Right Sizing the People's Liberation Army: Exploring the Contours of China's Military Edited by Roy Kamphausen and Andrew Scobell

-See particularly Chapter 7 by Dennis Blasko.

"PLA Doctrine on Securing Energy Resources in Central Asia" by Martin Andrew

-Description of the reorganization of some Group Armies into pseudo-Soviet-style Operational Manoeuvre Groups.

The PLA provides only two months' basic training after each yearly induction in November. After that, it's OJT; recruits, who serve for only two years, are considered "trained" six months after their induction. Each Battalion is on a 9-10 month annual training cycle, breaking for 2-3 months starting in November each year to provide Basic Training for recruits and the NCO Course and Basic Officer Training. And some people think our 12-month training cycle is bad (it is, but not as bad as the PLA's). Many officers recruited from University now only receive 2 or 3 months basic training before receiving OJT in their Battalions, although 3/4 of these are technical specialists; most Combat Arms officers still receive a year's training. NCOs, all of whom are former recruits selected to remain in the PLA after their 2-year obligation, perform nearly all technical tasks.

There is more initiative allowed than in the Russian Army, and training is often of rather better quality. In the past, the PLA relied on rigid obedience to orders from Platoon to Battalion because of a lack of radios, but that is now changed; the Squad level has normally featured a certain allowance for initiative. But Combined-Arms operations at Unit level still seem to be somewhat shaky in areas. Infantry weapons-handling and battlecraft (except in certain elite units) appears more akin to that of the US Army circa very early 1980's, in both content and performance.