More than a thousand conscripts called up to the border troops took an oath of allegiance to Belarus

August 13, Polotsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. Recruits called up for active service in the border troops took the Oath of Allegiance to the Motherland for the first time in Polotsk, a BELTA correspondent reports.

About one hundred and fifty young men, who will serve in the Polotsk border detachment, solemnly recited the text of the military oath in the central square of the ancient city near the monuments to the heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812 and the Great Patriotic War, in the presence of relatives, friends, unit commanders, and veterans of the border service.

As Chairman of the State Border Committee Igor Rachkovsky, who took part in the solemn ceremony, noted in a conversation with journalists, a training center for recruit training began operating for the first time this year at the Polotsk border detachment. This is an experiment, which consists in the fact that young men from the Vitebsk region were called up for service in the Polotsk border detachment. Their training for further service was carried out taking into account the specifics of service in the northwestern region. From these soldiers, if they wish, training will be conducted for contract service and for admission to the Institute of the Border Service.

Igor Rachkovsky recalled that in accordance with the concept of the development of the border service for 2008-2017, the department should switch to a contract basis by the end of 2017. "Today's realities of border service have changed and require border protection to be carried out by professionals with excellent training," Igor Rachkovsky emphasized.

The training center for conscripts will continue to operate at the Polotsk border detachment. "The oath-taking ceremony by border guards will become another highlight of Polotsk and a good tradition," the head of the border service is confident.

Solemn ceremonies of oath-taking by recruits also took place today in Dzerzhinsk, Lida, Smorgon, Brest, Pinsk. More than a thousand young men took the oath of allegiance to Belarus and its people. According to the State Border Committee, the number of conscripts in 2011 is at the same level as last year.-0-