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Special thanks to Dennis J Blasko, Andrew KC, Rick Kamer for corrections, and equipment updated, Ye, and DOR for pointing out number of errors, and Guancha/mdoctor, for much credit of the PLA disbanded divisions should go to him.

PLA had a number of name changes since it was founded on August 1, 1927, first as Chinese Worker’s and Peasant’s Revolutionary Army, to the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, Eighth Route Army, and the New Fourth Army. PLA adopted the present name in October 1946. It participated in the Agrarian Revolutionary War (1927-1937), the Anti-Japanese War (1937-1945) and the Liberation War (Chinese Civil War of 1945-1949).”

There are 14 Unidentified Rapid Reaction Engineering regiments under the control of 4th department of the PLA (logistical) Each Group Armies have 2 mobile field hospitals, one Training unit, one entertainment regiment. To increase mobility, since 1997, each Tank division is assigned an organic tank transport regiment. 38 GA, 39, GA, 54 GA are consider to be Rapid Deployment Group Army (RDGA), it is reported 1st GA is also being assign as (RDGA) , in addition there are six Rapid Deployment Divisions from other Group Armies, Rapid Deployment status in PLA means all its major elements can be deploy to any part of China within two weeks. Other Rapid Reaction Units (RRU) are 190th of 39th GA, 162nd of 21st GA, 149th of 13th GA, 63rd of 12th GA, 124th of 42 GA. It is also noted, most of Category C formations assigned to Military Distract (MD) are being converted into reserves. Only a handful remains, they are located in the borders regions such as Tibet, and Guangxi, and MDs across from Taiwan. They all have low readiness rate, and being use as boarder patrol only.

( zhongguo gongchandang zhongyang junshi weiyuanhui ) direct translate as Chinese Communist Party Central Military Affairs Commission. PLA is under the command of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and four its general departments, they are:

Headquarters of the General Staff
General Logistics Department
General Political Department
General Armament Department

CMC has a total of 7 members since 1997, there are reports of two additional members being added to CMC.

Members of CMC are: Chairman Jiang Zemin, Executive Vice Chairman Zhang Wannian, Vice Chairmen Chi Haotian and Hu Jintao, and members Yu Yongbo, Fu Quanyou, Wang Ke, Guo Boxiong, Xu Caihou and Wang Ruilin -- Source: DOR