Soviet Political Officers question

[Matt Wiser]

One thing about the Soviet (and Pact) armed forces were the Political Officers. One question that comes to mind is: were they Party Hacks by and large, or did they have some training to function as line officers should circumstances dictate? This would be true in such units as airborne, air-assault, and Naval Infantry, as well as tank, motor-rifle, and both artillery and air-defense arms. If you've read the book Hostile Waters the Zampolit on K-219 was the most hated man on the boat: even the KGB Security Officer was respected-mainly because not only had he been to sub school, but was a qualified watch officer-and he took his turn as Officer of the Watch, which earned him the crew's respect. Before the accident, the Zampolit was giving a lecture in the crew's mess, and the skipper decided to do a Crazy Ivan. The exec reminded him "Sir, the Zampolit is giving a lecture in the crew's mess." And the Captain replied, "So? Seeing him fall on his ass would be good for morale." The man was later banned from the sub service after it was found out that he'd been the first officer into a raft, even before some injured crew, despite the skipper's order that the officers were to be the last off the boat, after making sure all of their men were accounted for.
One other skipper, the Captian of K-108 (an Echo-II SSGN) was another skipper who had no use for Political Officers: he considered them drunks, pests, inept nags, and useless cargo that he had to haul around. "You have been as useful as a suitcase on my submarine for the last two months", he told a Zampolit after the man berated the skipper for playing jazz on the PA system to pump up the crew (from Blind Man's Bluff).

And were SAF political officers even rated pilots or ground officers?

[HorseSoldier]

I'm not familiar with any account of Soviet political officers that portrays them in any sort of flattering light. I always kind of assumed they were basically analogous to US military chaplains, in terms of their position within a unit, only without any of the respect most chaplains get.

That said, I would venture to guess that surviving political officers circa 2000 have been forced to find some real employment within their units, either relegated to some staff job to free up a more qualified officer for front line service, or (having risen to the occasion and proven themselves to be pretty solid guys) taking a more active role of some sort.

Might be a pretty interesting NPC to throw into the mix at some point (after some stereotypical zampolits) some earnest Communist true believer whose faith verges on religion and who's the only thing holding together his unit circa 2000. Could be someone the PCs work with, or someone they have to eliminate or whatever, but should play off their preconceptions consistently (being a sober, incorruptible guy who gives any excess back to the collective, etc etc etc.).

[avantman42]

I'm not convinced that zampolits were universally despised. Years ago I read an account (can't remember where) of how zampolits, in at least some cases, earned respect among the men, looking out for their welfare and doing things like reading newspapers to the illiterate men. The comparison to western chaplains is one I've not thought of before, but seems a good one.

[Fusilier]

Originally Posted by avantman42

I'm not convinced that zampolits were universally despised. Years ago I read an account (can't remember where) of how zampolits, in at least some cases, earned respect among the men, looking out for their welfare and doing things like reading newspapers to the illiterate men.

Same here.

[Raellus]

It's my understanding that Soviet political officers had a lot more power and abused it more readily early in the war. IIRC, they were authorized to execute officers they felt were not performing well. As the war progressed, it was found that meddling on the part of over-zealous political officers hampered operational efficiency and much of their power was removed.

In T2K, I can see this trend being reversed. As the Twilight War progressed and Soviet units' morale and effectiveness began to slip (to the point of mutiny, in some cases), political officers may have been given more power in attempt to keep the units to which they were attached in check.

[pmulcahy11b]

One of the biggest impressions of political officers may be a bit dated, but I think of Nikita Khrushchev's job during the siege of Stalingrad. His primary job seems to have been to produce literature and stories about the tenacity, bravery, and victories of the Stalingrad defenders, both for the other defenders of Stalingrad and for the rest of Russia. He was a big part of the reason the exploits of sniper Vasily Zaitsev became well-known in Russia. Perhaps a better title for a "political officer" may be a "morale officer" or "propaganda officer."