BORDER GUARD TROOP TRAINING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00046R000400150001-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 18, 2009
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: December 6, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2009/09/18: CIA-RDP82-00046R000400150001-0
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
CONFIDENTIAL
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT Border Guard Troop Training
DATE OF INFO.
PLACE ACQUIRED
This material contains Information affecting the Na-
tional Defense of the United States within the mean-
ing of the Espionage Laws, Title 18, U.B.C. Bem. 793
and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in
any manner to an unauthorised person Is prohibited
by law.
REPORT
DATE DISTR. 6 December 1954
NO. OF PAGES 1+
REQUIREMENT NO. RD
REFERENCES
THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT ARE DEFINITIVE.
THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE,
(FOR KEY SEE RIVSRSE)
ARMY review completed.
CONFIDENTIAL
STATE ARMY
rr
NAVY AIR FBI ABC
7 f
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CONFIDENTIAL
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT Border Guard Troop Training
25X1
DATE DISTR. 22 Out 94
NO. OF PAGES 3
DATE OF INFORMATION REFERENCES:
PLACE ACQUIRED
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
The Training Program
l? the overall border guard training program.
was Bet up in Moscow at the Chief Border Guard 25X1
Directorate (MV-Glavnoye Upravleniye Po raniohnykh Voysk) and
distributed through the districts to the lower units. The districts,
as lower unit headquarters, expanded and explained th"ogram in
neceseary detail to the lower units. there were 25X1
very few changes in the pro ram from year to year. In general, the
program was divided into political training and border guard service
raini ig.
The gaining Year
'formally, the training year began in November with the winter train-
;ibg season. In late March, April, or even May the spring-summer
training season began and continued to September
From S&ptember
.
tb November there was a break during Which there was no formal,
uniform training. During this period, units reviewed and repeated
s'UbJeots,in' which they had been weak during the previous training
year. After each training season there was an inspection and
examination period during which higher unit teams came to determine
how well the various units had assimilated training.
Unit Training
3. In addition to daily routine border guard duties, EM of the border
guard had a three-hour training period five days aweek; there
was no training period on Saturday which was devoted to inspection
and administrative duties.
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4. The monthly training schedule for border guard enlisted personnel
totalled 60-65 hours of which 16-18 hours were devoted to political
indoctrination. The. remaining hours were about evenly divided
between general combat and tactical training, and training pertinent
to border guard: duties.
In the 22-2k hours of border guard training (pogranichnaya
podgotovka) given each month, the following phases of activity were
covered: border sentry duties, border guard unit CQ duties, the
manning and operation of'soreens (zaslony), observation posts,
secret observation posts (sekrety, patrols, handling of border
orossers, operation of signal devices and signals in use at frontier
posts and headquarters.
. 1
Officer Training
6. Border guard officers had a formal training schedule which lasted
a reinforced border guard routine (i.e, under various alert
oonditiofs).
Border guard officers enrolled in any type of military or civilian
correspondence course (zaoohnj~kuri) were oxvused from participation,
in the regular officers' training program.
-routine (i.e. one not under alert conditions) and the operation of
Officers' border guard training covered instruction
on orgganization, administration, and operation at zastava and 25X1
komendatura levels, the operation of a normal border guard security
three days a month, eight hours per day. The three eriods were
called officer training periods (ofitserskaya ucheba). One-third
of the training time Was devoted to the study of Marxist-Leninist
principles and the remainder was about equally divided between
tactical.training and border guard training.
Tactical training included the solution of problems, various tasks
and, studies which were sometimes assigned individually and some-
times assigned jointly. This a1i;p-included the preparation of
"spot" writs called "letuohki" on various subjects.
larksmanshiP. Training
100
o order guard troops
but rather were aught to fire by rocket light.
did not use any particular optical sight or sigh firing device
marksmanship-training was taken very seriously
in the border guar an the average border guard trooper 25X1
was tau ht to shoot well. Night firing was especially stressed in
the bower guard'. the border pard personnel 25X1;
Lmarksman. hip training given,
Physical Trainins
11
'theemphasis which the border guard placed
on p ys oa ra n ng the stress placee 11 25X1
on physical training was greater in he bor or guard than in the
Soviet army. At sastava level it wats parried out under the CO's
direction, Several hburs Were devoted to, it weekly and it fell
under the general heading of "combat training". In addition,
considerable "free time" on Sundays and holidays was devoted to
physical training. `
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12. Komendaturas had no physical training instructors. Physical train-
ing at detachment and district levels was supervised by physical
training leaders (.fizruki) of the fifth (combat training) section
who were officers. (The district "fizruk" was often a major.)
Camouflage Training
l3. in the border guard there were no installations
to be camouflage an use of cover was taught rather than 25X1
camouflage. For example, troops were taught to take advantage of
darkness by entering and leaving ambush (sekrety) at night.
Recruit, 'training
14. New recruits were brought to the border guard district headquarters
of the districts to which they were assigned and then distributed
among the, various training oenters,,(uohebnyy unkty) which were
under control and general supervision of the order guard district.
At times, these centers were under thq immediate control of a
district's sergeant's school but they were usually under the
immediate control of the detachments (otryady).
15. The recruits' civilian clothes were taken away, they were issued
uniforms, and received three or four months of basic training at,
the centers. There was a training zastava where border conditions
were simulated and recruits were taught the school of the border
guard trooper. Exercises were both theoretical and practical.
Training encompassed marksmanship, and duty, political and
physical training. On completion of basic training the recruits
were assigned to border guard line units-.
CONFIDENTIAL
Approved For Release 2009/09/18: CIA-RDP82-00046R000400150001-0