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Cyprus Personnel and Recruitment
According to The Military Balance, 1989-90,
published by
the International Institute for Strategic Studies in
London, the
National Guard had a complement of some 13,000 men on
active duty
in 1989. Scaled back from a peak of 35,000 in 1967, its
size had
remained fairly constant since the Turkish invasion in
1974. The
bulk of its personnel were Greek Cypriot conscripts
fulfilling
twenty-six months of mandatory service.
The National Guard's officer corps had always consisted
mainly
of officers detailed to it from the Greek Army. In early
1990, an
estimated 1,800 officers and noncommissioned officers
(NCOs) from
the Greek Army were serving in the National Guard,
compared with
approximately 800 Greek Cypriot officers and NCOs. Greek
officers
dominated in senior positions; as of 1990, the National
Guard's
commander, deputy commander, and chief of staff were all
Greek
nationals. The senior Greek Cypriot officer was a
divisional
commander with the rank of brigadier general. Efforts were
under
way to increase the number of Greek Cypriots in the force.
In early
1990, parliament approved the appointment of Greek
Cypriots to an
additional sixty-five officer and fifty NCO positions.
Young Cypriots wishing to make a career of military
service
attended the Greek military academy. National Guard
officers also
obtained their advanced training at Greek military
institutions,
where a designated number of places were set aside for
them. In
addition, training was provided in France in the use of
the new
French equipment being introduced into the National Guard.
Some
conscripts could become reserve officers after
successfully
completing a six-month course, then serving as second
lieutenants
for ten months of active duty. Greek officers assumed the
primary
responsibility for National Guard training at all levels.
Soldiers completing their active duty continued to
serve in the
reserves until age fifty, and officers until age
sixty-five. As of
1990, it was estimated that the National Guard could call
upon
66,000 first-line reserves and more than 30,000 older
second-line
reserves. Selected reserve units were called up
periodically
without advance notice to test the mobilization system. A
certain
percentage of the reserves were mobilized annually to
participate
in a week of National Guard field exercises.
Uniforms, symbols of rank, and insignia of the National
Guard
were similar to those of the Greek Army. The color and cut
of the
uniforms was the same, although the design of the buttons,
the
device on caps, and the shield on epaulets incorporated an
olive
branch device corresponding to that found on the Cypriot
flag and
coat of arms. Fatigue uniforms were of camouflage cloth.
Few exemptions were granted from compulsory service.
The
issuance of exit permits from the island and the
opportunity for
higher education were not available until the service
obligation
was fulfilled. The annual call-up was in June, and
discharges were
granted in August to conform to the academic year. In
spite of
incentives, it had proven difficult to induce qualified
individuals
to remain in military service, especially at the NCO
level. Young
men with skilled or semiskilled occupations could easily
obtain
well-paying jobs on the thriving civilian economy.
Under the influence of an energetic commanding officer,
the
training regime was intensified in the late 1980s. The
morale of
the National Guard was considered high, as a result of the
more
rigorous training program and the introduction of modern
weapons
systems. Draftee wages were low--about US$15 a month in
the late
1980s--and were generally supplemented by help from
families to
meet personal expenses. Conscripts were often able to
arrange
postings near their homes. Career personnel were paid on a
higher
scale of remuneration that appeared adequate, especially
at the
officer level.
As of 1990, the first women had been recruited as
volunteers
into the National Guard, following a decision to accept
female
applicants for noncombatant positions. The minister of
defense said
in 1989 that conscription of women was being studied and
might be
introduced selectively.
In March 1989, Minister of Defense Aloneftis announced
that a
home guard to provide local defense and protect rear areas
would be
formed of men from the second-line reserves (over age
fifty) and
other men who had been exempted from military service
because of
dependents. By late 1990 it was not clear what progress
had been
made in organizing the home guard, although about 3,000
men,
including reservists, living in villages adjacent to the
UN buffer
zone had been recruited and trained to impede a Turkish
attack.
They were equipped with small arms and light antitank
weapons.
Data as of January 1991
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