Lietuvos kariuomenės kovinių plaukikų būrys 1990-2004 m.: su(si)formavimas, veikla ir įvaizdis

LT1990 m. pirmą kartą rašytiniuose šaltiniuose buvo paminėtas „legendomis apipintas“ povandeninių plaukikų būrys. Toks būrys Lietuvos jėgos struktūrose pradėtas formuoti paskutiniame XX a. dešimtmetyje naro specialybę SSRS įgijusio kovos menų (karate) trenerio ir instruktoriaus Valerijaus Krisikaičio iniciatyva. Siekdamas padėti besikuriančioms Lietuvos Krašto apsaugos departamento formuotėms, V. Krisikaitis išreiškė norą dirbti krašto apsaugos sistemoje – organizuoti žmonių rengimą kovinei savigynai ir suformuoti povandeninių plaukikų grupę, kad būtų apsaugotas Klaipėdos uostas nuo galimų svetimų šalių diversantų keliamo pavojaus ir užpuolimų. Tuometis Krašto apsaugos departamento direktorius pritarė šiai idėjai ir priėmė V. Krisikaičio siūlomą pagalbą. 1990 m. gruodžio mėn. Klaipėdoje buvo pradėta burti vyrų savanorių grupė ir surengtos pirmosios kovinės savigynos bei nardymo treniruotės. Visas Lietuvos Respublikos kariuomenės narų sistemos kūrimas truko ne vienus metus. Reikėjo laiko ištreniruoti ir puikiai parengti asmenis, galinčius atlikti žvalgybą išnėrus iš vandens, įvairias kovines užduotis, specialiąsias operacijas ir nesprogusios amunicijos iškėlimą iš vandens. Karinio nardymo bazė ir narų – kovinių plaukikų – rengimas Lietuvos Respublikoje nuo 1992 m. buvo išplėtoti iki itin aukšto lygio. Šalyje atsirado narų rengimo „šerdis“ – ja tapo V. Krisikaičio vadovaujamas Kovinių plaukikų būrys Klaipėdoje. Lietuvos kariuomenė 1993–2004 m. tapo pajėgi profesionaliai parengti pakankamai kovinių plaukikų narų, galinčių atlikti nesprogusios amunicijos iškėlimo iš vandens darbus, vien savo mokymo centruose.Šalyje parengti koviniai narai buvo pripažinti tarptautinio masto užsienio valstybių narų rengimo centrų ir patys galėjo suteikti specialiųjų nardymo žinių kitiems Lietuvos ir užsienio šios srities kariams. Pamečiui gerėjo Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybės požiūris į Lietuvos kariuomenės narus, nes didėjo jų vykdomų užduočių mastas, išsigrynino būrio veiklos specifika. Kovinių plaukikų tarnyba įgijo valdžios pasitikėjimą, didėjo jos valstybinis finansavimas ir aprūpinimo specialiąja įranga mastas. [Iš leidinio]

ENLithuanian historical sources mention the divers for the first time in the 1990s. With the intention to assist emerging national formations of the Department of National Defence of Lithuania, Valerijus Krisikaitis reported to the local national defence department in Klaipeda in September of 1990. He was a certificated diver and karate instructor and expressed his desire to work in the national defence service. Also, he displayed an unorthodox approach by offering to organise and train a squad, which would be prepared for combat, self-defence and combat diving. These skills could be applied to the protection of the Klaipėda Seaport again possible attacks organised and executed by foreign hostile military forces. This was the beginning of the formation of the combat divers’ units in the Lithuanian military. Currently, this combat capacity has increased significantly. Due to ‘Restricted’ and ‘Secret’ classification marks, the exact figures cannot be disclosed; however, open sources indicate that there are two separate units, The Underwater Action Team, which is part of the Naval Forces and the Combat Divers Service, which is subordinate to the Special Operations Forces. These units have separate boat crews, maintenance and supply teams, individual explosive ordnance disposal experts, combat divers, rescue teams and much more. The structure of research of the master’s thesis consists of a summary in English, an introduction and three chapters. Also, it includes conclusions, a list of literature and sources, recommendations and appendices. The first chapter analyses the key aspects of the formation and origins of the Lithuanian Army Combat Swimmer Squad in 1990– 1992, the incorporation of combat swimmers into the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the squad contingent formation instructions, divers and possibilities of starting/financing/supplying the technical base.The second chapter is concentrated on the activities of the Lithuanian Combat Swimmers Squadron from 1993 to 2004. Separate chapters discuss the change of the Lithuanian Armed Forces ‘leadership in terms of combat swimmers’ platoon and the planning of the platoon employment, the genesis of the Lithuanian Armed Forces ‘combat swimmers’ platoon competence building system and its transformation. Also, the evolution of the technical base of the Lithuanian Army combat swimmers’ platoon: financing and supply. The goal of the research. The main goal of the research is the information analysis of the Lithuanian combat divers’ activities during the formation of the independent and modern Lithuanian military structure. This analysis includes available sources from the Lithuanian military and public media related to the topic. The methods of the research. The main research was performed by applying a combined study using both qualitative and quantitative methods of research. The main tools utilised in the research were the questionnaire and in-depth interviews. Statistic data processing and content analysis methods were applied to process the data collected. The target audience of the qualitative research was seven individuals who had completed military service in the combat divers’ unit in the past. The research was conducted according to ethical standards. The results of the scientific research. The analysis of the data revealed that Lithuanian combat divers have been perfectly prepared to act as soldiers, both physically and psychologically, during the timeframe of this research embracing periods from the 1990s to 2004. Their activities were limited only due to the financial constraints and lack of reliable diving equipment and infrastructure.The importance of the combat divers in the Lithuanian Armed Forces has been significant since the beginning of their activities, and slowly increased during the time period of the research. This was predominantly attributed to their skills and abilities to perform demolition tasks underwater. This field of activities was equally high skilled in comparison to modern and highly equipped foreign military forces and their divers. The age and education of the potential candidates for the Lithuanian combat divers’ unit also had a great significance. Because the training and preparation process of the candidates could take years, only young soldiers from the professional military service units have been accepted to be trained as highly professional combat divers. According to the interviewees, the significance of the Lithuanian combat divers was definitely high in the Lithuanian military because a small unit of underwater subversive divers could cause greater damage than an infantry battalion. Conclusions and recommendations. 1. The origins of the formation of the Lithuanian combat divers’ squad in the 1990s: in the 1990s, the leader and main instructor of the combat divers’ unit, Valerijus Krisikaitis, began recruiting the team and training the diver candidates. There was a clear vision at that time that independent Lithuanian Armed Forces would meet the demand of highly trained combat divers. The problem of the incorporation of the unit into the structure of Lithuanian Military Forces has been addressed gradually. In the beginning, the combat divers under the name of the diving club ‘Nautilius’ were incorporated into the local SKAT department in Klaipėda. In 1992, after the establishment of the ‘Iron Wolf ’ brigade and the paratrooper regiment in Klaipėda, the combat divers became subordinated to the regiment commander. [...]. [From the publication]

• Enciklopedinis karybos žodynas / Petras Algirdas Čiočys, Jurgis Janukevičius, Edvardas Jasiulionis, Eugenijus Simonas Kisinas, Robertas Kopūstas, Robertas Lapinskas, Jurgis Norgėla, Aleksandras Venckus, Pranas Žarys. Vilnius : Generolo Jono Žemaičio Lietuvos karo akademija, 2008. 879 p.
• Istorija kaip politika : įvykių raidos apžvalgos / Alfonsas Eidintas. Vilnius : Versus aureus, 2008. 438 p.
• Kokybinių tyrimų metodologija : vadovėlis vadybos ir administravimo studentams / Bronislovas Bitinas, Liudmila Rupšienė, Vilma Žydžiūnaitė. Klaipėda : S. Jokužio leidykla-spaustuvė, 2008. 303 p.
• Lietuvos krašto apsaugos sistemos atkūrimas 1989-1993 metais : istorinis dokumentinis leidinys / [sudarytojas Jonas Užurka]. Vilnius : Eugrimas, 2015. 440 p.
• Lietuvos valstybės istorija / Zigmantas Kiaupa. Vilnius : "Baltų lankų" leidyba, 2006. 311 p.
• Lietuvos žurnalistikos istorija : periodinė spauda / Vytas Urbonas. Klaipėda : Klaipėdos universiteto leidykla, 2001. 323 p.
• Mokslinių tyrimų metodologija ir metodai : (edukologija ir kiti socialiniai mokslai) / Kęstutis Kardelis. Šiauliai : Lucilijus, 2005. 398 p.