duties were to ensure the safety of SED official and party members, it could also be mobilized to conduct some commando operations when required. Scholarly research into the regiment after the end of the Cold War mentions that FDGR soldiers had trained PLO and other Middle Eastern and South American-based terrorists at a classified military base known as Objekt 74 at Briesen. Organization At full strength, the regiment consisted of over 11,200 personnel, including 2,500 officers, 8,735 NCOs and enlisted men, and nine civil staff. Its commander was a Major General after 1956. Structure Three combat groups with six motorized rifle battalions and three training battalions Artillery Battalion Engineer Battalion Medical, signal, support and reconnaissance companies. Helicopter Squadron with six Mi-2s and Mi-8s and Mi-24s. Stasi Arbeitsgruppe des Ministers S Reorganization The Regiment was subdivided into the following commands from 1980 to 1989: Kommando 1 – Standort Adlershof, Standorte in den Bezirken Command 1 - Location Adlershof, locations in the districts Kommando 2 – Standort Erkner - Erkner Kommando 3 – Standort Teupitz - Teupitz Kommando 4 – Standort in Eberswalde-Finow later (mid 1980s) in Erkner, Prenden and Biesenthal Kommando 5 – Standort Berlin until 1982, then Freienbrink Ahrensfelde The sites were inherited by the Ahrensfelde guard regiment in mid-January 1989. Until then they had formed accommodation facilities for UAV units of the Ministry for State Security (e.g., backup units of VRD, BDL, HA VI, AGMS). These units were the uniformed as well as the guard and security units of the units of the Stasi (BV), not a subdivision of the guards regiment. Part of these units were merged in January 1989 into the guard regiment, which is why the site was taken over by the Ahrensfelde guard regiment. Until 1989, the guard regiment had no locations in the districts. The service objects there were guarded by the WSE, which were placed under the respective BV. Senior Management Commanders of the guards regiment were: 1962 to 1972: Major-General Heinz Gronau (provisional) 1972 to 1987: Colonel (Major General since 1976) Bernhard Elsner 1987 to 1990: Major-General Manfred Döring Personnel Strength The personnel strength of the regiment: 1955: 1.475 1960: 4.372 1965: 5,121 1970: 7,924 1975: 9,245 1980: 10,082 1985: 10,192 1989: 11,426 Recruitment and training Military service in the Guard regiment was completed as WED (abbr. Wehrersatzdienst, alternative military service). In contrast to the National People's Army, recruits were inducted in