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Azerbaijan Force Levels and Performance
During the late Soviet period, Azerbaijan had supplied as
many as 60,000 conscripts per year to the Soviet armed forces. In
August 1992, Elchibey announced projected personnel levels for
the Azerbaijani armed forces. His projection called for a force
of 30,000 troops by 1996, divided into ground units, air force
and air defense units, and a navy. Half of this force would
consist of conscripts, half of individuals serving under
contract. In 1994 estimated total troop strength had reached
56,000, of which 49,000 were in the army, 3,000 in the navy,
2,000 in the air force, and 2,000 in the air defense forces.
According to training plans, officers would graduate from a
revamped Combined Command School (formerly the Baku Higher Arms
Command School) and the Caspian High Naval School. The new
Azerbaijani armed forces would rely almost exclusively on
transferred or purchased Soviet equipment, although Azerbaijani
machine industries had the capability to do some manufacturing
and repairs. According to most Azerbaijani accounts, defense
strategy in the near term is focused on territorial defense, the
goals of which are defeating separatism in Nagorno-Karabakh and
defending Azerbaijan's borders with Armenia.
Despite Elchibey's ambitious plan, in 1992 and 1993
Azerbaijan was forced to seek military assistance elsewhere.
Reportedly, a group of American mercenary advisers arrived in
Azerbaijan in 1992, and some Americans were believed still in the
country in early 1994. Iranian, Russian, and Turkish officers
also were training Azerbaijani forces in the early 1990s. In
early 1993, Azerbaijan was able to field no more than a few
thousand well-trained troops against Armenia, according to most
accounts. In 1993 continued military defeats brought mass
desertions.
To meet the need for troops, Azerbaijani authorities
encouraged the organization and fielding of up to thirty
paramilitary detachments, which in late 1993 were heavily
criticized by Aliyev for their lack of military discipline.
Aliyev reported to the legislature that these detachments were
abandoning positions and weapons to the Armenians without an
effort to defend them. About 1,000 former Afghan freedom fighters
were hired in 1993, and volunteers from other Muslim countries
also reportedly enlisted. In late 1993, the government began
forced recruitment of teenagers, who were said to be used in
human-wave attacks against Armenian positions.
Data as of March 1994
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