Bill Kambic wrote:
On Mon, 10 Dec 2007 01:19:44 -0700, Fred J. McCall
[snip]

And you presumably think that Russians are too stupid to maintain
their military assets or what?

It's not a question of stupidity but money. For three lustrums former
Soviet assets have been rotting away. Now they've got the money (and
the will at the top) to start a "resurgence" of sorts. Time will tell
how long the money and the will last.

It's also worth noting that during the Soviet era readiness rates were
not all that "red hot" even in some elite units. That's one reason
why they always built fairly simply and in large quantities. I don't
know if this will change or not.

One big difference between building new and maintenance is the rank of
the person making the decision.

Build new - politician or chief of staff.
Repair - private or able seaman.

This is simply because only the private know that his rifle needs
repairing. Where half the rifles in the regiment are faulty the
private has proof the sergeant is not going to chase him, so it is
easier to keep quiet. Nasty things happen to "trouble makers"
who rock the boat with bad news. The repair order probably
needs the CO's signature so it will take months to arrive and the
CO may have to ask district HQ for more spares.

Andrew Swallow