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| An infantry division commander direct his troops from inside a command post (Source: Chinese Internet) |
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Ground Forces Headquarters
Last updated: 1 January 2008
Currently, the highest known headquarters in the PLA ground forces is the group army. The 18 GAs in the PLA are managed by the seven military regions. In wartime, command and control for the GAs originate from the Central Military Commission (CMC), pass through the General Staff Department (GSD), and are exercised through a theatre-level joint-service command headquarters, which could be based on one or more military regions’ headquarters.
The internal structure of a ground forces headquarters mirrors the four PLA general headquarters (staff, political, logistics, and armament). The main sections of a ground force headquarters are:
Commander Department – This department is controlled by a chief of staff who is responsible for the operational direction of subordinate units in accordance with the commander’s plan. This department includes subordinate sections responsible for operations and training, intelligence, engineer and chemical defence, personnel, security, and communications.
Political Department – This department deals with all political as well as security and propaganda matters. It is also responsible for all aspects of the soldier’s warfare, and together with the Operations Department, for the interrogation of prisoners of war. All matters related to civilians including the Communist Youth League, are dealt with by this department.
Logistics Department – This department is responsible for all aspects of logistic support. It is divided into several functional sections and is supported by a medical and a transportation unit.
Equipment Department – This department is responsible for the training, operation and maintenance of weapon equipments.
Party Committee – The Party Committee, headed by the unit political commissar and commander, oversees the party structure within the unit and has the final say on important decision-making.
Each headquarters is divided between forward, primary, and rear command posts to insure continuous activity by the four staff departments.
The primary command post is organised into combat, signal, and service groups. The latter group includes administrative, mess, and medical personnel from the Logistics Department. The commander, political commissar, and most of the Operations Department comprise the combat group of the primary command post.
The forward command post is a smaller version of the primary command post, normally headed by a deputy commander in charge of combat. The forward command post is responsible for the control of the battle and report ammunition consumption and casualties to the primary command post.
The rear command post is commanded by the chief of the Logistic Department and includes most of the staffs of the Political, Logistics, and Equipment Departments.
In recent years, some reports by Chinese state-run newspaper also mentioned an “Equipment Command Post” responsible for providing technical support for the unit troops during battle.
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