Free Republic

NOVOSIBIRSK, March 11 (RIA Novosti) - A major one-week military exercise will be held in southwest Siberia later this month, regional military officials said on Wednesday. The exercise will take place March 16-23 in the Kemerovo region and involve more than 5,000 personnel and up to 400 armored vehicles. The drills, under the command of Gen. Vladimir Boldyrev, chief of Russia's Ground Forces, will also involve ground attack, fighter and reconnaissance aircraft, and combat and transport helicopters. The units involved in the exercise will, among other things, practice interoperability and transfer from a peacetime to wartime footing.