ABSTRACT
This chapter presents some of the ways that norms used and how they are calculated, examines in considerable detail norms as they relate to the capabilities of the Soviet Ground Forces and examines the ability of the Soviet Ground Forces to meet the norms they have set for themselves. The first definition of norm in the Large Soviet Encyclopedia, is "a minimum or limiting quantity of something which is allowed by rule or by plan." Soviet military norms were in use at least as early as 1929, when Marshal Tukhachevsky, included them in one of the earliest sets of Soviet field service regulations. Since then they have become all-pervasive in Soviet military practice. There are norms for consumption of food, temperatures of barracks, amount of sleep, the number of hours of training, and the number of hours of instruction in party doctrine.
