Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi gives autonomy in personnel decisions - Commander Biletskyi

The commander of the Third Army Corps, Andrii Biletskyi, has replaced the commanders of most brigades, and personnel decisions are made based on competence, not rank. He told about this in an interview with the Bombardier YouTube channel.

"Now the General Staff and the Chief of the Army have given me a lot of autonomy in these matters. The Chief of Staff supported the appointment of my deputies: a major and a lieutenant colonel are in the positions of Deputy Chief of Staff, and a deputy is empty. These are positions of the level of a brigadier general. Previously, this was impossible at all. But I have people whose competence most generals could envy," Biletskyi emphasized. The appointment of talented young people in the ranks of captains and majors as brigade commanders is also agreed upon.

He said that he is implementing a philosophy in the corps where all specialists and units should primarily serve the interests of the infantry: "The company serves the infantryman, and the battalion largely serves the companies. A brigade, respectively, serves battalions. And my task is to serve brigades."

According to him, for the most part, officers are positive about the changes. Those who resist or neglect their duties continue to serve in reserve battalions or in officer's grade.

"You can cut an 'extremely important task' is the official term. You can send such officers to perform the task where they send people, without thinking about how they have planned and prepared everything. We use this mechanism against unscrupulous people. And it has a positive effect on the personnel - people see justice," Biletskyi said

He called lies the biggest problem he faced in the corps. According to him, commanders hid real information because they never received help from their "senior boss" - only punishment.

"People have developed a scheme of lies at all levels. They had already established a relationship with the brigadier, and he realized that they would support him, try to organize help, and not just demand something from him. But it turns out that he doesn't have that kind of "connection" with the combatants, because he behaved the same way with them, and they lied to him the same way. Then the company commander and so on. I am now saying responsibly: the Third Corps' line of the Combat Mission List is the most honest," Biletskyi added.