored pencils. Tactics is an addictive art.

Across him is “Vatslav”. Not only visually. By temperament “Vaclav” is accurate opposite too. By the speedy reactions, humor and even by the shiny shaved head skull with a complex structure he resembles a drop of mercury. Hidrarhium explosive - literary in this sense, because he is an instructor of sappers. Explosions and explosives are his world.

“Frantsuz” (Frenchman) is a foreign component of our improvised gathering. Several wars, foreign legions are behind him. He always looks a little sideways and externally. In a conversation he reminds of a slow movement of water in the mouth of a river: measured pace, informed and clear statements. And above all of this - curious brown eyes which are studying you closely.

“Varyag” is the youngest one. He is one of the UVC RS trainees. Among the personnel officers he tries to stay on equal terms. If it’s not much successful, he is catching up with jokes, at which he is a great master.

While drinking my coffee I am telling them why I came here: I want to hear from them, officers-instructors, where the battalion is heading, and how all of us are helping in its restructuring. The questions are painful, because each of us wants to be sure of our usefulness tomorrow. We have grown into the battalion, we became a part of it, hopefully not the smallest one.

- What keeps you here, gentlemen officers? What makes you be here? Where would you like to head?

Romashka: Let Vatslav be the first to answer. Come on, Vatslav!

Vatslav: First of all what keeps me here …

Then everyone starts to laugh because we all know what forces Vatslav to stay at the base. One Sunday evening local hooligans tried to disarm him and another fighter. They were very drunk, otherwise would never have gotten into a fight with Vatslav as he could stop an opponent just by a look. But that time the opponent was stopped by the bullet of PM. Vaclav wounded the local dipso, who has been already released from the hospital, but our instructor is still under the investigation. Worried. We too, though are trying to laugh and to believe in justice. And we are laughing now.

Vatslav: First of all a house arrest keeps me here. Flip to the next page! Secondarily I am held here by my personal commitments. Flip to the third page: but I do not know the sequence - what’s the first, what’s the third. The combination of reasons. I do not know what might become of the battalion ... I know where we are heading! I do not know what to expect during the movement .. but where - I know.

- Where?

Vatslav: Yes, to the victory we are moving, to the victory. In simple words, I have one goal - vic-to-ry! By any means.

- Vatslav, and how do you see it? You're a fighting officer - what is a victory for you?

Vatslav: Victory ... I will admit that we won when on our territory there are no other troops, when clear boundaries of our country are set - that is a victory for me. This is regarding a military victory. The victory, the one that we are currently planning - the revolution of dignity that we have started - it is a little bit different. There in the play come political issues, I think, and I will not be getting involved there. I mean in politics.

Romashka: After participating in the battles it is very difficult to stick to politics in general.

Vatslav: I repeat - and I said it many times - I've always been an apolitical person. In general, the army should be out of politics. That is not as a policy tool for meeting some goals, but outside of politics. The main purpose of the army - is to defend its territorial integrity and its people. For that we pay taxes, train officers, warrant officers, sergeants, and are building a structure. Unfortunately, for many years this has not been done and now we have disappointing results.

- Vatslav, well, you cannot deny that in the basis of military structures, military expediency is still an idea! Romashka: to protect the territory!

Vatslav: Mrs. Alla, what might be an idea of a person who respects the memory of deceased parents, what might be my idea, except to defend my home, my family, even my animals? What an idea do I still need? What motivation do I need ? This is my land. The enemy came to my land. I do not know what the enemy’s goal is. I can speculate, but what’s their goal exactly, I do not know …

Frantsuz: They did not come as guests - they came as an enemy!

Vatslav: Yes. They came as an enemy. As for me personally, I don’t need any special motivation. I am a former army officer. There, on the other side might be some people who once were friends with me, we might have been performing joint military tasks. But I am here. I am here now and I defend my land - and no extra motivation is required. Neither a permit, sorry, nor some additional blessing is required. I have an understanding of the situation: I defend my land.

Frantsuz: The permit is spelled out in the Constitution.

Vatslav: I understand that we live by the Constitution, by the law, but the motivation - it is internal, it comes from the heart, from understanding everything that is happening.

- Once I was driving with “Vohnyk” - it’s a symbolic character in my UVC history, because thanks to him I got here - and he told me, "Mrs. Alla, the most common motivation among the young ones in the battalion is to prove something to a girlfriend. There is a declared motivation, but there is also an internal, a hidden one. You, as officers, should know the true motivation of your subordinates. Do they differ a lot, these two motivations? What have you encountered here, in the UVC?

Frantsuz: It’s simple: most came just to shoot. To the safari! An incredible number! Around eighty percent. And for the idea to changing the country, to make it better - a few. As one of the US Presidents said: do not ask what the country has done for you, but ask what you have done for their country. So, if you ask most of these people, they say: and what did I get from my country? They will not ask what can I do for my country. They come to the safari, to shoot.

This is obvious from how they relate to the protection. Protection means not only running on the front line with a machine gun.

- Do you agree?

Romashka: Well, regarding the situation that Frantsuz have outlined very well: as there was an opportunity to enter, say, into the state structures and work there with their own motivation and patriotism - the very people who come here to hunt and, say, to get some indulgences, are changing now the battalion’s position and the picture of the volunteer movement in general.

- I don’t quite understand, Roma…

Romashka: The picture in the eyes of people who rely on volunteers - that’s what I mean. Now the focus shifted slightly: to enter the state structures is a no-no. This is some kind of betrayal ... They all should be punished-punished-punished.

Vatslav: I will just add some more. People are of different training, hardened by Maidan. And there is such an alienation: they have their own association with the word "militia" . And they do not see themselves in the ranks of the police, or militia - among the people who will re-build their country and will perform these functions in the future. They are used to the fact that it’s bad. For example the Security Service - it is a priori always against us. But, as the friend “Hatylo” said, if you are offered something useful to do for your people, stop whining and go and do it. But as of patriotism, I think, at least I would like it to be so, most people have it. Again, patriotism is different. Someone proves it by his actions, and someone proves it on the pages of Facebook. And I personally have no right to judge especially those who are doing something good for the volunteer movement, for the victory. A fundraiser, or borscht, the girls made for us - it’s also for the victory. And regarding those who came here, as Frantsuz said, for the safari, for the selfie, seeking their own meanings and solving their personal affairs - well, it’s very sad.

Motivation? You know, those guys with whom I was personally on the front line - only some admitted that they were terrified (but it's good that they admitted, there is nothing wrong with it) and only a few showed themselves somewhat from a negative side. But overall the guys are brave, motivated, determined. And if there was a command "forward", they would go - I give a hundred percent. You can see it in their eyes! A person who will conduct himself well in a battle is recognized at once. Recognized at the first shelling - his eyes will give away everything. Eyes will give away either fear or determination to go. Well, at least for me ... I have learned to distinguish the eyes of a man who is afraid and who is not afraid.

Frantsuz: Vatslav, you can teach people to go ahead. You can teach people not to be afraid. I agree that the determination to go and do something does exist. But this does not change the fact: there are people born to fight, they want this. It does not matter which side. That ,means that the patriotic motivation and the motivation to fight are different. For example, I know that there are mercenaries - right? - And volunteers. Mercenaries do not care on which side to fight, but they go and they are fearless. And there are people who become mercenaries.

Vatslav: Dear friend Valyery! I have told you that I would like to think that the motivation of most people is patriotism. But there are a lot that want to loot, or something else. A war is a litmus test that shows positive-negative.

Romashka: This is true. And very fast!

Vatslav: In a war there are no half-tones. There are only full tones. There are red and ... and whatever. But mostly everything there is black and white. A man is either good or bad, i.e. coming here in order to carry out some secret desires …

Frantsuz: That shows not even in the fact, that, okay, we have sat in the trenches, fought, then the person returns and it seems to him that there's nothing to do. The true patriotism manifests itself when you're going to do not what you want but what is needed. In absolutely everything!

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