MOSCOW. June 19 (Interfax-AVN) - Military commandant's offices that the Interior Ministry Force maintains in Chechnya will get a permanent structure before July 1, first deputy commander of the force Colonel General Valery Baranov said on Thursday.
"The 15 military commandant's offices in the valley part of Chechnya and the central military commandant's office in Grozny that were handed over from the Defense Ministry to the Interior Ministry Force early this year are now being switched over to a permanent basis. Transformations are taking place in line with the interior minister's directive and the Interior Ministry Force commander's order and are to be completed before July 1," Baranov told Interfax-Military News Agency.
"The number of personnel will not be increased as a result of the restructuring. The main goal of the reform is not to increase the strength of the commandant's offices, but to extend the term of service of officers, warrant officers and professional privates from six months to two years," Baranov said.
"The main goal of military commissioner's offices remains the same. It is to coordinate activity of all law-enforcement agencies in each district of the republic, to maintain night-time patrols and to conduct mine-clearance operations," he said.
According to the general, the 15 commandant's offices are fully equipped with materials and hardware. "The military commandant's offices in the valley part of Chechnya are equipped with heavy armored vehicles (IFVs and APCs) by 100 percent and with wheeled vehicles for transporting materiel and people by nearly 90 percent," he said.
The first deputy commander recalled that the four military commandant's offices in Chechnya's southern mountainous districts are still reporting to the Defense Ministry. They were switched over to a permanent basis yet in 2002.