MOSCOW, February 9 (RIA Novosti) - The ongoing...

"We are planning to complete a reform of the military within the next three or four years. The established time frame has not been revised," Gen. Nikolai Makarov said.

He added that as a result of the reform, the Russian military would be more compact, more mobile and better equipped.

The central point of the reform is the reorganization of the military command and control system from a four-tier (military district - army - division - regiment) to a three-tier structure (military district - operational command - brigade).

This also includes the reorganization of the Defense Ministry and the General Staff of the Armed Forces, downsizing commissioned officer personnel, and eliminating the NCO corps.

The Russian defense minister said last year the Armed Forces would total 1 million servicemen, including 150,000 officers by 2012.

Russia has already downsized its Armed Forces from 4.5 million in the Soviet era to about 1.2 million personnel, including

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