Who's Who in the Brass

At its highest levels, the sprawling Soviet military narrows into a streamlined chain of command. Directly under Minister of Defense Dmitri Ustinov, a member of the top-secret Defense Council headed by Andropov, are Viktor Kulikov, commander in chief of the Warsaw Pact forces, and Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Ogarkov. The commanders of the Soviet services take their orders from Ogarkov.

In contrast to the four branches of the U.S. military (Navy, Army, Air Force, Marines), the Soviets have five. The strategic rocket forces are the most prestigious, and form the core of the nuclear weapons arsenal. Next is the oldest and largest of the services, the land forces. Instead of a single air force, the Soviets have two: the elite air defense forces, which protect Soviet airspace (and shot down the Korean airliner in September), and the air forces, which are responsible for offensive missions. Despite its impressive growth, the Soviet navy ranks last in the rigid Soviet military hierarchy.