Documents / FOIA release

OSR Contribution to NIE 11-14-68, Soviet and East European General Purpose Forces, CIA/DI/OSR, October 1968.

Central Intelligence Agency · 115 pages · text from the file's own layer

This is an October 1968 contribution by the Central Intelligence Agency's Office of Strategic Research to National Intelligence Estimate 11-14-68 on Soviet and East European general purpose forces. It covers Warsaw Pact war plans for Central Europe, the effects of the Czechoslovak crisis, and the doubling of Soviet forces on the Chinese border since 1965. It also assesses ground, tactical air, naval and coastal defense forces. The text does not mention UFOs or unidentified aerial phenomena.

  • p. 83 …local coastal areas in conjunction with air and ground forces and for protection of Soviet interests…
  • p. 100 …A Soviet naval surface force conducted a goodwill cruise into the Indian Ocean which involved port…
The Warsaw Pact countries have mobili-
zation plans providing for the rapid assembly and
assignment to units of the additional manpower
a nde vei--es n1ee-de-d-To1-u---Fh-eout co mat units
and develop the Front organizations, Detailed
procedures are laid down in the Soviet military
districts and in the Eastern European countries
for implementing the mobilization plans.
The Soviets maintain a large pool of
reserve manpower which includes not only able-
bodied former servicemen but also men without prior
military service who have certain technical quali-
fications such as drivers, mechanics, and medical
personnel. Reservists can be called up for active
duty as individuals or as members of reserve (or
"militarized") units which are called up together.
These reserve units are formed in civilian motor
transport organizations, hospitals, and other state
institutions.
The Soviet system also involves the
registration of civilian vehicles and other materiel
such as engineer equipment. These items are inspected
periodically by military authorities and classified -
according to their condition, age, and suitability
for mobilization. Vehicles and equipment in the
organized reserve units as well as other civilian
items are registered.
The Warsaw Pact reserve manpower pool
and vehicle inventory is large enough to provide
all the men and vehicles needed to complete the
forces earmarked for use in Central Europe in the
early stages of war. The efficiency with which the
mobilization process would be carried out is less
certain. The magnitude and complexity of the
preparations and the task of implementation almost
ensure that it will not go smoothly.
Both the Soviets and Eastern Europeans,
however, are known to have repeatedly practiced
elements of the mobilization process. There is
evidence that reservists are called up for periods
of one or two months but at rather long intervals
of three to five years. There are also reports
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 115 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.