Later the assistance was expanded to include material. In November 1975, the MPLA came to power in Angola. By June of that year, the first 200 Cuban instructors had already been sent there. By February 1976, the number of Cubans in Angola had jumped to 9, 000, and this included combat units. Today the Cubans number 33, 200 men, including support troops.
The FAR uses Soviet doctrine in Angola, and has adopted it to local conditions. The structure of command of the Cuban forces in Angola is as follows The headquarters is the Missao Internacionalistas de Cubanos en Angola, MICA Under the MICA are the Cuban army and air force units and the advisors and instructors.
The army is divided into regiments. The advisors and instructors work with the Angolan army, air force, and navy. The Cubans have complete autonomy over their own forces, the Aogolaos have absolutely nothing to say about them.
The Cuban units in Angola are as follows: 19 motorized infantry regiments seven of these have tanks; two anti aircraft brigades, and one medium artillery regiment There are 1, 000 advisors and instructors. The instructors are attached to trajning units. The advisors are attached to combat units and help command them down to the brigade level The advisors participate in combat. There are 4, 000 Cubans in support services. There are 1, 000 Cubans in their air force in Angola The Cubans in Angola maintain four basic defense lines stretching across the country. The lower one is of course the one bordering on the UNITA free territory. The next one is roughly along the Benguela railway. The third line is around Luanda, and the fourth line is in the north, developed as a result of UNITA guerrilla actions in that area. The first line, which extends eastward to Cuito Cuanavale, has been used three times as the base for offensives. All have failed to dislodge UNITA from its territory.
The training given the average Cuban is considered by experts to be fair.
Much better training is given to the specialized services. air, tanks, and so forth.
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