ROSTOV-ON-DON. Nov 21 (Interfax-AVN) - The North Caucasus military district plans to sign contracts with 10,000 servicemen and transfer four more units to contract manning in 2007, district commander Army General Alexander Baranov said on Tuesday.
"Eleven units have switched over to contract manning in the North Caucasus military district in 2006, and over two billion rubles ($75.03 million) have been allocated for accommodating the personnel of the units embracing the new manning pattern this year," Baranov told a session of the district's council.
The funds made it possible to accommodate over 6,000 contract servicemen in 17 units of the district, he added.
Seven units of the district numbering a total of 20,000 people switched over to contract manning in the framework of the federal purpose-oriented program in 2004-2005, Baranov noted.