Russian media reported that the ministry planned to implement a military education module as part of the curriculum that would appear in schools. The ministry appeared to quickly correct the course and clarified that the module would only appear as extracurricular, according to RIA Novosti. “An extracurricular course on basic military training will be prepared for Russian schools and introduced into educational programs from the next academic year,” the ministry said in a statement.
The proposed module reportedly includes 140 hours of military training during the final two years of study, with battle-hardened veterans teaching the course. The ministry did not specify whether the module will be compulsory for all students. UKRAINE RECEIVES 90 REFURBISHED T-72B TANKS FROM US, THE NETHERLANDS AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC Russia’s defense ministry said the training served a necessary function as the “special military operation” in Ukraine continued to ensure that soldiers have “the necessary experience to participate in hostilities.” At a school in Khartsyzk in eastern Ukraine, on June 17, 2015, teenagers learn the basics of war as the conflict with Ukrainian forces continues. (Andrey Borodulin/AFP via Getty Images) “The introduction of such a course in schools will make it possible to systematically prepare citizens for a possible confrontation with the enemy,” said First Deputy Defense Minister Valery Gerasimov. BRITNEY GREENER’S MOVE TO RUSSIAN PENAL COLONY CONTINUES TO BE APPEAL, LAWYERS UNSURE OF HER FINDING The section indicates that Russian military officials expect the offensive to last longer than first thought – or that further attacks may occur as the war with the West continues. The Schools of the Soviet Military Academy on January 1, 1989, in Leningrad, USSR. (Photo by Patrick Aventurier/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images) Rebekah Koffler, president of Doctrine & Strategy Consulting and a former DIA intelligence officer, noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to have retreated to Soviet-era tactics. She recounted her own experiences growing up in Soviet Russia and the kind of military training she received in high school and college, which she said was “the norm.” REPORTER’S NOTE: A CLOSER LOOK AT TEH DEADLY AND DANGEROUS DRONES TARGETING UKRAINE “We had emergency drills at the school where we put on gas masks, run out of the shelter to a nearby location,” Koffler told Fox News Digital. “A retired colonel taught us basic military training, which included timed drills on assembling and disassembling an AK-47. No live fire, though. He was always mad and constantly criticizing us.” Inside the facility, children learn to shoot a rifle on March 5, 1999 outside Moscow. Russia’s children’s units are made up of children abandoned by their parents. (Photo by Oleg Nikishin/Liaison) The real goal of this training would be to “normalize war,” he said, arguing that the kind of training he is trying to implement is “unlikely to improve combat readiness.” “There’s a lot more to war than marching in a straight line with your toes pointed and shouting orders, but what this training does is it smooths out war,” Koffler explained. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “War in the Russian mindset, given its history, is the normal state of affairs – you’re always preparing to fend off an aggressor – peacetime is always temporary,” he continued. “This indoctrination makes it easier for Russian leaders to convince the younger generation to make sacrifices for Mother Russia.” Peter Aitken is a Fox News Digital reporter with a focus on national and global news.