Chapter 5 - CPM Inspections

Initial Inspections at Votkinsk
On the morning of July 1, 29 U.S. INF inspectors arrived at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. The Americans comprised two inspection teams; one would conduct a baseline on-site inspection at Rechitsa Missile Operating Base, the other would initiate the continuous portal monitoring inspection at Votkinsk. Colonel Englund led the latter team.²⁰ It was a large team consisting of 19 inspectors, including Englund, Lt. Colonel Douglas C. Guiler, U.S. Army; Lt. Commander Charles N. Myers, U.S. Navy; Lt. Commander Andrew S. Ritchie, U.S. Navy; Major Mark L. Dues, USAF; Major Richard A. Kurasiewicz, U.S. Army; 1st Lt. Robin A. Ennis, USAF; 1st Lt. Stuart K. O'Neill, USAF; and Lt. W. Scott Ritter, USMC. When the American team flew from Moscow to Votkinsk, they were met by the advance site team that arrived in the city on June 21. This five-person team had performed an initial site survey, met with the plant representatives, and made hotel arrangements for the full team that would arrive on July 2. When Colonel Englund and the team arrived, the advance party joined up with them, becoming official INF inspectors. Initially the American team stayed in a hotel in the city of Votkinsk. For each shift, Soviet escorts took the American inspectors by bus to the plant, 15 kilometers from the city. The U.S. portal compound at the plant was approximately 2 1/2 acres and was situated 50 yards in front of the plant's main exit. A main rail line and a road emerged from the plant and ran next to the U.S. compound.		Here, American inspectors at Votkinsk begin the process of measuring the length of a rail car exiting the Soviet missile final assembly plant.

		On their first day at Votkinsk, Colonel Englund had the U.S. inspectors begin patrolling the 4.7-kilometer perimeter of the plant and monitoring all road vehicles and railcars leaving the missile assembly plant. Establishing their offices in a temporary Soviet building on the American compound, the inspectors rotated through round-the-clock shifts, with four team members, a duty officer, and three inspectors monitoring the portal. All inspectors followed a U.S. policy of working in pairs. If measurements were taken, Soviet escorts, with linguists, were always present. The U.S. inspectors recorded their measurements on special, agreed-upon report forms; these were compiled at the end of each month in an INF Treaty Monthly Portal Inspection Report. As with all INF inspection reports, two originals were made, with a copy retained by each party.²¹ In the first few weeks at Votkinsk, Colonel Englund and Lt. Colonel Guiler, his deputy, met frequently with the Soviet escort leaders and plant officials. Anatoly D. Tomilov represented the Soviet Ministry of Defense Industry and the Votkinsk Machine Building Plant. Vyacheslav K. Lopatin, deputy director for coordination of the INF inspection, attended many of these meetings. Topics included treaty rights and obligations, construction schedules, technical data on monitoring equipment, and reciprocal treatment of INF inspectors at Votkinsk and Magna. The latter was a significant issue, as the Soviet Union's portal monitoring inspections had already begun at Magna.
		Magna
		On July 2, 1988, the first Soviet INF portal monitoring inspection team arrived in Utah. Colonel Anatoly Y. Samarin led the 22-man Soviet inspection team. They were met at the Salt Lake City airport by representatives of the state governor, the city, and OSIA, as well as journalists, television reporters, and local citizens. Colonel Samarin characterized the reception to an Izvestiya reporter as a "great ceremony" and a "very major event in Utah's life."²²Following a short rest, the Soviet team was given a familiarization tour of the treaty area at Hercules Plant No. 1--the perimeter fence, exits, and the portal area. Colonel Samarin informed Colonel Connell, the senior U.S. escort, that in deference to the American national holiday on July 4, the Soviet inspection team would delay the start of its continuous portal monitoring inspections until July 5. At a news briefing, Samarin summarized for the local, national, and international media the Soviet team's purpose at Magna. "Our task is to verify that output banned by the treaty is not shipped from the plant. We shall be in Magna two to three months, then a new group will fly in. Meanwhile, we are resolving everyday questions which, thanks to the foresight of the U.S. side, have been reduced to a minimum."²³

Initially, the "everyday" questions at Magna fell into three categories: establishing the portal monitoring inspection process; transporting and installing the Soviet portal monitoring equipment; and overseeing the construction of a permanent residence for the Soviet inspectors. In the first few weeks, Colonel Samarin met daily with Lt. Commander Szatkowski and Robert Erickson, OSIA detachment commander and senior technical manager, to discuss questions of inspection procedures, site preparations, and permanent housing. It would take more than a year for the resolution of some of these issues.

Within the U.S. government, responses to Soviet questions were coordinated throughout OSIA Headquarters and with other agencies and departments. In issue after issue, two principles emerged: adherence to the treaty and reciprocal treatment for Soviet inspectors at Magna and American inspectors at Votkinsk.²⁴

During the first year, the Soviet continuous portal monitoring inspection team moved into permanent housing quarters. Colonel Vyacheslav S. Lebedev, Soviet team leader, holds high the ribbon on opening day. U.S. team leader, Commander James L. Szatkowski (r.) accompanies Colonel Lebedev.