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Czechoslovakia Manpower
National defense legislation enacted into law within a year
after the Communist takeover in 1948 provided for universal male
conscription. Male citizens must register for the draft in the
spring of the year in which they become eighteen years of age.
Unless rejected because of physical reasons or given an
educational deferment, most are inducted shortly after
registration. In 1986 a little less than 70 percent of the ground
forces and about 32 percent of the air forces were conscripts.
Early legislation provided for the annual class of draftees
to be inducted in the fall, but since 1968 half of the annual
class has been called up in the spring and half in the fall. As
of 1987 the basic term of service for conscripts was two years in
the ground forces and three years in the air forces; however, to
avail themselves of technical training some conscripts opted to
serve longer terms. Czechoslovak law made no provision for
conscientious objection; anyone convicted of evading military
service was subject to a prison sentence of up to five years or
from five to fifteen years during a state of emergency.
Of the more than 100,000 young men reaching draft age in
1985, slightly more than three-quarters were expected to be found
fit for service, which would provide an adequate number of
conscripts to replace those completing their tours of duty during
the year. In 1982 the number of Czechoslovak males who were under
30 years of age and who had performed military service within the
previous 10 years numbered 700,000. The number in the entire
military age-group, that is, between the ages of 18 and 50,
totaled about 3.5 million in the mid-1980s. Of that number, as
many as three-quarters could be considered mentally and
physically fit for service if a general mobilization were
ordered. Although not subject to conscription, women also served
in the armed forces in small numbers. Women could join the CSLA
if they had graduated from high school, passed a qualifying
examination, fulfilled the established health and other criteria,
and completed a one-year specialized course.
Reserve obligations for conscripts who had completed their
active duty generally lasted until age fifty. Upon discharge the
conscript was enrolled in the so-called First Reserve, where he
remained until reaching age forty. During this period, reserve
soldiers and NCOs had to participate in a total of sixteen weeks
of exercises. These sixteen weeks generally included three fourweek -long exercises that reservists had to take part in during
the years in which they turned twenty-four, twenty-seven, and
thirty-two. Between ages forty and fifty, the reservists were
carried on the rolls of the Second Reserve. As reservists grow
older, the numbers available for call-up (particularly in the
Second Reserve) are reduced by many factors, including state of
health, occupation of key position in the civilian economy, and
hardship cases. Nevertheless, the reserve program would be
considered of major importance in any mobilization. Because of
the heavy annual turnover in conscript ranks, there are always a
substantial number of reservists whose active-duty service has
occurred within a ten-year period.
All Warsaw Pact countries have mobilization plans, and all
conduct occasional mobilization exercises. Because of strict
national security laws, however, little is publicized concerning
such exercises in Czechoslovakia; presumably they take place at
the local rather than the national level.
In 1987 no official data were available on salaries of
officers, warrant officers, and NCOs, nor had information been
published on the pay of conscripts. Such data are also considered
state secrets. The Czechoslovak press, however, has described the
incentives attached to a recruiting program started in 1969.
Benefits included a reduction in basic military service (one year
instead of two) and bonuses; higher grants and privileges were
offered to graduates of secondary schools and universities. A
former officer in the Czechoslovak Air Force who emigrated has
described the pay and benefits of military pilots: a salary of
Kcs7,000 a month (for value of the
koruna--see Glossary),
full
board "of excellent quality," 30 days' leave plus a 2-week
compulsory rest at the Jesenik spa per year, and additional
benefits depending on qualifications. The remuneration of pilots
was thus "comparable to that of the director of a medium-sized
state enterprise with 5,000 or more employees." Given the nature
of the society, as of 1987 it was safe to assume that
high-ranking officers were well paid and probably received
salaries in excess of those paid to civilians at comparable
levels of employment.
Data as of August 1987
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