Статті в журналах з теми "Tank Brigade"

The radical changes in the nature of modern military conflicts, the range and content of the tasks involved in the Armed Forces of Ukraine require a series of measures aimed at improving their training system. One of the components of the Armed Forces training is combat training, which is conducted both in peacetime and during a special period. The experience of the counter-terrorist operation and the operation of the Joint Forces in eastern Ukraine shows that the successful accomplishment of combat tasks by tank brigades (units) to a large extent depends on the effectiveness of combat training during combat readiness recovery, the result of which is their preparedness level. All this requires finding and implementing new approaches to the organization and conduction of combat training during combat readiness recovery, which requires the development of a scientific and methodological apparatus to assess their preparedness level. Based on scientific and methodological approaches to assessing the effectiveness of military units combat training and the experience of carrying out combat readiness recovery, the article presents a partial methodology for assessing the tank brigade preparedness level during combat readiness recovery, which takes into account the preparedness level of each structural unit of the brigade, taking into account its importance. Assessing the preparedness level of the tank brigade structural unit is calculated by dependence, which takes into account the overall level of military personnel training and their coherence.The indicators that characterize the training level of the serviceman include: the level of individual abilities of the serviceman, length of service and occupational training courses in the field of activity. The level of coherence in the management of the military unit depends on the experience gained by each serviceman in the occupied position during the exercise (training), taking into account their importance, and the unit – on the results of working out of collective training standards.This partial method allows to make quantitative assessment of the tank brigade preparedness level to perform the tasks on purpose, and also identifies "weaknesses" in carrying out combat recovery, which necessitates the development of recommendations for improving the efficiency of combat recovery. The results of the study can be used in the practice of restoring the combat capability of tank brigades and in the research on the readiness level assessment in scientific institutions.

The article addresses using the Leopard 2 tank simulators and trainers based on training experience from the 1st battalion of 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade (10 BKPanc) and the Leopard Training Center from Świętoszów. The Leopard 2 tank simulators and trainers from the perspective of the instructor and trainees are characterized. The author has attempted to evaluate individual devices. The possibilities of using individual training devices in the process of training subunits are presented.

The article analyzes the ways of development of missile troops and artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Modern examples of the development of missile troops and artillery of the armies of NATO and the United States are given. These shortcomings in the development of RVIA of Ukraine and ways to correct them. Methods of further improvement of RViA of Ukraine are also offered. The Ukrainian-Russian war changed NATO’s attitude toward artillery and missile forces. As a result, the United States is already improving its artillery. Ukrainian missile and artillery forces must make a significant qualitative leap in three key areas – mobility, accuracy and range, as well as manufacturability. Today, only the 26th separate art brigade has a 152-mm ACS with a range of up to 30 km. The missile troops and artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as other components of our army, met the beginning of the Ukrainian-Russian war in a difficult situation. 2014 was preceded by numerous «reforms», the essence of which was to reduce these troops. Yes, in 21 years, more than 20 compounds and units have been disbanded and only partially reformatted. These are, in particular, the Elbrus missile systems (popularly known by the NATO classification as Scud) with a range of up to 700 km, which were completely disposed of in 2011. Ukraine is left with only operational and tactical missile systems «Point-U» with a range of 120 km, the number of which in the Armed Forces also decreased. There was a reduction of jet and barrel artillery. Ukraine inherited too many different weapons from the Soviet Union, including artillery and various missiles. But large-scale reductions reflected the attitude that high-intensity interstate war does not threaten our country. Therefore, there is no special need for artillery if the priorities are peacekeeping missions, the fight against instability and terrorism. Artillery is a means of fire support to ground units in an offensive or defense in a large-scale war. And we could not need it, the developers of the Military Doctrine of 2012 believed. And at a critical time, in March 2014, there were only 2 separate artillery brigades (26th and 55th) in the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the Msta-S / B, Hyacinth-S / B, and Pion systems, 1 brigade with «Point-U» (19th), as well as 3 artillery regiments (27th, 15th and 107th), which were armed with MLRS «Hurricane» and «Tornado». Separate mechanized and tank brigades had so-called brigade artillery groups (systems «Carnation», «Acacia», «Hail»). At the same time, the paratroopers not only did not have tanks, but also serious artillery to support their forces with fire. Keywords: missile forces, artillery, development, modernization.

This study presents a methodology of a quantitative risk assessment for the scenario of an onboard hydrogen storage tank rupture and tunnel fire incident. The application of the methodology is demonstrated on a road tunnel. The consequence analysis is carried out for the rupture of a 70 MPa, 62.4-litre hydrogen storage tank in a fire, that has a thermally activated pressure relief device (TPRD) failed or blocked during an incident. Scenarios with two states of charge (SoC) of the tank, i.e., SoC = 99% and SoC = 59%, are investigated. The risks in terms of fatalities per vehicle per year and the cost per incident are assessed. It is found that for the reduction in the risk with the hydrogen-powered vehicle in a road tunnel fire incident to the acceptable level of 10−5 fatality/vehicle/year, the fire-resistance rating (FRR) of the hydrogen storage tank should exceed 84 min. The FRR increase to this level reduces the societal risk to an acceptable level. The increase in the FRR to 91 min reduces the risk in terms of the cost of the incident to GBP 300, following the threshold cost of minor injury published by the UK Health and Safety Executive. The Frequency–Number (F–N) of the fatalities curve is developed to demonstrate the effect of mitigation measures on the risk reduction to socially acceptable levels. The performed sensitivity study confirms that with the broad range of input parameters, including the fire brigade response time, the risk of rupture of standard hydrogen tank-TPRD systems inside the road tunnel is unacceptable. One of the solutions enabling an inherently safer use of hydrogen-powered vehicles in tunnels is the implementation of breakthrough safety technology—the explosion free in a fire self-venting (TPRD-less) tanks.

Indirect fire is a domain of artillery. Tanks due to their combat capabilities (mobility, hit resistance and accuracy of fire) were hardly used for such type of tasks, although being prepared from constructional point of view. Nevertheless, evaluation of a concept of tanks utilization in a battlefield frequently oscillated around a support of infantry or just operation support. Closing down and ceasing development of artillery units as a result of the Polish Armed Forces’ transformation led to a situation under which the lack of an adequately intensive artillery fire significantly affecting support of first echelon units can be faced during real operations. For this reason, the General Command of Branches of Armed Forces bearing in mind tanks’ capability of fulfilling the aforementioned task decided to reactivate the competence of indirect fire by tanks’ crews, especially because the execution of this task was terminated at the beginning of the 1990s. The article presents the analysis of documents in force related to conducting indirect fire by a tank subunit and characteristics of individual undertakings required for preparation of a subunit to fulfil above-mentioned tasks based on the experience gained by a tank battalion of the 15th Mechanized Brigade in Giżycko, as well as realization of numerous organizational projects necessary for shooting preparation and fire control execution during fulfillment of this type of fire tasks. Results of practical indirect fire execution by tanks lead to constructive observations referred to achieving high results of an accurate indirect fire by tanks and implementing changes in documents which normalize training and shooting processes, adjusting an organizational portion of the project to the current organizational structures of tank and artillery subunits and to correlations resulting from this fact. The article also inclines to discussion regarding the direction of changes indispensable for conducting the indirect fire by tanks and the rationale of the execution of these tasks in a contemporary battlefield.

Introduction. Tanks and tank farms are widespread in many constituent entities of the Russian Federation and are among the most important elements of the model for the production, treatment, transportation and processing of oil and oil products. It is relevant both at the Russian and global levels to ensure that fire safety is arranged for tank farms to reduce highest risk levels according to the risk-based safety model. In the context of information and communication technology (ICT) developments and introduction of ICT into the operation and management of various facilities, over the past decades advanced methods have emerged for predicting the occurrence and development of emergency situations at facilities and enhancing management decisions on containment and elimination of emergency situations including fires.Goals and objectives. In this paper, the authors present a model that they developed to promptly forecast heat flows using artificial neural networks. The forecast model will improve the safety of fire brigade personnel responsible for extinguishing fires inside ground-based vertical steel tanks having protective walls. In the research, the authors place special emphasis on identifying dependence between the heat flow and the wind load. Methods. To achieve this goal, the authors arranged and conducted a series of experiments, collected experimental data on heat flows, and created training and test samples.Results. Dependences between heat flows and environmental factors were identified by constructing adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems or adaptive network-based fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS). Various types of membership functions, optimisation and system generation methods were compared and it was found out that for ANFISs, prediction of heat flows with regard to and disregarding wind loads were optimal, if subcluster and hybrid optimisation methods were used, as they had lowest error values for samples.Discussion. The analysis shows that wind speed and tank location can rise temperatures of the air, tank wall and petrol. Therefore, despite the complexity of the analysis, the regard for all these factors makes it possible to identify a safe distance between a burning tank and firefighters.Conclusions. The research made it possible to develop a model for prompt heat flow forecasting with the help of artificial intelligence elements (ANFIS). The results obtained in the course of the work make it possible to increase the efficiency of prompt forecasting of the dynamic behaviour of fire inside tanks and tank farms and optimize managerial decision-making by responsible persons.

The experience of using tank brigade and units in the of anti-terrorist operation (ATO) and the operation of the Joint Forces (OJF), which are the main strike force of the Land Forces, indicates that their successful combat performance depends to a large extent on their combat capability. The level of preparedness of the brigade has a direct impact on combat capability.During combat renewal, combat training activities are conducted during which the training facilities acquire certain capabilities to perform combat missions. Due to the limited time involved in conducting combat training, methodological training of trainers has a significant impact on their level of training. This requires the search and implementation of new approaches to the quality of combat training activities by leaders of training in the course of combat readiness, which requires the development of a scientific and methodological apparatus to assess their level of methodological training. The article proposes a partial methodology for assessing the level of methodological training of leaders of training during combat training in the course of combat readiness, as part of a comprehensive methodology for assessing the effectiveness of combat tank training in the course of combat capability, which allows to take into account the impact of training leaders on the quality of training. The use of the proposed method allows the training subjects to quantify the level of methodological training of the trainers and to identify problems in the organization of their classes. The above methodology uses indicators that characterize the level of knowledge and skills of the head teacher in the subject of study, their experience in their classes and the availability of training courses to improve pedagogical skills.

Abstract: This study aims to assess the musculoskeletal risk of military personnel on a Leopard 2 A6 main battle tank crew and to identify associated factors for future prevention and mitigation strategies. A sample of 57 Portuguese military personnel, who are or were part of the Leopard 2 A6 main battle tank crew, answered a questionnaire on their perception of task performance, considering muscle demands, comfort, posture, movements, and associated symptoms. A subsample of four soldiers from the Armoured Squadron of the Portuguese Mechanized Brigade were assessed using an inertial measurement unit system and underwent a whole-body kinematic analysis coupled with a Rapid Entire Body Assessment during a simulated two-hour mission. The results indicate that soldiers accurately perceive their roles within the crew and that, overall, there is a high risk of musculoskeletal injuries in all tasks. However, tasks directly related to the crew’s primary duties carry consistently high risk when considering the time spent on their tasks. This study highlights the need for targeted preventive measures to reduce the incidence and severity of injuries among the crew of the Leopard 2 A6 main battle tank.

The purpose of the article is to determine the role of Katukov’s men in the battles of Orel, Mtsensk and on the outskirts of Moscow. Consistency, historicism and objectivity are the main principles of the research. In addition, methods of analysis, synthesis, retrospective and comparative historical, content analysis are used; the activity of Katukov’s 4th tank brigade is analyzed on the base of archival materials, military historical works, the war and post-war years press, veteran guards’ personal memories. Much attention is given to personal characters of the Katukov’s men. The author emphasizes such characters as bossy maturity, tactical skill and per-sonal bravery. They showed courage and heroism on the battlefields. They used such tactics as to deliver deterrent strikes against the enemy with small forces, to act from ambushes, to create false positions, often changing the lines of defense, to inflict flank attacks on the enemy, etc. Their military prowess brought novelty to tank strategies and contributed to the task achievement in conditions of superiority of enemy forces.

Abstract Treatments were replicated five times in a 4-year-old ‘Chilliwack’ raspberry field j in Vancouver, WA. Plots measuring 1 row wide and 30 ft long were arranged in a RCB design. Full coverage sprays were applied on 10 Jun with a tractor-mounted 6-tank plot sprayer with an over-the-row boom. It was equipped with 14 D3-45 TeeJet nozzles per row at 200 psi and delivered 130 gal/acre at 2 mph. Basal sprays were applied with the same sprayer while using only the 3 lower nozzles on each side of the row. The nozzles were spaced 10 j inches apart and the lower one was 12 inches above the soil line. Sampling began at 10 PM by placing a 3-ft-wide by 10-ft-long white cloth under each side | of the row near the center of the plot. The top training wire was grasped tightly by hand and given 10 vigorous shakes. The weevils that were knocked off j were counted with the aid of a flashlight and returned to the plots. Evaluations were made at 3, 6, and 14 DAT. Brigade and Alert were reapplied 27 Jun j and sampled 4 and 14 DAT. Alert and both Brigade treatments significantly reduced the number of BVW up to 14 DAT and 4 DAT of the second application.

The article provides a variant of the order and content of the work of the rear management bodies for planning the rear support of military bases (sundivisions) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the preparation and conduct of hostilities according to NATO standard operating procedures and their further use in the practical activities of the rear management bodies of military bases (sundivisions) and making changes and additions to the Temporary Combat Statute of the mechanized troops of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Part 1 (Brigade) of the Provisional Combat Statute of the Tank Troops of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Part 1 (Brigade), of the Combat Statute "Logistics of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine", of the Combat Statute "Logistics Operations of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine", methodological (training) manuals and methodological recommendations of the Rear of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The materials of this article should be used by officers of the rear of the tactical chain of command during individual training of officers, collective training of headquarters, sundivisions, and the military base as a whole in the system of combat training (during combat recovery activities) with the aim of increasing individual, combat (special) capabilities military bases (sundivisions) regarding joint performance of tasks with military bases (sundivisions) of NATO member states and the gradual transition of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to NATO standards. The procedure and content of the work of the rear management bodies for planning the rear supply of a military base (sundivision) during the preparation and conduct of hostilities according to NATO standard operating procedures, developed on the basis of three guiding documents: the Temporary Combat Statute of the Mechanized Troops of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Part 1 (Brigade); Combat charter "Logistics of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine" [5] of the tactical publication Procedure "Works of the commander and staff of the tactical control unit for battle planning (combat operations) according to NATO standard operating procedures." Keywords: military decision-making process; planning of rear (rear services) support; mode of operation, methods of operation, rear control bodies; rear command post; rear supply plan.

Relevance lies in the need to preserve the historical truth about the events of the Great Patriotic War and one of its most important battles – the Battle of Kursk. Despite the significant historiographical groundwork, the generalization of the experience of fighting in the defense zone of the Central Front troops continues to be actively developed. The retrospective factography of participation in the battles of individual units and formations requires further clarification, researchers should pay attention to the restoration of the destinies and names of the heroes of the summer battles of 1943. Whose example continues to inspire the exploits of modern defenders of the Fatherland.Purpose. On the basis of documentary sources from the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, to reveal the specifics of the organization of defensive battles at Teplov heights by the forces of the gunners of the 3rd fighter brigade.Objectives: to identify and study archival materials about the defensive battles of the 3rd Fighter Brigade on the northern face of the Kursk Bulge; to note the role of gunners in deterring the offensive of German troops on July 5-12, 1943; to determine the behavior of individual servicemen who distinguished themselves during the summer battles, to characterize the problems of establishing their destinies.Methodology. During the research, the author adhered to the principles of objectivity and historicism. The information revealed in the sources was systematized and analyzed, allowing to reveal the problems of using artillery in defensive battles during the Battle of Kursk.Results. The generalization of the experience of combat operations of the 3rd Fighter Brigade during defensive battles on the northern face of the Kursk Bulge indicates a well-thought-out and successfully implemented tactics of using individual artillery units in the organization of anti-tank defense.Conclusion. An example of the courage and bravery of the soldiers of the 3rd fighter Brigade during the battles at Teplovsky Heights testifies to their high moral and volitional qualities, as well as the rational alignment of forces and means at the occupied defense lines, which ensured the successful fulfillment of the combat tasks assigned to the gunners.

Since the former Cold War, the Federal Republic of Germany has had the closest, the most full-scale and different in the spectrum of tracks relations in the sphere of common strengthening of the defence capabilities with the continental Western European countries. First, these ones are France and the Netherlands. The article tries to explore German relations with these two countries in the military sphere during the modern period. The key research methods are event-analysis and comparative analysis. The paper covers the experience of the creation of the first bilateral and multilateral military groups of NATO member states` armed forces which consist of staffs and military forces of the mixed troop system. The article notes that first military groups of this kind were created on the territory of the united Germany and examines the reasons of this tendency. Special attention is paid to the development of German-Dutch Corpspotential. This one, the 1 st tank division and the division of rapid reaction forces (each of those divisions has one Dutch brigade) of the Bundeswehr are explored as military mechanisms of deep integration between the two countries. The article also identifies the features of military-technical German-Dutch cooperation, including their common efforts in the frames of Permanent Structured Cooperation platform. The article compares the scales and quality of German-Dutch and German-French cooperation. In this regard the paper rises the question about real military importance of German-French brigade and cooperation between two countries in military-technical field, including the creation of robotized technics. The paper shows the limits of German-French cooperation potential until the early 2020's.

The article is devoted to the Great Patriotic War, the Iasi-Chisinau and Uman-Botoshani offensives, the glorious feats of the Soviet sons on the battlefields and in the rear, who were able to save the world from the fascist tyranny. Uman-Botoshani offensive began March 5, 1944. The author tells about this complicated operation, which has resulted to the releasing of southern regions of Right Bank of Ukraine, part of the Moldavian Soviet republic, as a result, the Red Army crossed the Soviet border, entering the territory of the Romanian kingdom. The important role of the Iasi-Kishinev operation is emphasized, which began on August 20, 1944. During these battles was destroyed largest German-Romanian grouping is in this area. The author offers the route visiting of battle glory places in the Republic of Moldova, where the rise on pedestals legendary tanks T-34-85. The monument "Tank" to liberators of northern Beltsy city - battle tank T-34, which was struck in the fighting in the course the Iasi-Kishinev operation. Many defenders of Beltsy became its honorable citizens: Hero of the Soviet Union B. Makeev, twice Hero of the Soviet Union I. Konev, three times Hero of the Soviet Union I. Kozhedub, three times Hero of the Soviet Union A. Pokryshkin. The second memorial is Mound of Glory in Dubossary. Kurgan stands on a man-made T-34. In 1968 from the Dniester River was extracted a fighting machine with the remains of the crew. In Tiraspol at the Memorial of Glory established the T-34-85. It is a monument to the fallen soldiers of the Great Patriotic War. The crew was perished in Hungary. In the Gagauz Comrat city August 22, 1989, was erected on a pedestal of the tank T-34 of the 36th a tank brigade, which has participated in battles for the city. The next point of our route is south of Moldova. Here, at the beginning of the war had taken an unequal battle and had fought heroically the border guards. On the road Cahul - Moscovei erected a monument "Tank", dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the victory over fascism. Between the villages of Leuseni-Onesti is situated a memorial complex with a monument to the Unknown Soldier. In 1941 in this place perished in an unequal battle with the occupiers soldiers of the 161th Moldovan infantry regiment. 25 years later the monument was erected - on top of the mountain on a pedestal stands a legendary machine T-34-85, which a quarter of a century has laid on the bottom of the river Prut. The last point of our route is the village Chinisheuzi in Rezina district. Villagers were initiators of fundraising for the construction of a tank column: from the residents of Moldova collected more than half a million rubles and built column "From Moldova workers." The article tells about the threat of the dismantling of monuments to soldiers-liberators and their protection of citizens of the republic. The silent witnesses of past battles of heroes of the Great Patriotic War are stand on pedestals, reminding for us, the descendants, that we must cherish the historical memory.

Svistelin Dmitry Pavlovich was born on November 27, 1923 in the town Seredina-Buda in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. During the Great Patriotic War, he served in the 164th Tank Brigade of the 16th Tank Corps, which took part in the Battle of Kursk. In one of the battles, Dmitry Pavlovich was severely wounded, but after the Victory of the Soviet Union he found the strength and entered the medical faculty of the Lviv State Medical Institute and graduated form it in 1951. Subsequently, Dmitry Pavlovich came to Smolensk, where he became a postgraduate at the Department of Pathological Anatomy of the Smolensk State Medical Institute. From that moment he paid his debt to the Motherland already as a doctor being the head of the pathological department of the Smolensk Regional Psychiatric Hospital. Subsequently, Dmitry Pavlovich began to teach at the Department of Pathological Anatomy and became interested in scientific activities under the guidance of Professor Vladimir Gerasimovich Molotkov, who later guided him for both his candidates and doctoral dissertations. Having achieved a great success in the pathological anatomy and becoming a professor, Dmitry Pavlovich decided to return to practice again. In 1996, he shifted to the post of pathologist in the expert-organizational-advisory department of the Smolensk Regional Institute of Pathology, which even today bears his name due to his outstanding work both for pathological anatomy in general and for Smolensk medicine. For services to the Motherland both as a defender of the Fatherland and as a doctor, Dmitry Pavlovich Svistelin has such awards as the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd degree, as well as the badge Excellence in Public Health. On June 16, 2006, at the age of 82, Professor Dmitry Pavlovich Svistelin passed away and was buried at the New Cemetery in Smolensk.

Military diaries of the Great Patriotic War are a rare type of sources that requires detailed study. The diary entries of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Commander of the 7th Guards Tank Destroyer Artillery Brigade, Colonel Borsoev Vladimir Buzinaevich, published in this article, are to introduce new documents into scientific use and to expand the research field. The archaeographic method of research has made it possible to compile a short historical description of the diary and to publish three diary entries for July 5 – August 13, 1943, that describe author’s participation in the famous Battle of Kursk; the Kursk Bulge was the game changer of the Great Patriotic War. The diary is stored in the State Archive of the Republic of Buryatia; it is of great interest to researchers, since it reflects events of the war and front-line everyday life from the perspective of a Soviet officer all through war. Its entries begin on July 10, 1941 and end on March 7, 1945 (with the author’s death from a fatal wound). There are 274 entries in the diary, which are unevenly distributed over the years. For five and a half months of 1941 V. B. Borsoev made 116 records, while for three full years from 1942 to 1944 he made 152 entries. The records for 1941 are distinctive in completeness of description of military operations, as well as in analysis of artillery battles. The scenes of hostilities give way to worries about his family. In the records for 1942, military events alternate with description of the military officer’s daily life, which consisted of reading and analyzing books, for example, L. Tolstoy's “War and Peace,” of watching movies, playing chess, etc. 1943–44 are represented by records stating confidence in victory and describing offensive operations in which the author took part. For more than two months of 1945 there are only six short entries. The diary of V. B. Borsoev is a unique source that includes different information layers from description of hostilities to front-line daily life. Thus, the diary deserves serious scientific research and publication.

The author identifies deficiencies and suggests amendments and additions to the procedure of operational (combat) orders production (hereinafter referred to as the Procedure) as well as Field Manuals for the mechanized and tank forces of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in order to improve graphic depiction of the performance of military logistics units at operational and tactical level. The elimination of the identified deficiencies suggests the following changes: use identical typical symbols to depict similar in function units and elements of military logistics within all armed services and branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which requires prior coordination with various military command and control agencies; use only letters of the Ukrainian alphabet in textual modifiers of the conventional symbols, avoid duplication of conventional symbols, which stand for various types of equipment, in textual modifiers; clarify the existing symbols and add some new ones to the Procedure in order to identify the units and technical means of logistics as well as their functional performance while accomplishing their tasks, anticipate the logistics units of the prospective organizational structure as well as local industrial facilities. Taking in consideration the identified deficiencies, the following proposals for making changes and additions to specified regulatory documents are given: use identical symbols to indicate warehouses (artillery, engineering equipment, engineering weapons and ammunition storage, NBC protection equipment, topographic maps, armored vehicles, medical equipment); introduce new conventional symbols to indicate the performance of logistics units and all available means of military logistics (areas and points of transfer of material resources, points of meeting of automobile units with material means of rear services, technical means for cooking and washing clothing, patrols, supply and evacuation routes for the brigade ( regiment), local industrial facilities and economic infrastructure, mobile departments of deployed forces and service support elements); make recommendations regarding the size of letters for the footnotes on topographic maps scales 25,000 and 50,000, as well as codes of the maps used by military personnel with regard to the experience of participation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the antiterrorist operation (operation of the combined forces) in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

Besides the combat-arms assets, the rapid troops of the Royal Hungarian Defence Forces also had field artillery (light howitzers), air defence artillery and anti-tank guns. The order of battle of the motorised units required the existence of one (after the autumn of 1941, two) artillery battalion(s) with vehicle-drawn assets for providing combat support. The motorised artillery battalions initially had four batteries with light howitzers, while the armoured divisions had two motorised artillery battalions. There were two artillery battalions with four (six) batteries in the mobilised organisation of the cavalry brigades (division). For ensuring defence against air attacks, vehicle-drawn air defence artillery battalions were introduced in the armoured divisions and the 1st Cavalry Division with one light and one heavy battery. Against tank attacks, there were 4–6 anti-tank guns in service used by each of the anti-tank companies of the infantry and reconnaissance battalions (in the motorised rifle brigades and hussar regiments of the armoured divisions) and the 1st Cavalry Division.

Spiro Munayyer's account begins immediately after the United Nations General Assembly partition resolution of 29 November 1947 and culminates in the cataclysmic four days of Lydda's conquest by the Israeli army (10-14 July 1948) during which 49,000 of Lydda's 50,000 inhabitants ("swollen" with refugees) were forcefully expelled, the author himself being one of those few allowed to remain in his hometown. Although the author was not in a position of political or military responsibility, he was actively involved in Lydda's resistance movement both as the organizer of the telephone network linking up the various sectors of Lydda's front lines and as a volunteer paramedic, in which capacity he accompanied the city's defenders in most of the battles in which they took part. The result is one of the very few detailed eye-witness accounts that exists from the point of view of an ordinary Palestinian layman of one of the most important and tragic episodes of the 1948 war. The conquest of Lydda (and of its neighbor, Ramla, some five kilometers to the south) was the immediate objective of Operation Dani-the major offensive launched by the Israeli army at the order of Ben-Gurion during the so-called "Ten Days" of fighting (8-18 July 1948), between the First Truce (11 June-8 July) and the Second Truce (which started on 18 July and lasted, in theory, until the armistice agreements of 1949). The further objective of Operation Dani was to outflank the Transjordanian Arab Legion positions at Latrun (commanding the defile at Bab al-Wad, where the road from the coast starts climbing toward Jerusalem) in order to penetrate central Palestine and capture Rumallah and Nablus. Lydda and Ramla and the surrounding villages fell within the boundaries of the Arab state according to the UNGA partition resolution. Despite their proximity to Tel Aviv and the fall of many Palestinian towns since April (Tiberias, Haifa, Jaffa, Safad, Acre, and Baysan), they had held out until July even though little help had reached them from the Arab armies entering on 15 May. Their strategic importance was enormous because of their location at the intersection of the country's main north-south and west-east road and rail lines. Palestine's largest British army camp at Sarafand was a few kilometers west of Lydda, its main international airport an equal distance to the north, its central railway junction at Lydda itself. Ras al-Ayn, fifteen kilometers north of Lydda, was the main source of Jerusalem's water supply, while one of the largest British depots was at Bayt Nabala, seven kilometers to its northeast. The Israeli forces assembled for Operation Dani were put under the overall command of Yigal Allon, the Palmach commander. They consisted of the two Palmach brigades (Yiftach and Harel, the latter under the command of Yitzhak Rabin), the Eighth Armored Brigade composed of the Second Tank Battalion and the Ninth Commando Battalion (the former under the command of Yitzhak Sadeh, founder of the Palmach, the latter under that of Moshe Dayan), the Second Battalion Kiryati Brigade, the Third Battalion Alexandroni Brigade, and several units of the Kiryati Garrison Troops (Khayl Matzav). The Eighth Armored Brigade had a high proportion of World War II Jewish veterans volunteering from the United States, Britain, France, and South Africa (under the so-called MAHAL program), while its two battalions also included 700 members of the Irgun Zva'i Le'umi (IZL). The total strength of the Israeli attackers was about 8,000 men. The only regular Arab troops defending Lydda (and Ramla) was a minuscule force of 125 men-the Fifth Infantry Company of the Transjordanian Arab Legion. The defenders of Lydda (and Ramla) were volunteer civilian residents, like the author, under the command of a retired sergeant who had served in the Arab Legion. The reason for the virtual absence of Arab regular troops in the Lydda-Ramla sector was that the Arab armies closest to it (the Egyptian in the south, the Arab Legion in the east, and the Iraqi in the north) were already overstretched. The Egyptian northernmost post was at Isdud, thirty-two kilometers north of Gaza and a like distance southeast of Ramla-Lydda as the crow flies. The Iraqi southernmost post was at Ras al-Ayn, where they were weakest. And although the Arab Legion was in strength some fifteen kilometers due east at Latrun, the decision had been taken not to abandon its positions on the hills between Ras al-Ayn and Latrun for fear of being outflanked and cut off by the superior Israeli forces in the plains where Lydda and Ramla were situated. Indeed, as General Glubb, commander of the Arab Legion, informs us, he had told King Abdallah and the Transjordanian prime minister Tawfiq Abu Huda even before the end of the Mandate on 15 May that the Legion did not have the forces to hold and defend Lydda and Ramla against Israeli attacks despite the fact that these towns were in the area assigned to the Arabs by the UNGA partition resolution. This explains the token force of the Arab Legion-the Fifth Infantry Company. Thus, the fate of Lydda (and Ramla) was sealed the moment Operation Dani was launched. The Israeli forces did not attack Lydda from the west (where Lydda's defenses facing Tel Aviv were strongest), as the garrison commander Sergeant Hamza Subh expected. Instead, they split into two main forces, northern and southern, which were to rendezvous at the Jewish colony of Ben Shemen east of Lydda and then advance on Lydda from there. After capturing Lydda from the east they were to advance on Ramla, attacking it from the north while making feints against it from the west. Operation Dani began on the night of 9-10 July. Simultaneously with the advance of the ground troops, Lydda and Ramla were bombed from the air. In spite of the surprise factor, the defenders in the eastern sector of Lydda put up stout resistance throughout the 10th against vastly superior forces attacking from Ben Shemen in the north and the Arab village of Jimzu to the south. In the afternoon, Dayan rode with his Commando Battalion of jeeps and half-tracks through Lydda in a hit-and-run raid lasting under one hour "shooting up the town and creating confusion and a degree of terror among the population," as the Jewish brothers Jon and David Kimche put it. This discombobulated the defenders, some of whom surrendered. But the following morning (11 July) a small force of three Arab Legion armored cars entered Lydda, their mission being to help in the evacuation of the beleaguered Fifth Infantry Company. Their sudden appearance both panicked the Israeli troops and rallied the defenders who had not surrendered. The Israeli army put down what it subsequently described as the city's "uprising" with utmost brutality, leaving in a matter of hours in the city's streets about 250 civilian dead in an orgy of indiscriminate killing. Resistance continued sporadically during the 12th and 13th of July, its focus being Lydda's police station, which was finally overrun. As of 11 July, the Israeli army began the systematic expulsion of the residents of Lydda and Ramla (the latter having fallen on 12 July) toward the Arab Legion lines in the east. Also expelled were the populations of some twenty-five villages conquered during Operation Dani, making a total of some 80,000 expellees-the largest single instance of deliberate mass expulsion during the 1948 war. Most of the expellees were women, children, and elderly men, most of the able-bodied men having been taken prisoner. Memories of the trek of the Lydda and Ramla refugees is branded in the collective consciousness of the Palestinians. The Palestinian historian Aref al-Aref, who interviewed survivors at the time, estimates that 350 died of thirst and exhaustion in the blazing July sun, when the temperature was one hundred degrees in the shade. The reaction of public opinion in Ramallah and East Jerusalem at the sight of the new arrivals was to turn against the Arab Legion for its failure to help Lydda and Ramla. Arab Legion officers and men were stoned, loudly hissed at and cursed, a not unintended outcome by the person who gave the expulsion order, David Ben-Gurion, and the man who carried it out, Yitzhak Rabin, director of operations for Operation Dani.

Before the beginning of the aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia had created, organized and armed a powerful military structure within the 2nd military area of the Yugoslav People’s Army, which was renamed into the Army of the Serb Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in May of 1992. It had also never ceased to fill the ranks, arm, supply, train, equip and finance the Serb army which it had created in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Apart from that, abundant undeniable evidence exists which confirms the direct involvement of the Yugoslav Army as well as the special detachments of the Ministry of internal affairs of Serbia in the acts aimed against the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the whole duration of the war and in different parts of the country. In this work we shall present the motives, intentions, chronology and consequences of the participation of special detachments of the Yugoslav Army and the State Security Agency of Serbia in the attacks on Sarajevo during December 1993 and January 1994. On the eve of the conclusion of the Geneva peace talks on the basis of the Owen-Stoltenberg plan, the Serb political and military leadership, expecting further pressure directed towards the signing of the peace treaty and withdrawal from the territory that the Serb forces had taken, reached a decision to strenghen their positions during December 1993. As for the whole duration of the war, Sarajevo was considered to be the strategically most important area, so a military operation “PANCIR-2” was devised, prepared and executed with the aim of taking the key objects of Sarajevo’s defence, which would force the opposition to accept a partition of the city. The forces of the Sarajevo-Romanija corps, and a brigade each from the Hercegovački and 1st Krajiški corps of the Army of the Republic of Srpska were engaged in this operation. From the composition of the Yugoslav Army, parts of the Special detachment corps were involved, with the support of charge and transport helicopters. The operation was planned in two stages, whereby the first had the aim to establish control over the following objects: Žuč, Orlić, Hum and Mojmilo, while the second stage had to result with established control over Hrasnica and Butmir. Units from the composition of the Special detachment corps of the Yugoslav Army initiated the execution of their task from Belgrade on 16 December 1993. The striking part was made up from members of the 72nd Special Brigade, with parts of other special detachments: Guards Motorized Brigade, Armoured Brigade and 63. Paratroops Brigade from Niš. The combined composition of the special detachments of the Yugoslav Army of 320 men represented the core of the fighting group from the composition of the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps, numbering a total of 3,000 fighters, and representing the main part of the Serb forces within the “PANCIR-2” operation. Colonel Milorad Stupar, the commander of the 72nd Special Brigade of the Yugoslav Army, was named as commander of the fighting group. The attacks of Serb forces, with the participation of Special detachments of the Yugoslav Army and State Security Agency of Serbia, in their first phase lasted from 21 to 27 December 1993, when the 72nd Special Brigade suffered a heavy defeat in the battles on Betanija and Orahov Brijeg. Due to the suffered losses, this detachment was incapable of further military action and it was ordered to retreat to Belgrade. Instead of it, parts of the Guards Motorized Brigade were directed into Vogošća. During January, these units were engaged in battle activities of somewhat diminished intensity on the lines of Sarajevo’s defence, because in the meantime the focus of the fighting was again shifted towards the Olovo-Vareš battlefield. Active participation of the units of the Yugoslav Army in the “PANCIR-2” operation was discontinued by the end of January 1994. Their return to Belgrade was executed on 28 and 29 January in three marching columns with 45 vehicles, 3 tanks, 2 armoured vehicles, 2 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns PRAGA and one engineering machine.

Operation “Market Garden” is an allied military operation fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War, considered by certain military specialists as the biggest, most daring and most dramatic allied airborne operation during the war. This article highlights two phases of this operation: the “Market” (air) phase, which employed fighters, bombers, transport aircraft and gliders with the objective of seizing and securing the bridges in the targeted area, and the “Garden” (ground) phase of the operation, which was intended to allow the ground troops, supported by tanks and infantry, to cross the Netherlands at highest speed, occupy a bridgehead across the Rhine and enter Germany. The author details all the steps of the Battle (17-25 September 1944), mentioning the early successes, the logistic shortcomings, the strong controversies among the most important allied military leaders, the landings, the advances and the German reactions, also pointing out the role played by the Polish Parachute Brigade, commanded by Major General Stanislaw Sosabowski. To conclude, he enumerates the main reasons for the indisputable failure of this Operation, not leaving aside a conspiracy theory belonging to French historian Jacques de Launay. Operacija Market Garden je bila zavezniška vojaška operacija na Nizozemskem in v Nemčiji med drugo svetovno vojno. Po mnenju vojaških strokovnjakov je bila to največja, najbolj drzna in najbolj dramatična zavezniška zračnodesantna operacija v drugi svetovni vojni. V članku sta opisani dve fazi te operacije: (zračna) Market, v kateri so sodelovala lovska letala, bombniki, transportna ter jadralna letala, ki so imela cilj zaseči in zavarovati mostove na ciljnem območju, in (kopenska) Garden, katere namen je bil kopenskim enotam ob podpori tankov in pehote omogočiti, da čim hitreje prečkajo Nizozemsko, zasedejo mostišče čez reko Ren ter vstopijo v Nemčijo. Avtor natančno opiše vse korake te bitke, ki je potekala od 17. do 25. septembra 1944, ter pri tem izpostavi začetne uspehe, logistične pomanjkljivosti, huda nasprotja med najpomembnejšimi voditelji zavezniških vojsk, pristanke, napredovanje in nemške odzive, opozori pa tudi na vlogo, ki jo je v operaciji imela poljska padalska brigada pod poveljstvom generalmajorja Stanislawa Sosabowskiga. V sklepu našteje glavne razloge za neuspeh te operacije, pri čemer ne izpusti niti teorije zarote, ki jo zagovarja francoski zgodovinar Jacques de Launay.

Fire protection of server rooms and data processing centres, located in public buildings, uses fire extinguishing equipment known as fixed gas fire extinguishing devices (SUG-G). The extinguishing medium (gas in tanks) should be stored at a location indicated in the fire scenario and in the technical contractor project for SUG-G. SUG-G is intended to extinguish a fire in its initial stages and to prevent fire spreading. The fire signalling central station (CSP) receives a fire signal from a group of sensors located in the protected premise and notifies the Fire Brigade (PS), whilst the fire extinguishing control room automatically starts the gas extinguishing process. Such use of a signalling and extinguishing system results in a redundant system. This improves reliability of the fire signalling system (SSP), which is responsible for safety inside the building. Keywords: sensor, operation, fire signalling systems.

Microbial contamination and growth in distillate fuels has been described for seventy years. The consequences have ranged from fouling of filters and injectors, to engine malfunction and damage, fuel gauge malfunctions and aggravated corrosion of engines, fuel tanks, equipment and facilities. The types of microbes present vary with the differences in fuel composition and differences in storage and use conditions. Anti-microbial strategies have traditionally included prevention by ‘good housekeeping’ and ‘fire-brigade’ applications of biocides when there are operational problems. Since 2002, first the aviation industry and later fuel suppliers and some militaries, have used simple on-site microbiological tests to monitor fuel and fuel systems and use the results to take remedial actions before operational problems occur. This paper will review our latest knowledge of microbially influenced corrosion and of the new anti-microbial strategies which are being successfully implemented to prevent it.

One of the ways of knowing the events of military history is to reproduce them using mathematical models. Based on the analysis of the fighting operations of the 4th Panzer Brigade of the Red Army in the vicinity of the city of Mtsensk in early October 1941, the capability to provide mathematical modeling of the fragments of these combat operations and the application of the apparatus of Markov random processes for these purposes is substantiated.The effectiveness of tanks depends not only on their technical properties, but also on the ways they are used on the battlefield. At the same time, combat effectiveness of tanks is commonly understood as their effectiveness in conditions when the methods of conducting combat operations by each of the opposing sides are the best.The battle outcome is probabilistic. It has certain regularity, depending on the combat tactics. The battle can be imagined as a multitude of randomly dueling fights between tanks, differing in their location and range of fire. A study of the probability of a system transition from each transient state to the next leads to the construction of mathematical models that allow calculating the ratio of losses of opposing sides.Based on the facts of military history and discovered regularities, the mathematical models are constructed to allow reproducing various fragments of combat according to the scheme of the Markov random process, and on their basis calculations are performed. The dependence of the ratio of the losses of the opposing sides depending on the number of firing positions used by the ambush tanks was established, provided that the change of these positions was made imperceptibly for the enemy.The obtained results can be used to develop tactical methods of using tanks in antiterrorist operations.

Based on the analysis of the growth of ammonia production and its delivery to terminals by road in Russia, the problems of ensuring the safety of the population in case of accidents of vehicles with ammonia on the routes of its movement in settlements and the specifics of the organization of liquidation of the consequences of accidents with depressurization of reservoirs are considered. Calculated data on the depth of contaminated cloud spreading and height of its rise are given. Methods of localization of the primary cloud of ammonia contamination on the basis of operative use of heat guns and small-sized jet engines by the personnel of the brigades accompanying the dangerous cargo, as well as inclusion in the escort of the convoy of the calculation of State fire service of EMERCOM of Russia with an emergency rescue container for liquidation of the consequences of road traffic accidents associated with ASK-AHOV.

Sulfuric acid is an important industrial and strategic raw material, the production of which is developing on all continents, in many factories in the world and with an annual production of over 160 million tons. On the other hand, the production, transport and usage are very dangerous and demand measures of precaution because the consequences could be catastrophic, and not only at the local level where the accident would happen. Accidents that have been publicly recorded during the last eighteen years (from 1988 till the beginning of 2006) are analyzed in this paper. It is very alarming data that, according to all the recorded accidents, over 1.6 million tons of sulfuric acid were exuded. Although water transport is the safest (only 16.38% of the total amount of accidents) in that way 98.88% of the total amount of sulfuric acid was exuded into the environment. Human factor was the common factor in all the accidents, whether there was enough control of the production process, of reservoirs or transportation tanks or the transport was done by inadequate (old) tanks, or the accidents arose from human factor (inadequate speed, lock of caution etc). The fact is that huge energy, sacrifice and courage were involved in the recovery from accidents where rescue teams and fire brigades showed great courage to prevent real environmental catastrophes and very often they lost their lives during the events. So, the phrase that sulfuric acid is a real "environmental bomb" has become clearer.

At the domestic enterprises of the chemical industry, the issue of providing special clothing for protection against aggressive factors, is always relevant. This is due to the constant development of the chemical industry and the creation of new compounds and materials. For the normal exploitation of chemical containers at each chemical enterprise, there are brigades of locksmiths and apparatchiks who, in the presence of gas rescuers, regularly carry out regular and repair work, preparation of containers for receiving and transporting, as well as cleaning from the remains of chemical products.Key words: chemical industry, closed tanks, safety of life, working conditions, protective clothing, design stages, harmful conditions, aggressive environment, insulating suit. According to the results of the analysis of the properties of modern materials for the production of protective suits for workers in the chemical industry, the most suitable materials are those with a polymer coating. However, the process of creating a design and making modern protective clothing from such materials is associated with the solution of many design problems. This publication discusses in detail the practical approach to solving them.

The protection of wooden heritage buildings against fire, biodeterioration, robbery and vandalism is one of the most important tasks in the field of cultural property preservation. In Poland and other European countries, the most popular wood-made objects are historical wooden churches (Catholic and Orthodox ones), rural huts, cottages, sheds, barns and wooden wind mills which are like open air museums. Wood is the most common raw material that was used for the construction of these objects since ancient times. Generally these wooden objects are wholly combustible, they are mostly located beyond towns and difficult to guard and exposed to risk of setting on fire. Not everywhere there is a sufficient supply of water from water tanks and fire hydrant network. Moreover, there is a lack of good access ways for fire brigade vehicles and no fire detecting systems were installed in many of these objects. Unfortunately, fire retardant application is insufficient or totally absent in these heritage buildings. This manuscript presents general possibilities of the application of modern technology of fire retardancy systems intended for the protection the heritage objects against fire disaster. None or only minimal influence on an ancient object wood is the advantage of the above systems. The fire safety strategy for wooden buildings and historical sites requires an agreement and compromise between the point of view of art. Historians and conservators and that of fire-fighting experts.

Petrovsky Boris Vasilievich (1908-2004) - Doctor of Medicine, Professor, Honored Scientist of the RSFSR (1957), Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1966) and RAMS (1957), Minister of Health of the USSR (1965-1980), Director of the All-Union Scientific Center for Surgery Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, Hero of Socialist Labor (1968), laureate of Lenin (1960) and State Prizes of the USSR (1971).He was born in 1908 in the city of Essentuki. In the years 1916-1924.He studied at the second stage school in Kislovodsk. After graduating from the Medical Faculty of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov worked as a surgeon in the district hospital, the head of the health center of the plant in Podolsk (1931), the junior doctor of the tank brigade and infirmary in Naro-Fominsk (1932), an intern, an assistant, a senior research fellow at the Moscow Oncology Institute and a clinic general surgery at Moscow State University (since 1938). In 1937 he defended his thesis. In 1938, Mr .. B.V. Petrovsky was given the title of senior research fellow (assistant professor). Boris Vasilievich was the deputy head of the field hospital, the leading surgeon of the Karelian Front (1939-1940), a senior researcher at the Moscow Oncological Institute (1940-1941), assistant professor of general surgery at the 2 nd Moscow Medical Institute. N.I. Pirogov (1941). From the first days of WWII BV. Petrovsky is the leading surgeon of hospitals in the Western, Bryansk and the 2 nd Baltic fronts. In the years 1944-1945. B.V. Petrovsky works as a senior lecturer in the Department of Faculty Surgery of the Military Medical Academy. CM. Kirov in Leningrad. In 1945-1948 years. - Deputy Director for Scientific Research Institute of Clinical and Experimental Surgery of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences. In 1946 he was the first in the USSR to perform successful operations for esophageal cancer with its one-horn intrathoracic plasty. In 1947, Mr .. B.V. Petrovsky defended his doctoral dissertation. In the years 1948-1949. - Professor of the Department of General Surgery 2nd Moscow Medical Institute. N.I. Pirogov. In 1949-1951 years. B.V. Petrovsky - Director of the Department of Hospital Surgery, Head of the 3rd Surgical Clinic of the University of Budapest. In the years 1951-1956. - Head of the Department of Faculty Surgery of the 2 nd Moscow Medical Institute. N.I. Pirogov. In 1953 he was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR. In the years 1953-1965. - Chief Surgeon of the 4th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Health of the USSR. Since 1955, B.V. Petrovsky - deputy chairman, since 1965 - chairman of the All-Union Scientific Society of Surgeons. Since 1956 - Head of the Department of Hospital Surgery and Director of the State Hospital Surgical Clinic of the Medical Faculty of the 1 st Moscow Medical Institute. THEM. Sechenov. In 1957, Mr .. B.V. Petrovsky was elected a full member of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR and he was awarded the honorary title of Honored Worker of Science of the RSFSR and Azerbaijan SSR. In 1960 he was awarded the Lenin Prize for the development and implementation of new operations on the heart and large vessels. 1963 - Organizer and Director (1963-1988), since 1989 - Honorary Director of the All-Union Scientific Center of Surgery of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences All-Union Scientific Center of Surgery of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences. In 1964, Mr .. B.V. Petrovsky performed the first successful operation for prosthetics of the mitral valve of the heart with a mechanical (seamless) fixation. In 1965, for the first time in the USSR, he successfully performed kidney transplantation to man. In the years 1965-1980. - Minister of Health of the USSR. In 1966 he was elected a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In 1968, B.V. Petrovsky - privedovo-but the title of Hero of Socialist Labor (1968). In 1971 he was awarded the State Prize of the USSR for the development and introduction into clinical practice of kidney transplantation. In 1979 he was chairman of the Scientific Surgical Council under the Presidium of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR. B.V. Petrovsky was a delegate to the XXII, XXIII, XXIV and XXV Congresses of the CPSU (1961, 1966, 1971, 1976), Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1962-1984), candidate member of the Central Committee of the CPSU (1966, 1971, 1976). He died on May 4, 2004, at the 96th year of his life. Buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.B.V. Petrovsky - honorary member of 14 foreign scientific medical societies, honorary doctor of 8 universities. He was awarded 16 orders and 8 medals, including the Orders of the Red Star (1942), Lenin (1961, 1965, 1968, 1978), the Second World War (1943, 1985), the October Revolution (1971), Friendship of Peoples 1993), "For Services to the Fatherland" II degree (1998), St. Andrew the Apostle (2003). Laureate of the Lenin (1960) and State Prizes of the USSR (1971), the International Leonard Bernard Prize (1975), the im. NI Pirogova RAMS (1998), the N.N. Burdenko of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR (1953) and A.N. Bakuleva (2003). B.V. Petrovsky owns more than 500 scientific works, including 40 monographs. He created one of the largest scientific surgical schools (more than 150 doctors of sciences, of which more than 70 are the heads of clinics and large hospitals).

In the military-territorial organization of Yugoslavia after the Second World War, Banja Luka was a part of the 6th Army, whose headquarters were in Sarajevo. In the beginning of 1948, from the former 6th Army, the 7th Military District was formed. The military area of Banja Luka was supposed to be the 5th Corps during the war. In 1983, 58 Yugoslav People's Army war units and 21 Territorial Defense war units were manned by conscripts and material and technical means from the territory of the Banja Luka municipality. As of 1990, the data on 50,624 conscripts in the municipality of Banja Luka were kept. A total of 4,568 conscripts or 2.28% of the total population of the municipality were engaged in all units of the Territorial Defense. For the needs of building the military infrastructure, the Roman Catholic monastery "Nazareth" was nationalized, and in several waves, thousands of Serbian peasants were evicted from the hilly and mountainous area of Manjaca. With the implementation of repressive measures, a wide area whose population belonged to the royalist movement during the Second World War was evicted, and the Yugoslav People's Army military training ground was built on it. Due to a combination of historical circumstances, Banja Luka has become an important center of military education. After the Resolution of the Inform Bureau, in September 1948, the Tank School Center (TSC) was moved from Bela Crkva in Banat, due to the proximity of the Romanian border, to Banja Luka. Over time, this institution developed into the Armored and Mechanized Units School Center "Petar Drapšin". Near Banja Luka, a significant demonstration exercise was performed as a part of the visit of the high US military delegation to Yugoslavia, which began in October 1951. During 1952, representatives of the US military mission visited two tank brigades and the Tank Officer School in Banja Luka. The Army played an important role in modernizing the undeveloped areas of the country, including the wider Banja Luka region, the Bosnian Krajina. Bosnia and Herzegovina benefited significantly from the establishment of the military industry in this republic, which was given strategic importance, due to the expected invasion from the East after 1948. A significant role in the military industry was played by the Aviation Institute 'Cosmos', which has been operating in Banja Luka since 1958. Most of the infrastructure and combat assets of the Fifth Corps of the YPA from Banja Luka were inherited by the First Krajina Corps of the Army of the Republic of Srpska, as the largest corps of the ARS, that played a key role in the defense of the Republic of Srpska during the civil war in the former SR Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"A significant turning point in relations between the Soviet Union and Romania was associated with the incorporation of Bessarabia and northern part of Bukovina into the USSR, which took place in the context of Soviet-German rapprochement. To this end, the Soviet leadership developed a set of preparatory political-diplomatic and military-propaganda measures. Soviet political and diplomatic actions were based on fundamental military preparations. In order to prepare and further joining Bessarabia and the northern part of Bukovina to the USSR, the Southern Front was created on the basis of the Kyiv Special and Odessa military districts. Army General Georgy Zhukov was appointed as a commander. The General Staff of the Red Army developed two variants of actions by Soviet troops. The first one provided for measures in case the Romanian government would not agree to the peaceful transfer of Bessarabia and Bukovina to the USSR. The second variant was an action plan in case of a voluntary retreat of Romanian troops west of the Prut. The first option was taken as the base. As early as June 26, 1940, on the border with Romania, the Soviet command concentrated 32 infantry, 2 motorized infantry, 6 cavalry divisions, 11 tank, 3 airborne brigades, 16 artillery regiments of the commander-in-chief’s reserve, 14 corps artillery regiments and 4 separate artillery divisions. In the main areas of the offensive, more than a triple advantage in manpower and means was provided. At the same time, for the purpose of ideological support, a huge propaganda apparatus was prepared to work with the population. In accordance with the Directive of the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army № 0140 (June 21, 1940), a large number of political workers were sent to the disposal of the Southern Front. One month before the start of the military operation, all employees of party and Soviet organizations were considered as mobilized. After appropriate training, they were ready for further activities as editorial staff, propagandists and agitators. Concert brigades and drama theatre groups were organized for the cultural service of the population. There were selected mobile library, gramophone records, and films. Book-mobile was arranged; everything necessary for the publication in Romanian newspaper was completed and provided with everything necessary. Due to the diligence of all these preparatory acts, the territories of Bessarabia and the northern part of Bukovina were occupied by the Red Army according to all the rules of military art (all elements of military operation were used: military force, local military pressure, military intelligence and counterintelligence, agitation and propaganda), thanks to which the USSR could reach its purpose. "

Summary: The key element in the command problem is the term action. From the point of view of the degree of organization of the action, we can distinguish: individual actions, collective actions and team actions. We talk about indi-vidual action if one person performs certain activities in conditions that do not require the cooperation of other people. In turn, we are dealing with collective actions when, at the same time and place, different people perform separate actions leading to the achievement of the intended goal, and these are independent actions, which do not require division of work. Team activities, on the other hand, are activities during which a group of people performs specific activities to collectively achieve a set goal. The study presents the main issues related to commanding in hierarchical formations, i.e. the army, police or fire brigade. The work was divided into several parts, referring respectively to the general characteristics of hier-archical organizations, relations between management and management and command in these organizations, as well as the rules of command. The study assumes that the concept is associated with command, i.e. action, which is a fundamental praxeological concept. An action understood as any behavior aimed at a specific purpose. The thesis was also accepted that this action was: the will realized, transformed into action; pursuit of a specific goal; intended subject's reaction to external stimuli and circumstances. However, the goal of action is the state of affairs, which being valuable in some respects for the actor, sets the direction and structure of his conduct. The scientific problem was brought back from the question: are we dealing in hierarchical formations with leadership, management or command.

The subject of consideration is the nomination of society as a central fragment of the Russian language picture of the world and a sociomorphic language code based on comparison with society. The relevance of the study lies in the study of the ratio of means of secondary indirect nomination to designate society (sotsial’nyi lift) and the use of primary and secondary direct nomination of society to designate other fragments of the Russian language picture of the world (postavki oruzhiya “kapel’nym polivom”). The material of the press and oral talk-shows of experts (1160 examples) was analyzed. The methods of component analysis and the comparative method were used. The results of the study show the nominative activity of the Russian linguistic personality in the formal and informal nomination of society: the use of landscape (bol’shaya luzha), climatic (stoyat’ na raz”ezzhayushchikhsya l’dinakh), zoomorphic (giena Evropy), artifact (beskonechnyi dollar), historiomorphic (sharovarnyi Vermakht) metaphors; manifestation of the systemic organization of society’s nominations: synonymic series (rzhavyi Tolik, gospodin privatizais ryzhii vaucher Chubais; likhie – banditskie – pomoinye devyanostye), antonymic pairs (zastoi – nezhnyi Brezhnev), homonymous pairs (krasnaya Armiya ‘workers’-and-peasants’ army of the country of Soviets’ – krasnaya armiya ‘association of terrorist brigades of Italy’), thematic groups (time periods, leaders of states, professions, places of settlement, etc.); the appearance in this nominative field of historicisms (khrushchevskaya ottepel’, chlenovoz) and archaisms (okolotochnyi – uchastkovyi). The main functions of the informal nomination of society (epistemological, characterizing, adaptive, philosophical) are established. The results of the work can be used in linguistics, journalism, sociology, political science.

Introduction: Exercise Unified Response, Europe’s largest major incident training exercise to date, provided a rich environment for the emergency services to test their multi-agency crisis response capabilities. Supported by the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust, this service evaluation examined London Ambulance Service NHS Trust front line communication and decision-making via body-worn camera footage.Methods: Twenty London Ambulance Service NHS Trust front line responders and evaluators were each equipped with a body-worn camera during Exercise Unified Response. The service evaluation aimed to: (a) produce timelines of the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust’s response in order to identify key events and actions during the ‘golden hour’ (the crucial first hour in the care of trauma patients), the proceedings of command meetings and the multi-agency response; and (b) develop recommendations for future training and evaluations.Results: The service evaluation identified that, within the golden hour, London Ambulance Service NHS Trust first responders rightly and rapidly declared the event a major incident, requested resources and assigned roles. Triage crews were tasked quickly, though it was identified that their efficiency may be further enhanced through more detailed triage briefings prior to entering the scene. The command meetings (led by the Metropolitan Police) lacked efficiency, and all agencies could make more effective use of the multi-agency shared radio network to address ongoing matters. Finally, London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service NHS Trust teams demonstrated clear communication and co-ordination towards casualty extraction.Conclusion: Successful multi-agency working requires clear communication, information sharing and timely command meetings. It is recommended that Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles multi-agency talk groups should be utilised more frequently and used to complete a joint METHANE report. In addition, training in areas such as communication skills and detailed briefings will enhance the front line response. Finally, body-worn cameras are shown to be an effective service evaluation tool, as a basis for promoting best practice as well as highlighting areas for future training and evaluations.

[First paragraph]Women Pirates and the Politics of the Jolly Roger. ULRIKE KLAUSMANN, MARION MEINZERIN & GABRIEL KUHN. New York: Black Rose Books, 1997. x + 280 pp. (Paper US$ 23.99)Pirates! Brigands, Buccaneers, and Privateers in Fact, Fiction, and Legend. JAN ROGOZINSKI. New York: Da Capo Press, 1996. xvi + 398 pp. (Paper US$ 19.95)Sir Francis Drake: The Queens Pirate. HARRY KELSEY. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998, xviii + 566 pp. (Cloth US$ 35.00)A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates. CAPT. CHARLES JOHNSON (edited and with introduction by DAVID CORDINGLY). New York: Lyons Press. 1998 [Orig. 1724]. xiv + 370 pp. (Cloth US$ 29.95)The subject of piracy lends itself to giddy jokes about parrots and wooden legs, but also talk of politics, law, cultural relativism, and of course Hollywood. This selection of new books on piracy in the Caribbean and beyond touches on all these possibilities and more. They include a biography of the ever-controversial Elizabethan corsair, Francis Drake; an encyclopedia of piracy in history, literature, and film; a reissued classic eighteenth-century pirate prosopography; and an anarchist-feminist political tract inspired by history and legend. If nothing else, this pot-pourri of approaches to piracy should serve as a reminder that the field of pirate studies is not only alive and well, but gaining new ground.

Objective:Although relationships between Fried frailty criteria (i.e., weakness, slowness, weight loss, exhaustion and low physical activity), cognitive decline, and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been examined (Brigalo et al., 2015, Brown et al., 2022, Fabricio et al., 2020, & Tani et al., 2021), the moderating effect of age on the relationship between ACEs and frailty has yet to be explored. The present study examined whether age moderates the relationship between total number of ACEs and number of frailty criteria in older age.Participants and Methods:137 older adults were recruited from University of Miami clinics and surrounding community care centers. Collected data included demographic information, number of frailty criteria met, and number of ACEs endorsed. Participants were primarily Hispanic-White (64.2%) and female (56.9%), with a mean age of 73.62 years (SD=6.252). Data were initially analyzed using descriptive statistics. A hierarchical linear regression was run to test the effect of ACE score on number of frailty criteria met. A simple moderation analysis using the PROCESS macro was then performed with total number of medical conditions included as a covariate to address any potentially confounding effects. To avoid multicollinearity issues, number of ACEs endorsed and age were mean centered and an interaction term between the two was produced.Results:Scores on the ACE did substantially effect the total number of frailty criteria met by participants in this study (f=2.37, p=0.028, ΔR2=0.023), independent of number of medical conditions. The overall moderation model was significant (f=2.99, p=0.022, R2=0.103), and the addition of the interaction effect resulted in a statistically significant change to the model (f=4.08, p=0.045, ΔR2=0.035). Taken together, support for a moderating effect was found, specifically within the lower age group (65 - 71years), but not older (greater than 72 years) with ACE score positively predicting the number of frailty criteria met (b =0.230, t=2.62, p=0.010).Conclusions:Results largely support the positive effect of ACE endorsement on the number of frailty criteria met in later life. Age acted as a moderating effect, for the younger old population, such that as number of ACEs endorsed increased, so too did the number of frailty criteria met. This finding highlights the importance of early intervention among those in younger late life who have experienced trauma. Given the positive relationship between frailty and cognitive decline in late life (Brigalo et al., 2015 & Fabricio et al., 2020), these findings also support the need for a better understanding of how childhood adversity impacts physical well-being over the life course.

Se ha escrito mucho en relación al tema ambiental y hemos escuchado innumerables discursos políticos en los que se dice demasiado y poco se lleva a la práctica. En nuestro país, la legislación ambiental se transgrede, la gente permanece indiferente ante la destrucción de su entorno, contribuyendo a empeorar la situación; por ello, urge un cambio de actitud a través de la educación, brindando la oportunidad de informar y desarrollar acciones ambientales concretas en donde la participación sea de manera inmediata, activa y asertiva. El Plan de Estudios del Bachillerato de la Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro incluye la asignatura de Formación Ambiental impartida en el sexto semestre, cuyo contenido programático permite desarrollar habilidades, actitudes y valores que contribuyen al desarrollo sustentable de manera crítica, con acciones responsables en la identificación y análisis de los problemas reales del entorno, con el enfoque de formar profesionistas capacitados en la solución de problemas ambientales. Actualmente se confronta la amenaza ambiental más crítica de la historia: deterioro del suelo, del agua y de los recursos marinos, esenciales para la producción alimentaria, contaminación atmosférica, pérdida de biodiversidad, daño a la capa de ozono y al cambio climático global. La sustentabilidad ambiental se refiere a la administración racional de los recursos naturales, de manera que sea posible mejorar el bienestar de la población actual sin comprometer la calidad de vida de las generaciones futuras[1]; permitiendo que desde el interior del plantel educativo se generen acciones a través del trabajo colaborativo para lograr un ambiente integral, limpio, sano y armónico. En los últimos tres años el abordaje de los contenidos de la asignatura de Formación Ambiental se realiza conformando brigadas de trabajo que permiten ejecutar acciones inmediatas, en colaboración del personal administrativo, alumnos, maestros y padres de familia, en el cuidado de las áreas verdes, recolección de PET, ahorro de energía eléctrica y agua, contaminación visual y auditiva, reciclaje de papel, elaboración de composta, cultivo hidropónico, divulgación ecológica y supresión del tabaquismo; con el objetivo de formar individuos competentes en la toma de decisiones a problemas urgentes como es el Desarrollo Sustentable. [1] Méndez, J., (2008) Problemas Económicos de México,Mc. Graw Hill, Ed. 6ª. México. p. 48 Much has been written in relation to environmental issues and has heard countless political speeches in which he says too little is put into practice. In our country, environmental regulations are violated and people are indifferent to the destruction of their environment and contribute to worsening the situation. Faced with this problem it is necessary to achieve a change in attitudes through education, to give our students the opportunity to develop specific environmental actions in which they participate in immediate, active and assertive, with this, in the Baccalaureate curriculum at the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro includes Environmental Training course that is taught in the sixth semester, containing program that allows the development of skills, attitudes and values ​​that contribute to sustainable development in a critical way, with responsible actions enabling the identification and analysis of the real problems of environment, so as to obtain the foundation for a future that integrates the student as a professional in solving many environmental problems. Currently facing the most critical environmental threat in history, ground deterioration , water and marine resources essential to food production rising, air pollution, biodiversity loss, but not less important damage to the ozone layer and global climate change. Talk of environmental sustainability refers to the efficient and rational management of natural resources, so it is possible to improve the welfare of the people today without compromising the quality of life of future generations, allowing it from inside the campus generate strategies through the collaborative work environment that may lead to a comprehensive, clean, healthy and harmonious. In our institution we have done in the past three years' experience in dealing with the contents of the Environmental Training course, forming work teams that can implement immediate actions with the participation of administrative staff, students, teachers and parents, in the care of green areas, collection of PET, saving electricity and water pollution, visual and auditory, paper recycling, composting, hydroponics, organic outreach, collection of batteries and elimination of smoking, with the aim of contribute to the formation of competent individuals in making decisions to urgent problems such as Sustainable Development.

Indirect fire is a domain of artillery. Tanks due to their combat capabilities (mobility, hit resistance and accuracy of fire) were hardly used for such type of tasks, although being prepared from constructional point of view. Nevertheless, evaluation of a concept of tanks utilization in a battlefield frequently oscillated around a support of infantry or just operation support. Closing down and ceasing development of artillery units as a result of the Polish Armed Forces’ transformation led to a situation under which the lack of an adequately intensive artillery fire significantly affecting support of first echelon units can be faced during real operations. For this reason, the General Command of Branches of Armed Forces bearing in mind tanks’ capability of fulfilling the aforementioned task decided to reactivate the competence of indirect fire by tanks’ crews, especially because the execution of this task was terminated at the beginning of the 1990s. The article presents the analysis of documents in force related to conducting indirect fire by a tank subunit and characteristics of individual undertakings required for preparation of a subunit to fulfil above-mentioned tasks based on the experience gained by a tank battalion of the 15th Mechanized Brigade in Giżycko, as well as realization of numerous organizational projects necessary for shooting preparation and fire control execution during fulfillment of this type of fire tasks. Results of practical indirect fire execution by tanks lead to constructive observations referred to achieving high results of an accurate indirect fire by tanks and implementing changes in documents which normalize training and shooting processes, adjusting an organizational portion of the project to the current organizational structures of tank and artillery subunits and to correlations resulting from this fact. The article also inclines to discussion regarding the direction of changes indispensable for conducting the indirect fire by tanks and the rationale of the execution of these tasks in a contemporary battlefield.

This audience research case study focuses on the Israeli 14th Tank Brigade veterans, who were involved in the 1973 Yom Kippur War horrific battles against the Egyptians in the Sinai Desert. In 2007, this offline traumatised remembrance community constructed an online commemorative and historical website to advance their unrelenting struggle on public recognition in the Israeli national collective memory and military history. The theoretical framework combines diverse perspectives: the Yom Kippur War and its consequences on Israeli society; theories of generations and media generations, war and trauma, war and remembrance; and Israel's collective memory and culture of remembrance. An integrated methodology offline and online was conducted: multi-sited and multimodal "Thick Description" ethnography and netnography; critical discourse analysis and semiotics of texts and artifacts; and in-depth interviews with veterans and historians. Findings are constructed on three levels: first - analysis of veterans’ interrelations with common Israeli culture of memory, and their active participation as a "remembrance community" in creating cultural artifacts offline and online; second – interpretation of Israeli cultural codes in battlefield "actuality", even under the most traumatic conditions; and third - the universal state level, analysis of the deep conflict impelling the remembrance community to write the Yom Kippur War battles also as history in their cybersite, thus attaining public recognition. This case study demonstrates the war veterans’ ability of "Breaking the Silence", empowering their traumatised community by bridging the "generation gap" of their "actual" "media generation", by merging their comradeship and high cultural capital, towards official affirmation within Israeli military history.

The purpose of the paper is to definite the features of the military view of the current stage of the Russian-Ukrainian war, as one of the part of its contemporary «multiplex» vision. The research methodology combines quantitative (content analysis, statistical calculations) and qualitative (structural semiotic-semantic analysis) methods with culturological interpretation of the outcomes. Moreover, some personal observations of the authors on social platforms in Ukraine have been used. The scientific novelty consists in the theoretical reconstruction of the visual image of «war through the eyes of the military», which is markedly different from every day and journalistic assumptions about it. Conclusions. As a result of a quantitative content-analysis of the photocontent of the official Facebook-page of the Kholodny Yar 93rd separate mechanised brigade, the most popular among the 23 infantry brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the authors came to the conclusion that it forms a special point of view – «war through the eyes of the military». Paradoxically, the war does not look like a chain of combat operations with the massive use of tanks, artillery, and other weapons, the result of which is the destruction of the maximum number of enemies. It appears as a special type of human existence. This was the result of the intersection of the «peaceful» beliefs of the Operator, the professional media people who generated this content, and the real combat environment in which the shooting took place. The specified vision performs a motivational function for the active pro-Ukrainian community, which is the main audience of this page. Recognition of the peculiarities of other visions of the Russian-Ukrainian war current phase, for example, a purely journalistic one, can become a relevant direction of further research, an important component of the scientific formalisation of the modern view of it. Key words: content-analysis, media, military vision, Russian-Ukrainian war, Ukrainian culture, Facebook.

This is the text of a keynote for the International Association for the Psychology of Religion Conference held in Groningen, the Netherlands in August 2023. The talk focuses on ritualized responses to grief around the climate crisis and other environmental threats, such as wildfires. I discuss two case studies: environmental/ climate protests and Indigenous-led restoration work as examples of “ecological rituals.” Protest-performances by the Red Rebel Brigade and Extinction Rebellion funerals for extinct species consecrate public spaces with gestures that invoke kinship and identification with vulnerable species. In similar ways, Indigenous-led restoration work makes visible often hidden losses, creates and expresses sacred relationships with other species, and remakes public spaces into sacred spaces of mourning and hope. Both of these cases, climate protests and restoration, are dynamic and complicated ritualized practices that express and constitute hopeful as well as painful relationships. These opportunities for ritual creativity and meaning-making in the face of climate catastrophe seem to offer participants effective ways of dealing with grief, shame, and loss

In (June ninth, 1963AD) is considered one of the darkest days in which the city of Sulaymaniyah and its people lived within two centuries of its history, when (the leader of Siddiq Mustafa) commanding the twentyth Brigade in the Iraqi army committed a major crime against the people of Sulaymaniyah governorate in general and the city center in particular, whose victim (280) of the city’s residents within hours of one day. This crime remained in the memory of the people of the city and the entire governorate for many years later, they talk about it and see its events for others with deep sadness. For the purpose of controlling that heinous crime against the people of the city and its suburbs, we prepared this research in three sections. In the first topic, we discussed the history of crime and the most important historical factors behind it. We devoted the second topic to the details of the incident and what happened in the city of Sulaymaniyah on (June 9th), and the most important side effects behind it. As for the third and final topic, we devoted ourselves to the political factors behind that incident. Then we concluded this research with several results that the researchers reached, and this is from God the success.

It seems clear that people who are deaf ... struggle continually against the meanings that others impose on their experience, and the way that this separates them from others. They struggle for acknowledgement of the way they see their lives and wish to live them, and aspire to connection?with other people, to share and belong. (David Moorhead. Knowing Who I Am. 1995. 85.) Nga Tapuwae and Before I am deaf but, before that part of my life started, I was hearing and worked for many years as a librarian in New Zealand. My first job was in a public library located within a secondary school Nga Tapuwae Secondary College in South Auckland. Its placement was a 1970’s social experiment to see if a public library could work within the grounds of a community college (and the answer was no, it could not). The experience was a great introduction for me to the Maori and Polynesian cultures that I had not previously encountered. Until then, I was wary of both groups, and so it was a revelation to realise that although there were many social problems in the area including low literacy, many of the children and teenagers were bright, talented individuals. They simply did not connect to the Anglo-Saxon reading materials we offered. Years later, my interest in the social dynamics of literacy led to my enrolment in a post-graduate literacy degree in Melbourne. This action may have saved my life because at the end of this course, a minor ailment resulted in a visit to the university doctor who diagnosed me with the life-threatening medical condition, Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF 2). NF2 is a late onset genetic condition in which one’s body grows tumours, always on both hearing nerves, sometimes elsewhere as well. The tumours usually cause deafness and can cause death. I was told I needed to have my tumours removed and would probably become fully deaf as a result. This is how my life as I knew it changed direction and I started the long journey towards becoming deaf. Diagnosis and Change Predictably, once diagnosed, friends and colleagues rallied to comfort me. I was told things probably weren’t as bad as they sounded. Helen Keller was mentioned several times as an example of someone who had succeeded despite being deaf and blind. ‘Really,’ my friends asked, ‘how bad can it be? ‘Inside myself however, it couldn’t have been worse. A day later the enormity of it all hit me and I became inconsolable. A friend drove me back to the doctor and she did two things that were to change my life. She referred me to the University’s counselling services where, happily, I was counselled by Elizabeth Hastings who later went on to become Australia’s first Disability Services Commissioner. Secondly, the doctor organised for me to visit the HEAR Service at the Victorian Deaf Society (VDS). Again by happy accident, my friend and I stumbled into the ‘wrong building’ where I ended up meeting John Lovett, who was Deaf and the CEO there, via an interpreter. When I met John Lovett I was distraught but, unlike other people, he made no attempt to stop me crying. He simply listened carefully until I realised he understood what I was saying and stopped crying myself. He said my fears that I could end up alone and lonely were valid and he suggested the best thing I could do for myself was to join the ‘Deaf community’; a community. I had never heard of. He explained it was made up of people like him who used Australian sign language (Auslan) to communicate. He was so engaging and supportive that this plan sounded fine to me. By the time we finished talking and he walked me over to the HEAR Service, I was so in his thrall that I had enrolled for a Deaf awareness workshop, an Auslan class, and had plans to join the Deaf community. Had I stayed on and learned Auslan, my life may well have followed a different path, but this was not to be at that time. Becoming Hearing Impaired (HI) Across at the HEAR service, an alternate view of my potential future was put to me. Instead of moving away from everything familiar and joining the Deaf community, I could learn to lip-read and hopefully use it to stay in the workforce and amongst my hearing friends. I had a cousin and aunt who were late deafened; my cousin in particular was doing well communicating with lip-reading. I discussed this with friends and the idea of staying with the people I already knew sounded far less confronting than joining the Deaf community and so I chose this path. My surgeon was also optimistic. He was confident he could save some of my hearing. Suddenly learning Auslan seemed superfluous. I phoned John Lovett to explain, and his response was that I should do what suited me, but he asked me to remember one thing: that it was me who decided to leave the Deaf Community, not that the Deaf community had not wanted me. He told me that, if I changed my mind, I could always go back because the door to the Deaf community would always be open and he would be still be there. It would be a decade before I decided that I wanted to go back through that door, and around that time this great man passed away, but I never forgot my promise to remember our conversation. It, and a few other exchanges I had with him in the following years, stayed at the back of my mind, especially as my residual hearing sank over the years, and the prospect of total deafness hung over me. When I had the surgery, my surgeon’s optimism proved unfounded. He could not save any hearing on my left side and my facial and balance nerves were damaged as well. The hospital then decided not to operate again, and would only attempt to remove the second tumour if it grew and threatened my health again. Consequently, for close to a decade, my life was on hold in many ways. I feared deafness—for me it signalled that my life as I knew it would end and I would be isolated. Every hearing test was a tense time for me as I watched my remaining hearing decline in a slow, relentless downward path on the graph. It was like watching the tide go out knowing it was never going to come in as fully again. My thinking started to change too. Within a week of my diagnosis I experienced discrimination for the first time. A library school that had offered me a place in its post graduate librarianship course the following year made it clear that they no longer wanted me. In the end it did not matter as I was accepted at another institution but it was my first experience of being treated less favourably in the community and it was a shock. After the surgery my life settled down again. I found work in public libraries again, rekindled an old relationship and in 1994 had a baby boy. However, living with a hearing loss is hard work. Everything seemed tiring, especially lip-reading. My ears rejected my hearing aid and became itchy and inflamed. I became aware that my continual hearing problems were sometimes seen as a nuisance in work situations. Socialising lost a lot of its appeal so my social world also contracted. Around this time something else started happening. Outside work, people started expressing admiration for me—words like ‘role model’ and ‘inspiring’ started entering the conversation. Any other time I might have enjoyed it but for me, struggling to adapt to my new situation, it felt odd. The whole thing reminded me of being encouraged to be like Helen Keller; as if there is a right way to behave when one is deaf in which you are an inspiration, and a wrong way in which one is seen as being in need of a role model. I discussed this with Elizabeth Hastings who had helped me prepare mentally for the surgery and afterwards. I explained I felt vulnerable and needy in my new situation and she gave me some useful advice. She thought feeling needy was a good thing as realising one needs people keeps one humble. She observed that, after years of intellectualising, educated people sometimes started believing they could use intellectualisation as a way to avoid painful emotions such as sadness. This behaviour then cut them off from support and from understanding that none of us can do it alone. She believed that, in always having to ask for help, people with disabilities are kept aware of the simple truth that all people depend on others to survive. She said I could regard becoming deaf as a disability, or I could choose to regard it as a privilege. Over the years the truth of her words became increasingly more evident to me as I waded through all the jargon and intellectualisation that surrounds discussion of both deafness and the disability arena, compared to the often raw emotion expressed by those on the receiving end of it. At a personal level I have found that talking about emotions helps especially in the face of the ubiquitous ‘positive thinking’ brigade who would have us all believe that successful people do not feel negative emotions regardless of what is happening. The Lie Elizabeth had initially sympathised with my sadness about my impending deafness. One day however she asked why, having expressed positive sentiments both about deaf people and people with disabilities, I was saying I would probably be better off dead than deaf? Up until that conversation I was unaware of the contradictions between what I felt and what I was saying. I came to realise I was living a lie because I did not believe what I was telling myself; namely, that deaf people and people with disabilities are as good as other people. Far from believing this, what I really thought was that being deaf, or having a disability, did lessen one’s worth. It was an uncomfortable admission, particularly sharing it with someone sitting in a wheelchair, and especially as up until then I had always seen myself as a liberal thinker. Now, faced with the reality of becoming deaf, I had been hoist by my own petard, as I could not come to terms with the idea of myself as a deaf person. The Christian idea of looking after the ‘less fortunate’ was one I had been exposed to, but I had not realised the flip side of it, which is that the ‘less fortunate’ are also perceived as a ‘burden’ for those looking after them. It reminded me of my initial experiences years earlier at Nga Tapuwae when I came face to face with cultures I thought I had understood but did not. In both cases it was only when I got to know people that I began to question my own attitudes and assumptions and broadened my thinking. Unfortunately for deaf people, and people with disabilities, I have not been the only person lying to myself. These days it is not common for people to express their fears about deaf people or people with disabilities. People just press on without fully communicating or understanding the other person’s attitude or perspectives. When things then do not work out, these failures reinforce the misconceptions and these attitudes persist. I believe it is one of the main reasons why true community inclusion for deaf and people with disabilities is moving so slowly. Paying for access is another manifestation of this. Everyone is supportive of access in principle but there is continuous complaint about paying for things such as interpreting. The never-ending discussions between deaf people and the wealthy movie industry about providing more than token access to captioned cinema demonstrate that the inclusion lie is alive and well. Until it can be effectively addressed through genuine dialogue, deaf people, hard of hearing people and people with disabilities will always be largely relegated to life outside the mainstream. Collectively we will also continue to have to endure this double message that we are of equal value to the community while simultaneously being considered a financial burden if we try to access it in ways that are meaningful to us. Becoming Deaf In 2002 however all this thinking still lay ahead of me. I still had some hearing and was back living in New Zealand to be close to my family. My relationship had ended and I was a solo mother. My workplace had approved leave of absence, and so I still had my job to go back to in Melbourne if I wanted it. However, I suspected that I would soon need the second tumour removed because I was getting shooting pains down my face. When my fears were confirmed I could not decide whether to move back to Melbourne or let the job go, and risk having trouble finding one if I went back later. I initially chose to stay longer as my father was sick but eventually I decided Melbourne was where I wanted to be especially if I was deaf. I returned, found temporary employment, and right up to the second surgery I was able to work as I could make good use of the small amount of hearing I still had. I thought that I would still be able to cope when I was made fully deaf as a result of the surgery. It was, after all, only one notch down on the audiogram and I was already ‘profoundly deaf’ and still working. When I woke up after the surgery completely deaf, it felt anti-climactic. The world seemed exactly the same, just silent. At home where I was surrounded by my close family and friends everything initially seemed possible. However, when my family left, it was just my seven-year-old son and myself again, and on venturing back into the community, it quickly became clear to me that at some level my status had changed. Without any cues, I struggled to follow speech and few people wanted to write things down. Although my son was only seven, people communicated with him in preference to me. I felt as if we had changed roles: I was now the child and he was the adult. Worse was soon to follow when I tried to re-enter the workforce. When I had the surgery, the hospital had installed a gadget called an auditory brainstem implant, (ABI) which they said would help me hear. An ABI is similar to a cochlear implant but it is attached to the brainstem instead of the cochlear nerve. My cochlear nerve was removed. I hoped my ABI would enable me to hear enough to find work but, aside from clinical conditions in which there was no background noise and the staff knew how to assist, it did not work. My most humiliating moment with it came when it broke down mid job interview and I spent half the time left trying to get it going again in full view of the embarrassed interview panel, and the other half trying to maintain my composure whilst trying to lip-read the questions. The most crushing blow came from the library where I had happily worked for seven years at middle management level. This library was collaborating with another institution to set up a new library and they needed new staff. I hopefully applied for a job at the same level I had worked at prior to becoming deaf but was unsuccessful. When I asked for feedback, I was told that I was not seen as having the skills to work at that level. My lowest point came when I was refused a job unpacking boxes of books. I was told I did not have experience in this area even though, as any librarian will attest, unpacking boxes is part of any librarian’s work. When I could not find unskilled work, it occurred to me that possibly I would never work again. While this was unfolding, my young son and I went from being comfortable financially to impoverished. My ex-partner also decided he would now make childcare arrangements directly with my son as he was annoyed at being expected to write things down for me. My relationship with him, some family members, and my friends were all under strain at that time. I was lost. It also became clear that my son was not coping. Although he knew the rudiments of Auslan, it was not enough for us to communicate sufficiently. His behaviour at school deteriorated and one night he became so frustrated trying to talk to me that he started to pull out his own hair. I calmed him and asked him to write down for me what he was feeling and he wrote down ‘It is like you died. It is like I don’t have a Mum now’. It was now clear to me that although I still had my friends, nobody including myself knew what to do. I realised I had to find someone who could understand my situation and I knew now it had to be a Deaf person. Fortunately, by this stage I was back learning Auslan again at La Trobe University. The week after the conversation with my son, I told my Auslan teacher what had happened. To my relief she understood my situation immediately. She told me to bring my son to class, at no cost, and she would teach him herself. I did and my life started to turn around. My son took to Auslan with such speed and application that he was able to not only converse with her in one month but immediately started using Auslan with me at home to get the things he wanted. We were able to re-establish the mother/son relationship that we both needed. I was also able to help my son talk through and deal with all the changes that me becoming deaf had foisted upon him. He still uses Auslan to talk to me and supplements it using speech, copious finger spelling, notes and diagrams. More than anything else, this relationship has kept me anchored to my long-term goal of becoming a clear signer. Encouraged by my son’s success, I put all my energy into learning Auslan and enrolled in a full time TAFE Auslan course. I also joined a chat group called ‘Here to Hear’ (H2H). The perspectives in the group ranged from strongly oral to strongly Deaf but for me, trying to find a place to fit in any of it, it was invaluable. Almost daily I chatted with the group, asking questions and invariably someone responded. The group acted as a safety net and sounding board for me as I worked out the practicalities of living life deaf. The day of my fateful interview and the ABI humiliation, I came home so shaken that I used the Irish remedy of a couple of swigs of whisky, and then went online and posted an account of it all. I can still remember the collective indignation of the group and, as I read the responses, beginning to see the funny side of it . . . something I could not have done alone. I also made use of easy access to Deaf teachers at TAFE and used that to listen to them and ask advice on situations. I found out for example, that if I instructed my son to stand behind me when people in shops insisted on addressing him, they had no alternative but to talk to me; it was a good clear message to all concerned that my son was the child in this relationship. About this time, I discovered the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) that Elizabeth Hastings had worked so hard on, filed my first DDA complaint, and received my first apology at the mediation session that followed. My personal life also improved, relationship by relationship as everyone adjusted. Slowly the ice melted in most of my relationships; some relationships faded and were replaced with new ones with signing people, and eventually hearing people again. My life moved forward. Through a member of ‘Here to Hear’, I was invited to apply for my first post deaf job—covering holiday leave at a Deaf sports organisation. I practically finger-spelt my way through the interview but not only did they offer me the job, they were delighted to have me. I was able to buy a few things with the money I earned, and suddenly it felt as if everything was possible again. This acceptance of me by Deaf people had a profound impact on me. I mixed with people more, and it was not too long before I was able to use my basic signing skills to use Auslan interpreters and re-enter the workplace. I have discovered over time that living in silence also has advantages—no more noisy parties or rubbish trucks clanging at dawn and in its place a vastly heightened visual awareness that I enjoy. Before I was deaf I thought it would be lonely in the silence but in fact many of life’s best moments—watching rain hit and then run down a window, swimming in the sea, cooking and being with good friends—do not rely upon sound at all; they feel the same way they always did. Sometimes I have felt somewhat of an outsider in the Deaf community. I have sometimes been taken aback by people’s abruptness but I have learned over time that being succinct is valued in Auslan, and some people like to come straight to the point. At crisis points, such as when I asked for help at the Victorian Deaf Society and my Auslan class, it has been a huge relief to talk to Deaf people and know immediately that they understand just from reading their eyes. Having access to an additional world of deaf people has made my life more enjoyable. I feel privileged to be associated with the Deaf community. I can recall a couple of Christmases ago making dinner for some signing friends and suddenly realising that, without noticing, everything had become alright in my world again. Everyone was signing really fast – something I still struggle with; but every now and then someone would stop and summarise so I felt included. It was really relaxed and simply felt like old times, just old times without the sound thrown in. Le Page and Tabouret-Keller, two ethnographers, have this to say about why people communicate the ways they do: The individual ... creates for himself the patterns of his linguistic behaviour so as to resemble those of the group or groups with which from time to time he wishes to be identified, or so as to be unlike those from whom he wishes to be distinguished ... . We see speech acts as acts of projection; the speaker is projecting his inner universe, implicitly with the invitation to others to share it ... he is seeking to reinforce his models of the world, and hopes for solidarity from those with whom he wishes to identify. (181) This quote neatly sums up why I choose to communicate the ways I do. I use Auslan and speech in different situations because I am connected to people in both groups and I want them in my life. I do not feel hugely different from anyone these days. If it is accepted that I have as much to contribute to the community as anyone else, becoming deaf has also meant for me that I expect to see other people treated well and accepted. For me that means contributing my time and thoughts, and advocating. It also means expecting a good level of access to interpreters, to some thought provoking captioned movies in English, and affordable assistive technologies so I can participate. I see this right to participate and engage in genuine dialogue with the rest of the community as central to the aspirations and identity of us all, regardless of who we are or where others think we belong. References Le Page, R.B., and Andree Tabouret-Keller. Acts of Identity: Creole-Based Approaches to Language and Ethnicity. London: Cambridge University Press, 1985. Moorhead, D. “Knowing Who I Am.” In S. Gregory, ed., Deaf Futures Revisited. Block 3, Unit 10, D251 Issues in Deafness. Open University, 1995.