NKVD Border Troops consisted of infantry, cavalry, reconnaissance, naval and aviation units.

They bore the brunt of the initial German assault, and due to this, suffered high casualty rates.

Notably, the 105th, 157th, and 333rd Border Troops regiments (operating like regular army units) took part in the Battle for Berlin in 1945.

During and after the war, 150 border guards were awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union and over 13,000 of them were decorated with different orders and medals.

The Border Guards were involved in the Soviet–Afghan War and a number of them were even awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union for their bravery during these conflicts.

The Soviet border was the longest in the world (From Norway to North Korea) and it comprised harsh terrain and climates; accordingly the Border Troops employed significant manpower, intensive maritime presence, and a dense and sophisticated system of field engineering devices.

The Border Troops consisted of conscripts drafted by the same system as for the Soviet Army, and a small number of professional enlistees.

The MMG also had a motorised mortar battery, an anti-tank platoon and additional support units for a total of ca.

Their duties included repulsing armed incursions into Soviet territory; preventing illegal crossings of the border or the transport of weapons, explosives, contraband, or subversive literature across the border; monitoring the observance of established procedures at border crossing points; monitoring the observance by Soviet and foreign ships of navigation procedures in Soviet territorial waters; and assisting state agencies in the preservation of natural resources and the protection of the environment from pollution.

Although under the operational authority of the KGB, the Border Troops were conscripted as part of the biannual call-up of the Ministry of Defense, and their induction and discharge were regulated by the 1967 Law on Universal Military Service, which covered all armed forces of the Soviet Union.

Out of the three officers who commanded the troops the second one (Vadim Alexandrovich Matrosov) has reached the rank of Army general at that position.

ПО):[6] Note: The border districts and their subordinated formations are listed clockwise, starting with the easternmost area of the Soviet Union.

The security of the Sea of Okhotsk was also within the tasks of the NEBD and from Simushir its AOR ran in a strait line to the northern tip of Sakhalin and from there it continued to the mainland and the village of Ayan, Russia.

The Red Banner Northwestern Border District (Краснознамённый Северо-Западный пограничный округ) had its headquarters in Leningrad.

Four of the border detachments were separate from the districts and reported directly to the Main Directorate: In times when the border troops were facing increased external threat or actual local conflict, they were reinforced with conventional units from the Soviet Ground Forces, which were directly integrated in their structure.

Such example were tank and artillery battalions during the period of increased hostility during and immediately after the Sino-Soviet border conflict.

The territorial waters were patrolled by brigades of guard ships (Russian: Бригада сторожевых кораблей, abbr.

The main forces of a BCP accounted several regular Border Outposts (Russian: Пограничная застава, abbr.

The equivalent of a BCP in the naval service of the Border Troops was a Battalion of Guard Ships (Russian: Дивизион сторожевых кораблей), commanded by a Captain 2nd rank.

The border outposts were equal in status to separate combat companies of the Ground Forces, with a major as the CO. A specific operational reserve unit was the Motor Maneuver Group (Russian: Мото-маневренная группа (ММГ)).

As the name implied, this was a maneuver element, organized similarly to an army motor rifle battalion, with its own infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, mortars and anti-tank weapons.

On an operational deployment an MMG could act both as a classic BCP or as a mechanized warfare unit, the Soviet–Afghan War being the perfect example for this versatility.

A typical example for a motor maneuver group was the MMG-1 (AKA the "Transcaucasus", later "Mazar-i-Sharif", later the "Marmoly" MMG) of the Termez Border Detachment, deployed to Afghanistan.

In case the area of operation covered mountainous terrain the border detachments could form heliborne task forces called Air Assault Maneuver Groups (Russian: Десантно-штурмовая маневренная группа, abbr.

The personnel received parachute and helicopter assault training and adopted Soviet Airborne Forces and Ground Forces Air Assault Troops tactics, weapons and equipment to such an extent, that these units used the traditional VDV patch of two cargo airplanes, a parachute and a red star.

Due to their airborne role and the restricted cargo capacity of their aviation assets (as compared to the mechanized MMGs), these units normally counted ca.

Soviet and Russian naval classification did not follow Western convention for smaller major surface combatants.

The service also had a small number of Ilyushin Il-76 heavy troop transport jets, which could deliver reinforcements between the various border districts.

To ensure a high level of discipline among personnel of the Border Troops, much attention was devoted to political training and indoctrination.

They conducted political study groups, gave propaganda lectures, and worked to increase the level of combat effectiveness among the troops.