ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the elements of Soviet force capabilities and doctrine relevant to discussion of conventional arms control in Europe and offers some concluding thoughts on changes under Mikhail Gorbachev. Since the late 1970s, the Soviet Union has established permanent High Commands of Forces in the Western, Southwestern, Southern, and Far Eastern theaters of military operations. Other contributions to the Soviet ability to wage a prolonged phase of conventional war are the improvements to sustainability and logistics. Soviet propaganda asserts repeatedly that Soviet military doctrine has been misinterpreted and that it is essentially a "defensive doctrine." But an examination of Soviet force deployments and exercises indicates there has been no real evidence of change. The implementation of the new demand for sensible sufficiency could in time lead to leaner, fitter Soviet forces.
