Ensign - who is this?

Most people who are not related to the army, about ensigns have a very vague idea, which is formed on the basis of watching television series or once heard anecdotes. For them, the ensign is at best an enterprising businessman in shoulder straps, who, if he does not "miss his own," and at worst - a kind of stupid amateur to drink.

But in fact, everything is not so.

Ensign: the meaning of the word

The history of the word "Ensign" goes back to the Church Slavonic language, in which the banner was called the "Prapor". Consequently, ensign is a man carrying a banner. But the word "banner" is derived from the "know" lexeme. From him also went other words, such as "meaning", "familiar". Therefore, the banner is an attribute erected to the level of the symbol by which the membership of the military unit was determined, its "face". Going into battle, the standard-bearer was always ahead of the advancing army, carrying the cloth. And in the event of the loss of the military banner, the military unit, to which it belonged, disbanded with disgrace. Therefore, for such an honorable mission, the bravest and strongest, both physically and morally, were selected.

Ensign as a military rank

The military rank "ensign" was first introduced in 1649 by the second of the kings of the Romanov dynasty - Alexei Mikhailovich. And the title was a reward, which you had to deserve on the battlefield with your valor, dedication and courage. But Peter I, the son of Alexei Mikhailovich, who succeeded him on the royal throne, in 1712, when he created his new regular army, transformed the rank of ensign into a military rank. Now this was the name of the younger officer in the infantry and cavalry.

In 1884, again, there were changes. The rank of "Ensign" ceased to be the first among officers. In the acting army he was replaced by a "second lieutenant" ("cornet" in the cavalry). However, as an officer's rank, he was retained for military reserve and Caucasian militia. Also, the rank of "ensign" could be awarded to soldiers who distinguished themselves during the fighting.

Since 1886, the junior military ranks had the opportunity to receive the rank of ensign, having passed special examinations, but after that, already in the "reserve", they were to annually take a month and a half military training.

Regular changes with the possibility of obtaining a rank occurred during the reign of Nicholas II. In 1912, the monarch approved a provision that allowed the assignment of the rank of warrant officer to cadets of military and special schools in the event of their accelerated release (after 8 months of training) in connection with the mobilization in the army.

Thus, during the war of 1914-1918, the "early" ensigns formed the basis of a commander's corps, leading small subunits or machine-gun crews.

55 years without ensigns

With the coming to power of the Bolsheviks (1917), the military rank "ensign" was abolished, as, indeed, all other military ranks. Interestingly, the first Supreme Commander of the Red Army after the 17th year was N. V. Krylenko, who, under Nicholas II, was just an ensign.

For 55 years the Soviet army existed without the institute of ensigns, and only on January 1, 1972, by order of the USSR Ministry of Defense, this rank was returned to the armed forces of the country. The military department considered that the posts occupied by sergeants and junior lieutenants could be occupied by a separate category of servicemen-ensigns (in the navy midshipmen). Thus, it turned out that the ensign is a separate kind of servicemen, which are not related to either soldiers or officers, but clearly defined the border between them.

Another attempt to get rid of ensigns

In December 2008, Anatoly Serdyukov, who at that time was Minister of Defense, again decided to liquidate the institute of ensigns, hoping that they could be replaced by sergeants-contractors with higher education. At the same time dismissing from the ranks of the Armed Forces of Russia about 140,000 military men, who are in the rank of "ensign". But Sergei Shoigu, who succeeded Serdyukov in April 2013, abolished this decision.

However, specially for ensigns, the staffing table was revised with the special wish of the new MoD - "no warehouses and bases".

New staffing for ensigns

Designed specifically for ensigns (midshipmen), the new staffing included about a hundred posts, all of them were "combat". Which as a whole were divided into two groups:

1. Commanders (commanders: platoons, combat groups, combat post, vehicles).
2. Technical (electrician, head of the radio station, head of the workshop, chief of the technical node, etc.).

That is, all the posts that Serdyukov decided to make sergeants from December 1, while not taking into account the fact that they require a special secondary vocational education. MO under the leadership of Shoigu corrected this, giving to the non-commissioned officer the positions to which their prof. Preparation (the commander of the branch, the combat vehicle, the deputy commander of the platoon, and so on).

But even without warehouses still did not happen. The post of "chief of the warehouse" for ensigns still remained, only now it concerned exclusively military stores - weapons. As for clothing and grocery, they were decided to give in service to civilians.

How to get the rank of ensign in the army

At present, there are 13 schools of ensigns in Russia, where specialists are trained for the armed forces. Therefore, in order to receive the rank of "ensign" in the army, you can use the following methods:

• To join the army in the military service. There, showing yourself on the good side, to apply with a written request to the command of the unit for sending to school for ensigns. But here there is one nuance. As a rule, the command considers reports only of those servicemen who have already served more than half of the deadline.
• If the emergency service is already over the shoulders, and the reserve serviceman has a desire to again go into the army under a contract, he can immediately declare his desire to enter the school of ensigns without prior referral to the military unit.
• After the conclusion of the contract, submit a report about the desire to study at the school of ensigns directly to the commander of his unit.

Also, with some higher educational institutions, admission of cadets is allowed, which, even without going through the service of conscription, but at the same time having enrolled and graduated in high school under the program of secondary special education, are issued in the rank of ensign. Thus, the RVSN Academy is training drivers for mobile missile systems, since it is planned to completely exclude the use of sergeants in this post.

Terms of training in the school of the ensign

The terms of schooling directly depend on the military specialty chosen by the cadet. They can be 5-10 months, if the cadet has already served an emergency service and already has a profile specialty.

In the case of starting the training "from scratch" (a cadet enrolled for studies without passing a military service or does not have a profile military specialty), the term can be up to 2 years 10 months.

At the end of the school of ensigns, servicemen conclude a contract with the Defense Ministry for a period of at least 5 years.

Ensign today

In modern realities, the stereotypes about warrant officers as warehouse managers have become irrelevant.

Today, the ensign is a "techie", in charge of which are complex military equipment and communications equipment. He manages the transport that carries the launchers, and, together with the officers, takes part in the alert duty.

Ensign in the modern Russian army from the manager of the factory turned into a real military specialist.