There are approximately 4.86 million men in the military age group, that is, the male population between the ages of eighteen and forty-nine. About 3.4 million--70 percent--are considered physically and otherwise fit for military service (see ch. 3). A somewhat larger percentage, however, of the 180,000 young men who reach the draft age annually are physically able to serve. The preponderance of armed forces and most security troop personnel are acquired during the annual draft calls. Because of the short duty tours required of conscripts, it was necessary in 1971 to call up most of the eligible group in order to maintain the forces' strengths. Men released from active duty, whether they served voluntarily or involuntarily, remain subject to recall until the age of fifty. Although nearly 100,000 men have been released from the services each year since about 1950, only a small portion of them are considered trained reserves. Only those recently discharged could be mobilized quickly and go into action without extensive retraining. There is insufficient emphasis on periodic reserve training to keep many of the older men in satisfactory physical condition or up to date on new weapons and tactics. Young men of draft age are potentially good soldier material. There is almost no illiteracy within the adult population under fifty-five years of age. A large percentage of conscripts have rural, village, or small city backgrounds and are in better physical condition than the average urban youth. On the minus side, because the country has a low standard of living, conscripts have little familiarity with mechanical and electronic equipment. Based on the numbers of males in lower age groups, the size of the annual military manpower pool will remain at about 1971 levels throughout the 1970s. It will then drop by nearly 25 percent during the first half of the 1980s but will rise sharply--and again temporarily--in the latter half of that decade. With the exception of the high and low periods during the 1980s, governmental population experts expect little overall change in available manpower during the remainder of the century. Training Since about the mid-1960s little public attention has been focused on the armed forces. Their capabilities, reliability, and preparedness have been taken for granted or have not been the subject of undue concern. Unit training and small exercises have been given little coverage in local media. Training programs, however, are dictated in large degree by organization and equipment and have changed little since 1960.