Western Operational Command (Belarus)

The Western Operational Command (ZOK) is a command of the Belarus Ground Forces. It is headquartered in Grodno. The command is led by Colonel Viktor Hrenin. It is composed of two Mechanized Brigades and an artillery brigade. The command was created in 2001 from the 28th Army Corps, the former 28th Army. [1]

Western Operational Command
Active	2001–present
Country	Belarus
Branch	Belarus Ground Forces
Type	Command
Garrison/HQ	Grodno
Commanders
Chief of staff	Colonel Oleg Melnikov
Notable commanders	Colonel Viktor Khrenin

History

The Western Operational Command traces its lineage back to the Soviet 28th Army. In July 1945, the 28th Army headquarters was relocated to Grodno. By 1988, the army was composed of the 6th Guards Tank Division, 28th Tank Division, 50th Guards Motor Rifle Division and the 514th Territorial Training Center. On 20 March 1992, the army was taken over by Belarus.[2] In 1993, the 28th Army was downsized to become the 28th Army Corps. In 1994, the 50th Division became a separate mechanized brigade, and was further reduced to a storage base in 2001, then finally disbanded in 2006.[3] The Western Operational Command was created in December 2001 from the 28th Army Corps. [1] It participated in the exercises "Neman-2001", "Berezina-2002", "Chistoye Nebo-2003", "Shchit Otechestva-2004", "Shchit Soyuza-2006", "Zapad-2009", "Shchit Soyuza-2011" and the joint strategic exercises with Russian military units "Zapad-2013". [4][5] In 2015, Colonel Viktor Hrenin (former deputy commander of the command)[6] became the command's head and Colonel Oleg Melnikov was appointed chief of staff of the command.[1]

Composition

The command is composed of the following units.[7]

• 6th Guards Kiev-Berlin Mechanized Brigade (Grodno; former 6th Guards Tank Division)[8]
• 11th Guards Berlin-Carpathian Mechanized Brigade (Slonim)
• 111th Artillery Brigade (Brest)
• 62nd Antiaircraft Missile Brigade – equipped with 9K33 Osa SAM
• 215th Separate Radio Engineering Regiment
• 36th Separate Radio Battalion
• 255th Separate Radio Engineering Regiment of Special Purpose (Novogrudok; ELINT)
• 557th Engineer Regiment (Grodno)
• 74th Berlin Separate Communications Regiment (Grodno)
• 815th Logistics Center (Baranovichi)
• 28th Weapons and Equipment Storage Base (Baranovichi; former 28th Tank Division)[9]
• 50th Donetsk Weapons and Equipment Storage Base (Brest; former 50th Guards Motor Rifle Division, disbanded 2006)[10]
• 108th Separate Material Security Regiment

References

1. "Западное оперативное командование" [Western Operational Command]. www.mil.by (in Russian). Ministry of Defense of Belarus. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
2. Holm, Michael. "28th Combined Arms Army". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
3. "В Бресте с расформированной 50-й БХВТ ушла последняя техника". TUT.BY (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-05-28.
4. "ЗАПАДНОМУ ОПЕРАТИВНОМУ КОМАНДОВАНИЮ — 72! | Во славу Родины – Свежий выпуск" [Western Operational Command – 72! | To the glory of the motherland – Fresh release]. vsr.mil.by (in Russian). Retrieved 2015-12-28.
5. "Западное оперативное командование Вооружённых сил Республики Беларусь" [Western Operational Command of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus]. НОВОСТИ (Novosti) (in Russian). Retrieved 2015-12-28.
6. "Reshuffles in Belarus army". euroradio.fm. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
7. "Западное оперативное командование" [Western Operational Command]. belarmy.by (in Russian). 14 March 2011. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
8. Holm, Michael. "6th Guards Tank Division". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
9. Holm, Michael. "28th Tank Division". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
10. Holm, Michael. "50th Guards Motorised Rifle Division". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2016-02-10.