Figure 10. Romania, Organization of the Armed Forces, 1972.
All commanders and force personnel subordinate to the minister are part of the regular military establishment, although appointments to the higher commands may be determined in varying degrees by political considerations. The minister is a political appointee but, whether or not he has had a military background, he assumes a senior military rank. The Romanian practice deviates from the usual in such situations, however, where the minister is expected to have an actual or honorary rank superior to any officer in his forces. The minister of the armed forces in 1971, for example, was appointed in 1966. He was promoted from colonel general to army general after about four years in his position and, during the early period, was technically subordinate in rank to an army general who commanded the General Military Academy in Bucharest.
In 1972 there were about 200,000 men in the regular forces. About 75 percent were in ground force or in support units common to all services. About 5 percent were naval; 10 percent, air force; and the remainder, frontier troops. The air force percentage included air defense forces.
When the mission of the armed forces is being described in relation to the Warsaw Pact, it is pointed out that the forces are structured and trained for major operations in concert with their allies against a common enemy. Because organized Romanian forces have not been involved in a major conflict except as junior partners in an alliance force, this experience makes the concept of participation in the Warsaw Pact mission easy to accept. Since about 1960, however, leaders have expressed ambitions to act somewhat independently of the Warsaw Pact. In this context the pact mission is occasionally downgraded or passed over in nonspecific terms. The forces' mission is then described as defense of the country only, and their use is said to be allowable only to resist aggression against Romania.
Ground Forces
The ground forces are commonly referred to as the army, although the Romanian People's Army comprises all of the regular armed forces administered by the Ministry of the Armed Forces. The ground forces proper have two tank and seven motorized-rifle divisions and a few other smaller combat units, including mountain, airborne, and artillery outfits of varying sizes. Combat units are thought to be kept at about 90 percent of their full authorized strengths. Most of the support agencies that provide services needed by all service organizations are manned by ground force personnel. Strength of the ground forces in 1972 was estimated at between 130,000 and 170,000.
Divisions are organized on the same pattern as those in the other Warsaw Pact countries. Tank divisions have one artillery, one motorized-rifle, and three tank regiments. Motorized-rifle divisions have one tank, one artillery, and three motorized-rifle regiments.
The division is the basic combat unit, and all of them have their own essential service and support outfits. They are, however, subordinate to corps headquarters of the military regions rather than directly to the Ministry of the Armed Forces.