Veteran Mykola Melnyk believes that the reform of mobilization should consider not only the work of the TCCs and recruitment centers but also the distrust of civilians towards the army system.
Mobilization in Ukraine / © TSN
During the mobilization reform in Ukraine, it is necessary to consider the caution of civilians towards the army, as many people do not understand what service might entail for them.
This was stated by veteran and Knight of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Mykola Melnyk, in an interview with “24 Kanal”.
He commented on the second stage of the army reform, which is set to start in July and will concern mobilization. In particular, it involves restructuring the work of TCCs and changing the principles of mobilization itself.
Instead of one TCC in public places, plans are in place to create separate recruitment points, комплектування centers, and Offices for supporting conscripts.
Melnyk noted that it is not entirely clear to him how TCCs are planned to be reoriented towards a recruitment model.
“Regarding the reform itself, we still need to see what they actually plan to do, because I don’t yet understand how TCCs are to be reoriented into recruitment centers,” he said.
In his opinion, if recruitment centers work because people come to them voluntarily, then the ministry might have decided to use a similar approach for TCCs.
At the same time, the veteran emphasized that for this to happen, the very logic of TCC employees’ work needs to change – from a rigid administrative model to an approach closer to recruitment.
“TCC employees will have to somehow reorient from working within strict administrative boundaries to working in recruitment centers, where there is some flexibility in behavior,” Melnyk explained.
He added that promotion of a specific unit plays an important role in the recruitment model. However, the veteran does not understand how this will work in the case of reformed TCCs.
Melnyk separately drew attention to the fact that the discussion about the reform often omits a significant factor – the distrust of civilians towards the army system.
According to him, this caution is linked to the lack of transparency in the appointment of senior commanders, the awarding of military personnel, and the absence of a clear connection between what a person does at the front and what consequences it will have for them.
“Such a not insignificant element as the caution of civilians towards the army is completely disregarded,” the veteran stressed.
Melnyk explained that a person does not always see a clear logic between their own service, the risks, the career decisions of the command, and the potential consequences for themselves.
“Therefore, I understand that there is a certain positive result from the work of recruitment centers for well-publicized brigades or corps. So, firstly, there is good PR, there is a well-established recruitment story, but whether it can be scaled to the entire army, I am not ready to say,” he believes.
We remind you that earlier the Ministry of Defense announced that they are preparing a **reform of mobilization and TCCs** aimed at increasing the transparency of service. The key goal is to make the prospects of mobilization clearer for citizens, including explaining the conditions and terms of service during a prolonged war. The changes will primarily affect individuals who are wanted or evade military duty. The details of the reform will be announced soon by the Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov, and its implementation is expected in the near future.