MOSCOW. Jan 12 (Interfax-AVN) - Over 1,000 graduates of civilian academies occupy junior officer positions in the Strategic Missile Forces, Colonel General Nikolai Solovtsov, commander of the forces, has said.
"The Strategic Missile Forces currently have about 1,000 officers recruited from the reserve for 24 months, which accounts for 11 percent of junior officer positions," Solovtsov said in an interview with the Krasnaya Zvezda daily published on Wednesday.
An increase in the share of graduates of civilian academies among junior officers of the Strategic Missile Forces is mostly connected with the shortage of officers of this category, he said.
"The Strategic Missile Forces are peculiar for always being on combat readiness. That is why, in compliance with the Russian defense minister's demands, nearly all the units of a missile division must have at least 95 percent of officer positions filled. In order to attain this goal, we need to man additional 15 to 20 percent of junior officer positions with graduates of civilian academies," Solovtsov noted.
He stressed that the Strategic Missile Forces is the core of the Russian strategic nuclear forces.
"The Strategic Missile Forces is a self-sufficient developed structure with powerful missile armament with nuclear warheads. They account for 60 percent of Russia's strategic nuclear power," the commander noted.