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PLAN Enlisted Forces

The PLA's enlisted force for all services and branches consists of two components:

• Conscripts
• Noncommissioned officers or NCOs

In the PLA, officers and cadre are synonymous, and all enlisted personnel, regardless of service or branch, are identified as soldiers. Enlisted personnel, not officers, in the PLAN are also called sailors. Unlike the US Navy, PLAN enlisted personnel use Army terminology for all ranks and grades. The enlisted force has changed profoundly this decade, particularly as a result of the revised "Military Service Law of the People's Republic of China" that became effective in January 1999. Prior to 1999, PLA Navy and Air Force conscripts served for four years, and Army and Second Artillery conscripts served for three years. Upon completion of their conscription period, they could remain on active duty as a "volunteer" for a total service time of 16 years.

The revised Service Law reformed the entire enlisted force structure in the following two ways:

• It reduced the mandatory service period for conscripts in all PLA services and branches to two years.
• It established a formal NCO corps that is divided into six service periods, so that enlisted personnel can now potentially serve for a total of 30 years.

All conscripts report for induction screening on 1 November and begin their basic training during early December. Near the conclusion of their conscription period, they have the following three career options:

• Selection for officer training at a PLA academy
• Selection as an NCO
• Demobilization

Concerning the enlisted force, conscripts and junior NCOs who meet the age requirements can take the examinations to attend an officer academy. All NCOs who are not selected for officer training or promoted to the next grade are demobilized at the end of November. Because the new NCO program did not begin until 1999, at which time the service period for volunteers ended at the 16-year point, the PLA has a small number of grade-5 NCOs and only a few grade-6 NCOs today. The majority of NCOs are in grades 1 to 3, with a large turnover of grade-1 NCOs who are not promoted to service period.

As of 2007, the PLA has 2.3 million personnel divided roughly into thirds (765,000) for officers, NCOs, and conscripts. Although the PLA actually conscripts only about 4% of the males eligible each year, it is still having some problems meeting its quotas. The PLAN has approximately 290,000 personnel. As the ratio of officers, NCOs, and conscripts in the PLAN likely mirrors the 1:1:1 ratio for the PLA as a whole, the PLAN has about 194,000 enlisted personnel, of whom one-half (97,000) are conscripts and one-half are NCOs. Therefore, based on the two-year conscription cycle, the PLAN receives approximately 48,500 new conscripts each November and demobilizes a similar number of conscripts and an unknown number of NCOs at the same time. This process is a primary factor that drives the PLAN's one-year training cycle.

Force Management

The PLA has several organizations within the General Staff Department (GSD) and General Political Department (GPD) that are responsible for different administrative aspects of the enlisted force. The organization with the greatest amount of jurisdiction is the GSD's Military Affairs Department, which is responsible for managing the size and composition of the enlisted force, as well as maintaining their personnel records. The GSD's Mobilization Department is responsible for the recruiting and induction process for conscripts, and the GSD's Military Training and Service Arms Department is responsible for training.

The GPD's Organization Department is responsible for selecting enlisted-force personnel as Party members and managing all of their political-related issues. Although primarily concerned with officer personnel management, the GPD Cadre Department also defines the guidelines governing the selection of enlisted-force personnel as officers.