 Its nominal total wartime strength was 40,000 men, of whom about 30,000 were to be mobilised reservists, with 32 tanks and 80 field artillery pieces, as well as about 100 armoured vehicles 

The National Guard, controlled by officers sent from Greece (as Cyprus lacked trained officers), was seen as an instrument of Athens in the political tension between Athens and Nicosia.As a result, the Cypriot government neglected the reinforcement of the National Guard, with the single exception of the 1965 purchase, resulting in the mechanical equipment suffering badly of maintenance issues, and ammunition stocks being low and old.The Makarios government founded in 1972 the "Efedrikon Soma" (which translates as "Reserve Corps"), with police personnel.