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 APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200070015-2

The Chief of the People's Navy has four assistants, each of whom controls a board area of naval activity. Each is a counterpart, at a lower echelon, of a member of the high command of the Ministry for National Defense. Important militarily is the Chief of Staff, who is responsible for operational and general administrative matters. The Chief of Rear Services controls logistic and support activities. Training programs and schools are the responsibility of the Chief of Training Establishments. Most influential is the Political Deputy, who is the principal link between the naval forces and the Socialist Unity Party.

Operational units of the naval forces consist of the 1st, 4th, and 6th Flotillas, and the Coastal Border Brigade (GBK). The 1st and 4th Flotillas are responsible for the defense of coastal waters, especially beyond the 3-mile limit. Ships assigned include the primarily defensive types -- destroyer escorts, large submarine chasers, and minesweepers. Also assigned to the 1st Flotilla are all 28 of the navy's amphibious vessels. The 6th Flotilla, specifically constituted for immediate commitment to the Warsaw Pact in time of crisis and with the mission of striking at enemy forces further away from home waters, operates ships with offensive capabilities, such as large guided missile patrol boats, fast patrol boats, and motor torpedo boats. The Coastal Border Brigade is responsible for the security of coastal waters (mainly within the 3-mile limit), ports, and beaches against smuggling and illegal entries and exits. Its afloat units consist mainly of motor gunboats and, more recently, submarine chasers. Ashore elements of the GBK include infantry-type beach patrol troops and coastal observation stations. Directly subordinate to naval headquarters are coastal defense missile units and combat engineers.

2. Strength, composition, and disposition 

Of the 17,500 navy personnel, 17,000 are regular navy and 500 are Frontier Command troops assigned to the naval forces. Regular navy personnel include 3,100 afloat, 4,500 staff and support ashore, 1,800 beach patrol troops, 1,700 trainees, 500 coastal warning types, 200 in a motorized communication battalion, 650 combat engineers, 700 coastal defense missile personnel, 100 in helicopters, 50 anti-aircraft personnel, and 700 police and guard types. About 10% of the regular navy personnel are officers. Naval reservists total 22,800.

Although most personnel are conscripted, a high percentage are volunteers. The basic term of service is 18 months, but volunteers for shipboard duty are obligated for 3 years, and volunteers for career status are obligated for 10 years. As designated career personnel, all commissioned officers have a minimum 10-year service obligation.

The naval reserve is composed of four elements: officers released from active naval service; merchant marine officers with reserve commissions; former naval enlisted personnel who, because of outstanding service, were commissioned reserve officers upon their release from active duty; and former enlisted men released from active duty. Reservists are subdivided into two groups: Reserve Group I consists of pre-service conscripts, former enlisted personnel, and officers up to and including captain lieutenant, all below age 35, and corvette captains and above to age 60. Reserve Group II is composed of pre-service conscripts and former enlisted personnel from age 35 to 50 (60 in times of emergency), and officers up to and including captain lieutenant from age 35 to 60. Reservists who reach the age limit for Group I are automatically transferred to Group II.

The limiting factor in fleet mobilization would be the absence of reserve equipment. There is no formal reserve of naval ships as such, though some ships and craft are usually out of active service at any given time. Most ship complements are maintained below authorized wartime levels, and the 10 to 20 ships in refit at any given time have only cadre crews. Perhaps one-third of the reservists would be assigned to the ships. The remainder would be used for support ashore and as replacements for shipboard casualties. Naval reserves could be mobilized in increments of one-third each, by M+15, M+30, and M+40 respectively, but their full utilization would require acquisition of additional ships. Reserve personnel in the merchant and shipping fleets would probably remain in place during mobilization, with the navy merely taking over control of these organizations intact.

There are 800 personnel assigned to the naval staff at Gehlsdorf and another 200 in the hydrographic office in Rostock proper. Wolgast has about 500 and the Stralsund area about 700 personnel on a variety of logistic support and training staff billets. The 1st Flotilla has about 500 shore support personnel at Peenemuende and another 50 at Wolgast. The staff and support personnel of the 4th Flotilla total 500, most of them at Warnemuende. The 6th Flotilla's 250 staff and support personnel are stationed almost exclusively at Bug. The Coastal Border Brigade has about 100 personnel to each headquarters staff at Rostock, Sassnitz, and Tarnewitz, with another 150 or so distributed among Stralsund, Vitte, Wieck, Wismas, and other GBK installations. The remaining 300 staff and support personnel are at various minor facilities.

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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200070015-2