With Germany split and NATO and Soviet forces on opposite sides of the split, what was the readiness of those troops like? We're armed soldiers constantly patrolling the border for instance? Was the border militarized or were units at nearby bases just ready to move if called?
for the former east german army the (basic) readiness was like this:
-army: 100.000 soldiers in 2 "military districts" that would become 2 armies in case of war with a main force of 2 mechanized infantry divisions and 1 tank division (and corresponding support division/regiments) each. another 5 reserve divisions with a notice-to-move time of 48h and another 24h until combat readiness.
-air force: 20.000 soldiers in 2 air defense divisions with a total of around 400 fighter jets, as well as SA-2/3/5 SAMs
-navy: 14.000 sailors with a variety of missile-boats, ASW-boats, etc.
all active military personell were on rotating shifts to ensure 24/7 readiness. officers and NCOs were on 24h-call during off-duty days and on 48h call during holidays/vacation.
doctrine of east german troops was to prevent NATO from entering WP territory (illusory, really) until the soviet nukes hit and then remain in the back until soviet troops arrived to join the counter attack into mainland germany/france through the fulda gap.
if you want to know more specifics, please ask, because i am at work right now :)
source: NVA. Anspruch und Wirklichkeit (aspiration and reality) nach ausgewählten Dokumenten by former general klaus naumann
edit: clarification