The Initiative of Armenian Reservists criticized the nature of Papikyan’s surprise inspections of military units

ArmInfo. The Initiative of Armenia’s Reservist Servicemen criticized the nature of the unexpected inspections of military units initiated by Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan, calling them formal.

The initiative’s statement notes that, in light of the recent tragic incidents in the Armed Forces during non-combat conditions, Defense Minister Suren Papikyan regularly makes unexpected visits to the military units subordinate to him, films them, and publishes the footage on his social media pages.

"However, at least in one of the published videos, a noteworthy circumstance is clearly visible: right before the minister’s eyes, representatives of the command of the military unit accompanying him violate the established regulations on wearing field uniforms. And the question arises: does the minister not see this, or does he simply not want to see it? It is even more surprising that the operator also appears not to have noticed this episode. It gives the impression that the operators either do not themselves know the established regulations on wearing military uniforms, or simply did not want to show this episode when preparing the video.  Otherwise, it could have been filmed from another angle or simply not included in the final video", the statement published on the initiative’s Facebook page notes.

At the same time, it is stated that discipline in the armed forces begins with compliance with such, at first glance seemingly "minor", requirements. The initiative drew attention to the fact that each violation, depending on its nature, may entail disciplinary liability and, in cases provided for by law, other liability.

"The problem lies not only in this violation, but also in the attitude toward it.  Ignoring violations, inaction, or attempting not to see them do not strengthen discipline. On the contrary, this may create an atmosphere of impunity, and impunity, as has been repeatedly proven, sooner or later leads to more serious consequences. Therefore, this small but telling example is sufficient reason to ask how effective these "unexpected inspections" conducted by the defense minister are if even visible violations in the minister’s presence remain unpunished. Perhaps it is necessary not only to record the visit on camera, but also to see what is happening in front of the camera and draw appropriate conclusions", the initiative concluded.