A problem faced the Afghan government, and the Soviet military—the degeneration of training for new military recruits; new recruits were being rushed into service, because the Afghan government and the Soviet military feared a total collapse of the government. As with the army, the majority of officers in the Air Force were Khalqists, but Parchamites held all the senior positions. Many in the Afghan Air Force were given education and training in the Soviet Union. The Air Force had throughout its history always been smaller than the Army. The majority of Air Force personnel were not considered politically reliable to fly strike missions against the mujahideen. Following the Soviet intervention, the Soviets grounded the Air Force. Afghans were not allowed in security zones at Afghan airports by the Soviets. Afghans were generally not allowed to fly the airplanes of the Afghan Air Force, but the Soviets could. Afghan helicopters were assigned to tasks considered non-sensitive by the Soviets, and the majority of Air Force personnel were not told about missions beforehand, because the Soviets were afraid that they would contact the enemy. In Afghan helicopter flights a Soviet adviser was always present, and commanded the Afghan pilot who flew the helicopter. Although the Air Force could deploy 150 fixed-wing aircraft and 30 helicopters, the majority of airplanes and helicopters were grounded, due to maintenance issues or limited availability of crews. Among the fixed-wing aircraft in use were MiG-17 and MiG-21 fighters, Su-7 and Su-17 fighter-bombers, IL-18 and IL-28 bombers and An-2, An-24 and An-26 transport aircraft. MI-2, MI-4, MI-8 and MI-24 helicopters were used by the Air Force. Other Soviet equipment and weapons were used by the government. The Czech L-39 jet trainers were the only non-Soviet equipment. The Ministry of Interior, a Khalqist stronghold, controlled the Sarandoy, or officially, the "Defenders of the Revolution", which was a militarized Gendarmerie force. The Ministry of Tribes and Frontiers controlled, until 1983 under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence, the frontier troops and the tribal militia. According to the Afghan government, the militia mustered an estimated 20,000 males. Those who worked in the Sarandoy were paid 162 dollars a month, a wage which was higher than that of Deputy Minister of National Defence before the Saur Revolution. However, there was a problem; the militia was even less disciplined and effective than the Afghan army.