Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06DUSHANBE2153
2006-11-29 12:42:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Dushanbe
Cable title:  

VISIT TO TAJIK BORDER GUARD TRAINING CENTER

Tags:  PREL PGOV PINR SNAR TI AF 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO1285
PP RUEHDBU
DE RUEHDBU #2153/01 3331242
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P R 291242Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9152
INFO RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1899
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1874
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1915
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 1924
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1568
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1813
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1763
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1584
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 1855
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 0650
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 002153 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/29/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR SNAR TI AF
SUBJECT: VISIT TO TAJIK BORDER GUARD TRAINING CENTER

CLASSIFIED BY: Tracey Jacobson, Ambassador, U.S. Embassy
Dushanbe, STATE.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)



C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 002153

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/29/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR SNAR TI AF
SUBJECT: VISIT TO TAJIK BORDER GUARD TRAINING CENTER

CLASSIFIED BY: Tracey Jacobson, Ambassador, U.S. Embassy
Dushanbe, STATE.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (SBU) Summary: A Russian-run training facility for Tajik
troops has some modern conveniences, but the training program
relies on Soviet educational methods to teach under-educated
Border Guards the basics. PolOff and Office of Defense
Cooperation (ODC) representative visited the Leninsky Training
Center in Dushanbe November 20 to see where the Russian military
trains the Tajik border guards. Posters of President Rahmonov
and Border Guards head General Zuhurov decorated the facility,
as well as propaganda pictures and monuments commemorating
Soviet World War II battle victories. New recruits marched and
drilled, and the classrooms had chairs that Tajik children would
have a hard time fitting into. This Soviet-style facility
provides acceptable living conditions with working heat and
electricity, but the fact that new recruits fire only nine shots
over a 40-day training period suggests larger funding shortages
and a weak curriculum. End Summary.





2. (SBU) The Leninsky facility trains approximately 2000 new
Border Guards each year, a spring and a fall class of 1000
soldiers each. Basic training is also conducted in other Tajik
provinces. The entire fall class appeared to be in their late
teens. During the visit, they marched in formation, exercised,
and listened to lectures in the classroom. Approximately 250
Russian and Tajik enlisted soldiers and officers staff the base.
Tajik officers taught all of the classes we observed in the
Tajik language. According the staff, Tajik officers taught most
of the basic courses, while Russian officers developed the
curriculum and advised as necessary. The new recruits wore
new-looking military uniforms; ODC rep advised some of them were
U.S.-issued. Each soldier has a two-year service commitment.


3. (SBU) The training cycle for a new recruit lasts
approximately 40 days, during which soldiers are taught basic
military discipline. Although shooting is an important part of
their work, the base commander reported that each recruit fires
a total of nine shots during the 40-day training cycle. After
graduation from this course, recruits are directed to a border
detachment for additional training, before deployment to a Tajik
border post. There is a separate six-month training course for
warrant officers.


4. (SBU) Course instructors utilized Soviet-style practices,
with Tajik officers delivering lectures to the new recruits. In
one classroom, an officer described the various parts of a
disassembled weapon to the class. After the lecture, he held up
one particular part of the weapon, and instructed them to repeat
the name of that particular part. Some classrooms contained
chairs, and in others soldiers sat on desks. Those classrooms
which were fully furnished included chairs more suitable for
children at a grade school.


5. (SBU) Officers and recruits had access to a variety of
recreational options, including a well-kept soccer field, a
church and a mosque. Pictures of General Zuhurov, Chairman of
the State Committee for Border Protection, and President
Rahmonov decorated the base, along with military propaganda
pictures commemorating Soviet World War II battle victories. A
war museum contained additional Soviet military propaganda
posters and a wall honoring the 54 Tajiks who received the "Hero
of the Soviet Union" award during World War II. At the base's
medical clinic, technicians regularly conduct HIV and TB
screening for all incoming recruits. When queried, one medical
specialist stated that they never found a positive case of
either disease. The sleeping quarters were adequate, with heat
and electricity, and pillows and blankets for all soldiers. The
base also had a library, which featured Tajik and Russian books;
the newsroom offered Russian newspapers dating from 1991 to 2005.


6. (C) Comment: The visit caused some initial confusion, since
the post commander had not been notified. Although the visit

DUSHANBE 00002153 002 OF 002


had been approved by General Zuhurov himself, and Russian
Colonel Yuri Davedyan, approval failed to trickle down the chain
of command. The fact that new recruits only fire nine bullets
over a 40-day period demonstrates an alarming lack of
preparedness for actual combat. The base commander stated that
they receive further training following deployment to their
border posts, but given the conditions at recently visited posts
(reftels),it seems unlikely that more range practice awaited.
Post was pleased to see that CENTCOM-issued military clothing is
starting to be distributed to Tajik border guards. END COMMENT.
JACOBSON