Inside the Cold War

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INSIDE THE COLD WAR The Soviet Triad The Soviet strategic forces were similar to those of the United States, with the Soviets placing a greater emphasis on ICBMs and SSBN/SLBMs than on strategic bombers. The Strategic Rocket Force (SRF), the fifth major branch of the Soviet Armed Forces, was first identified in 1960. It immediately became the preeminent service and was given the highest priority for selection of recruits and officer candidates. The military commissariats, the Komsomols, and the Dosaafs were alerted to be on the lookout for exceptionally talented and bright students to be conscripted for the SRF. The sole mission of the SRF was to operate the ICBM force. Second in priority was the Long-Range Air Force (LRA). Candidates for both the SRF and the LRA usually came from the “educationally privileged” sector of Soviet society. The LRA enjoyed a more attractive “calling card” for young officer candidates, but the SRF had priority. Political “string-pulling” played a large role in determining which branch would get the candidate. The LRA candidate would probably have completed up to 300 hours of flying training in a precadet program before he attended the academy. SRF and LRA candidates attended four-year academy programs that included most of the basic university courses. Perhaps the major difference between a Soviet military academy and a US military academy is that a Zampolit is always present in the Soviet academy, ensuring that the required courses in Marxist-Leninist history and economics—the history of the Communist Party—are adequately provided and attended. The LRA student will receive an additional 240 hours of flying training concurrently with his academic schedule. At the conclusion of the academy course, the new officer is commissioned as a lieutenant; in the LRA, the new lieutenant is also commissioned as a Pilot Engineer Third Class. The most unusual feature of the LRA is that officers, sometimes up to the grade of major, are assigned as aircraft crew chiefs. These assignments are made because the LRA does not have sufficient numbers of qualified NCOs and because putting officers in crew chief positions establishes responsibility in the position. The Soviets attempted to install the rank of ensign or 146
THE SOVIET COLD WARRIOR warrant officer to bridge the gap between the enlisted grades, but the program was defeated because junior officers usually “adopted” the ensigns as menservants rather than fitting them in the chain of command. The ensigns also were given officer privileges, which further removed them from their intended use. Russia and the Soviet Union have had a sea service through - out their history, and it remains an honorable service. The Soviet Navy’s SSBN operations suffered along with the other services in procuring quality recruits to serve aboard the highly technical nuclear submarines. The Soviet Navy normally consists of 20 percent officers, 10 percent warrant officers, and 70 percent conscripts. The officers and warrant officers have lengthy service commitments, but the Navy receives the lowest priority in recruit selection. The “brawn over brain” syndrome for Russian sailors dates back to the old sailing days. There has been evidence, however, that emphasis has shifted in recent years toward high-quality enlisted technicians for SSBN operations. Nevertheless, the manning ratio of officers to enlisted men on Russian SSBN submarines remains far greater than that of SSBNs in the US Navy and other Western navies. Although a firm ratio cannot be determined for today’s Russian SSBNs, the Sverdlovsk story indicates that the Soviet Navy had real manning problems in its SSBN force. It also appears that the navy suffered the greatest personnel turnover of all Soviet services—an estimated 70 percent every three years, with one-sixth of those leaving every six months. One can only guess at the Soviet Navy’s training load and the concern for proficiency and war-fighting ability that may exist among its leaders. Consistent documentation has reflected that the Soviet sailor lived “under conditions not seen in Western navies in over fifty years,” with miserable pay, unusually harsh discipline at sea, and the traditional overabundance of communist indoctrination. Finally, I think it is interesting to review the military personnel force structure of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, placing it in perspective with what “we thought we knew” versus what “they wanted us to know.” At the peak of the Cold War, the United States had approximately 2.2 million men 147
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Inside the Cold War A Cold Warrior
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Inside the Cold War

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