Before the military reform in 2016, the headquarters agencies we called the Military Commission were simply referred to as the "four headquarters agencies", which referred to the General Staff and General Staff, the leading agencies in charge of the military, political, logistics, and equipment work of the entire army. Political Department , General Logistics Department, General Armament Department.
The "Four Headquarters Organs" have existed in the history of the People's Army for about 18 years. As early as April 3, 1998, the Military Commission made a decision to the National Defense Science, Technology and Industry Commission, , the Equipment Department of the General Staff Headquarters, and the General Logistics Department. Relevant units of the ministry merged to form the General Armament Department, and the Military Commission has officially formed a working structure of "four headquarters".
If you push it further, the Military Commission once had a system of "three headquarters" and "eight headquarters". In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, on the basis of the General Staff Department, the General Political Department, and the General Logistics Department, our army also added the General Cadre Department, the Training Directorate Department, the General Finance Department, the General Ordnance Department, and the Armed Forces Supervision Department, such as the Training Director The Department ranks second among the "Eight Headquarters", second only to the General Staff Department and higher than the General Political Department. Marshal Liu Bocheng personally serves as the director of the Training Directorate Department.
However, the "eight headquarters" system only existed for three years. In 1958, it returned to the "three headquarters" structure of the Central Military Commission and remained so for 40 years.
In the 2016 military reform, the departments directly under the Central Military Commission once again ushered in major reforms. The "four headquarters" structure was completely abolished and replaced by 15 functional departments, plus theater agencies, service agencies, military judicial agencies, and military academies. After the reform, there are as many as 33 agencies under the Central Military Commission.
So among the 33 units under the Central Military Commission, which theater-level units, deputy theater-level units, and military-level units are there? I will explain it mainly in five categories.
Category 1: Units where the chief officer is a deputy national-level general.
Generals are ranked in the ranks of deputy national-level. They can only be qualified if they reach two levels, one is the level of member of the Military Commission, and the other is the level of vice-chairman of the Military Commission. However, the two vice-chairmen of the Military Commission of our army are not the chief officials of specific functional departments of the Military Commission, so they are only members of the Military Commission.
At present, the four members of the Military Commission of our army come from four units, namely, Minister of National Defense , Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Military Commission , Director of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission , and Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Committee of the Military Commission , so The chief officers of these four departments are the deputy national-level generals of the units under the Central Military Commission.
Former Defense Minister: General Chang Wanquan
Before the military reform, the chief officers of the Navy, Air Force, Second Artillery, and Fourth Headquarters were also members of the Military Commission. It should be especially emphasized here that the Ministry of National Defense is one of the government departments of the State Council, but it also accepts the leadership of the Military Commission. The Minister of Defense is not only the top-ranked State Councilor, but also the top-ranked member of the Military Commission.
Category 2: Units whose chief officers are theater-level generals
After the major military regions were changed to theaters, the Eastern Theater Command , Southern Theater Command under the Central Military Commission , Western Theater Command , Northern Theater Command , Central Theater Command The commanders are all theater-level generals, and the commanders of the army, navy, air force, rocket army, strategic support force, and armed police force also belong to the theater level. Generals, including the Military Commission Equipment Development Department which was reorganized from the original General Armament Department, and the Military Commission Logistics Management Department which was reorganized from the former General Logistics Department, still maintain the original general establishment, but no longer serve as members of the Military Commission.
Former Commander of the Armed Police Force: General Wang Ning
The Armed Police Force was only upgraded to the theater level in December 1996. Before that, it had been a deputy theater level unit. The fifth commander Yang Guoping, who took office in 1996, was the Armed Police Force. The first armed police general after its establishment.
Although the theater generals, service generals and defense ministers, the chief of staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, and the secretary of the Central Military Commission's Discipline Inspection Commission all have the rank of general, generals in theater areas and service generals do not concurrently serve as members of the Central Military Commission. They have slightly lower ranks. It's lower, just the military rank is the same.
The third category: units with chief officers and theater-level generals
In the past, we have only heard of military-level Beijing Garrison Region commanders with deputy theater-level lieutenant generals, and military-level Commanders of the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison The officers are also highly matched with deputy theater-level lieutenant generals, but it is rare to hear of high-ranking generals.
Former President of the National Defense University: General Zheng He
However, among the 33 units under the Central Military Commission, there are two institutions with high-ranking generals. They are National Defense University and Academy of Military Science . After the military reform, the National Defense University and the Academy of Military Science were downgraded from the theater level to the deputy theater level. The president of the National Defense University and the president of the Academy of Military Science should have the rank of lieutenant general at the deputy theater level, but in fact the chief officers are all high-ranking generals. For example, Xu Xueqiang, the current president of the National Defense University, and Yang Xuejun, the president of the Academy of Military Science, both have the rank of general.
Category 4: Units whose chief officer is a deputy theater-level lieutenant general
Deputy theater-level units under the Central Military Commission mainly include Military Commission General Office , Military Commission Training Management Department , Military Commission National Defense Mobilization Department , Military Commission Political and Legal Committee , Military Commission Science and Technology Committee , Joint Logistics Support Force . Except for the General Office of the Military Commission, other institutions were basically newly established during the military reform in 2016.
Former Director of the General Office of the Military Commission: Lieutenant General Qin Shengxiang
For example, The Science and Technology Committee of the Military Commission was originally a subordinate agency of the General Armament Department. After the military reform, it was transferred from the General Armament Department and became a deputy theater-level unit directly under the Central Military Commission. The director of the Science and Technology Committee of the Military Commission is Lieutenant General . There is also a newly established joint logistics support force of the services, which is structurally parallel to the navy, land and air force, but is at the deputy theater level. The commander and political commissar of the joint logistics support force are both deputy theater level lieutenant generals. Military rank.
Category 5: Units whose chief officers are major generals
As for the military-level units under the Central Military Commission, there are many, including 5 agencies directly under the Central Military Commission Military Commission Strategic Planning Office , Military Commission Reform and Establishment Office , Military Commission International Military Cooperation Office , Military Commission Audit Office , Military Commission General Administration of Agency Affairs , there is also National University of Defense Technology in Hunan , and 2 judicial institutions Military Court , Military Procuratorate , The chief officers of these units hold the rank of major general at full military level.
Former director of the International Military Cooperation Office of the Military Commission: Major General Guan Youfei
The National University of Defense Technology was downgraded to a full military level after the military reform. It used to be a deputy theater level unit. The current president of the National University of Defense Technology is Major General Li Xiang.
