RUSSIA AT HIGH LEVEL OF BATTLE READINESS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91B00776R000100090007-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: January 4, 2017
• Document Release Date: April 22, 2008
• Sequence Number: 7
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2008/04/22 : CIA-RDP91 B00776R000100090007-5
Russk?at high leve?
f battle readiness
By Jay Mallin Sr.
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
steps, particularly during the past
few months, that have been taken to
heighten the combat readiness of
The Soviet Union and other com- --communist forces, especially in
munist countries appear to be Europe.
accelerating the upgrading of the A significant indicator of the new
level of combat readiness of their situation, according to defense ana-
armed forces, particularly in lysts, is that military vehicles have
Europe, according to Defense been withdrawn from their normal
Department sources. use as support vehicles for the har-
"The Soviets are moving into a vest.
higher and higher state of Because there are insufficient
readiness;' according to one offi- civilian vehicles to handle wheat
cial. "They are increasing their and other harvests, the Soviet army
ability to begin a conventional war has customarily provided vehicles
from a standing start. They have of its own to assist with the cr(z$.
reduced their preparatory time to a In 1968, however, the Soviet gov-
very few days:' he said. ernment abruptly halted this useof
The Soviet Union's increased of military vehicles. Shorty
readiness was the subject of a con- afterwards, the Soviet Upibn
fidential report sent by CIA Direc- invaded Czechoslovakia.
tor William Casey to President In succeeding years the military
Reagan and other top government again helped with the harvests. In
officials recently. March of this year, however, a gov-
The report, which has triggered ernmental directive again halted
concern within the administration, military support for the harvest.
detailed a substantial number of see SOVIETS, page 12A
SOVIETS
From page JA
In view of food shortages within
the Soviet Union and the country's
partial dependence of imports, this
move was seen as a setback in a
critical economic area. The Soviet
- or military-leaders clearly felt
that their military plans now had
priority over the needs of the pop-
ulation.
The stopping of the utilization of
military vehicles for crop use has
been one of the steps taken to -
increase the readiness level of com-
munist forces. Other moves that the
analysts point to are:
? A portion of the Soviet nuclear
forces in Eastern Europe have been
placed on quick-alert. This appears
to be the first time this -has
occurred in recent years.
? Increased numbers of elite
Soviet SPETNAZ troops have been
brought into Hungary-and
Czechoslovakia. These Special
Forces-type soldiers are used for
sabotage, terror and other activi-
ties behind enemy lines.
? In Hungary, a recall of an
undetermined number of reserv-,
ists was begun in May of this year.
In Czechoslovakia, the term of ser-
vice for draftees with missile
experience has apparently been
extended from two to three years.
In East Germany, it has been
reported, men up to 35 years of age
have been drafted without consid-
eration of their professions or
difficulties to their families.
? The Soviets have increased the
periods during which troops are
rotated on railroads.
Such movements interfere with
the normal transportation of civil-
ians and economic materials. On
occasion trains have brought in
more troops than they later took
out. lb prevent observation of troop
movements at the Weimar freight
station in East Germany, State
Security has occupied homes.in the
area.
? In a highly unusual civil
defense exercise held at Omsk in
March, 800 people walked some 40
miles. The Soviet government and
press maintain high interest in civil
defense.
? The role of the Soviet intelli-
gence agencies, the KGB and the
GRU, as well as of satellite services
has been upgraded. This has often
been done at the expense of career
diplomats in the various foreign
services who have been replaced by
or placed under intelligence per-
sonnel.
? There has been a reduction in
.production of commercial aircraft
Approved For Release 2008/04/22 : CIA-RDP91 B00776R000100090007-5
 Approved For Release 2008/04/22 : CIA-RDP91 B00776R000100090007-5
A
T
in favor of military transport. Com-
mercial aircraft production
dropped significantly in 1983.
Soviet airlines are not adding new
planes to their fleets; in fact, they
are buying back old aircraft from
East European airlines.
? At least two tractor factories
have been converted to man-
,ufacture military tanks or parts.
One of these plants, at Chelyabinsk,
is making tank chassis for the first
time since World War II.
? The first new nuclear weapons
storage facility to be built in a dec-
ade is under construction at Kom-
somolsk.
? Floor space for ammunition
and explosive plants is being
expanded throughout the Soviet
Union. The ammunition plant at
Luebben in East Germany has been
placed on full 24-hour production
and has more than doubled its pro-
duction.
? The Soviet government is
pressing hard to have industrial
plants increase their production. At
the same time, Soviet assistance to
the economies of the satellite coun-
tries has been cut back. In
Czechoslovakia, state-owned
trucking companies have been
affected by fuel shortages, and in
Poland factories which had been
producing civilian goods report-
edly have been converted to the pro-
duction of military supplies for the
Soviet Union.
Against this backdrop of war-
related readiness measures, the
Soviets have continued their bellig-
erent mood against the United
States. Soviet media have contin-
ually emphasized the theme that
relations between the Soviet Union
and the United States are bad and
dangerous.
These relations have been com-
pared to those between the Soviet
Union and Nazi Germany prior to
World War II, and the Soviet press
reiterates that the Soviet Union will
not again be caught by a surprise
attack.
The Soviets and their allies have
also tried to restrict the movements
of Western military personnel so
they cannot witness communist
military moves. In Russia, military
attaches have been denied permis-
sion to travel to Leningrad this year,
an area previously open.
In Poland the surveillance of for-
eign attaches in the southwest of
the country has intensified. There
have been three recent incidents in
Poland in which NATO attaches
have been detained and then forced
to drive through military restricted
areas so photos of them violating
the restrictions could be taken.
Approved For Release 2008/04/22 : CIA-RDP91 B00776R000100090007-5