Armenian President voiced upcoming reforms in the Armed Forces of the Republic

ArmInfo. In the war imposed  on the Armenian side, the newly created army decided the task  assigned to it and over the past years also solved them with success.   Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan stated this at the National  Research University of Defense.

Ten years ago, when on the battlefield the Armenian volunteer units  fought for life, when the issues of uniforms for the army and  armament were even sharply put on by the most primitive weapons, no  one could have imagined that one day there would be three military  universities instead of one, no one even imagined that the then  commanders of the company and platoon would become colonels and  generals. 

"Our heroic comrades defended Artsakh and Armenia at the cost of  their lives, and laid the foundations of the Armenian victorious  army." It's time, indeed, it's time, when we need to make a new and  significant step forward. "Our army is strong and battle-worthy  today, capable of carrying out its tasks "However, this does not mean  that our armed forces should not improve and develop," he said,  adding that a new, incomparably higher level is being set today - a  radical modernization of the Armed Forces s forces of the Republic of  Armenia is a demand of the time, which is dictated by both present  and future challenges. The President said that today the task is to  develop a new seven-year program for the modernization of the army  for 2018-2025. 

"We must make this program a reality by joint efforts: I, as the  Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the Minister of Defense, the command  staff of the Armed Forces, our soldiers and the whole society." I  instruct the minister to report on the work done in this direction  within two months. After discussions and refinements, this program  will be approved on January 28, 2018, that is, on the birthday of our  Army, "the president said. The program should be one of the main  tasks of the state at this stage, if not the most important, Sargsyan  stressed. "After seven years, our already capable army should reach a  qualitatively new, exceptional level.The first important direction of  modernization is a smooth transition to new conditions for the  management of the armed forces system, stemming from Constitutional  changes." 

The Draft Law "On Defense", which these days is discussed in National  Assembly, it solves the important, but only the first part of this  task - the legal formulation.There will then be a scrupulous work on  the development and implementation of by-laws and in terms of the  correct follower practical steps ", he noted.

 Modernization of the army, according to the president, concerns both  the level of organization, and types of weapons, social issues of  servicemen, that is, the whole complex of issues. "We have always  been engaged in this, but now the task is to accelerate this process,  ensuring rapid development, we must move ahead of schedule." As the  budget of the next year, as you know, there is a sharp increase in  military spending, but growth will not be limited to only one year,  but you will be uninterrupted.You are well aware that the quantity  and quality of our weapons has dramatically improved over the past  few years.This work will be continuous.Then we will have new and  significant achievements in this direction from year to year, " l the  president, adding that the army can not develop separately and  autonomously, therefore, the whole of our state must step in step  with time.

"We must have one of the most modern armies in the world, that is, we  must have a continuously improving state, thanks to which the army is  also modernized, it is possible, and together with all of our society  we will make this goal a reality," he said. The President stressed  that the conditions of military service for all should be improved -  from the soldier standing on the front line to the commander. There  are no trifles and should not be. "Guarantees of social security in  this matter are extremely important.The discipline must be at the  highest level.The parent raises the child, sends him to the army and  must be sure that his child entering the barracks , is in a new  caring family, "the head of state said, stressing that hazing and  negligence should be completely ruled out.

"For this reason, we should not have losses, these are inappropriate  losses," the head of state stressed, stressing that special attention  should be paid to the problems of medical services. He informed that  in a few months at the Yerevan Medical University, the most modern  rehabilitation center for military invalids will open its doors. "It  should become a single address for the treatment, social protection  and reintegration of the military disabled," the head of state  stressed. According to him, today, quite serious progress has been  registered in terms of the state of Armenia's medical centers, both  in Yerevan and in the regions.  "Unfortunately, the Central Hospital  of our Armed Forces is no longer considered modern, as compared to  state-of-the-art other institutions." There is no doubt that the  medical institution serving a military officer, his family and his  family should be one of the best in the country. "I instructed the  defense minister to complete on the development of the technical  assignment and the design of the new hospital.I am confident that in  the foreseeable future we will begin the construction of such a  hospital, "the head of state said. 

"We took the first important step in attracting our best personnel to  the military specialty.Each link of this whole chain, from the first  line on the border to the large medical facilities of the rear, must  act flexibly, coordinately, without failures and quickly. Each link  should operate with maximum efficiency The army is a place where  additional education should be provided for both rank and file  officers and the army.The army should be an important point for the  continuous growth of man, and not just cover the time period for the  defense of the motherland and the fulfillment of the debt The  military should create conditions for enriching the knowledge of  servicemen, "he said, adding that all the speculations that these  days are associated with studying at higher education institutions on  the transition to a new system and the elimination of the right to  postpone  are  simply nonsense. 

 "In time, when we tried to switch to this system, I mean 15-16 years  ago, there were the same speculations, but then our tasks were  somewhat different, and we did not go to the end." However, at the  time, having studied this question, we have seen that never two years  of service in the army or two years, three years, four years of  employment in another job did not prevent the highest achievements in  science.  To inform that I personally interrupted my studies during  my studies, served two years, then Honestly speaking, I was one  student in the first and second year, at the beginning, and quite  another student after the second year, and since I have deviated a  little from the topic, I also want to ask you to call for activity in  connection with another question , in connection with those  conversations that it is necessary to move to the formation of a  professional army, that all must be contract soldiers, etc. First of  all, people who talk about this are completely unaware that almost  two-thirds of our army, yes, professional employees under the  contract: officers, sergeants, civil servants. And secondly: these  people do not understand at all what defense security means. And when  we call the 18-year-olds, it's not just for them to protect the  border today: we need a mobilization reserve, and if we do not call  for 18-year-olds for years, we will call or enter into contracts only  with those who want to serve, this will mean that most of our  mobilization reserve in life has not seen weapons and is not able to  use this weapon. That is, a two-year call is a process that solves  numerous tasks. I do not even want to talk about these tasks. So, we  must be active. Do you understand?  About the army, security is  spoken by people who, frankly, probably did not even read 5-10 pages,  or in practice did not concern themselves with these tasks, and  people who know who are in the know who have life experience, simply,  I apologize for expression, do not have the will to speak or argue  with them. But it's impossible and  we cannot develop like this, "he  said.  Touching upon the military-industrial complex, the president   stressed that the military-industrial complex is also taking serious  steps towards modernizing and equipping our armed forces with modern  technology and weapons. According to him, a program for the  development of the military-industrial complex has been developed,  which is very ambitious on the one hand, and on the other - evokes  great interest in the industry, especially among the youth.  "Obviously, by issuing funds only for our armed forces, our military  industry will not be competitive. Therefore, it is my task to fully  use our competitive advantages: rich traditions, the availability of  internationally competitive scientists and, on this basis, building  tomorrow's military science and industry, Armenia can take its  special place among a number of countries that produce and export  modern technologies, "the head of state said. The president also  focused on the social issues of the officers.  Under the draft of the  new law "On Military Service", it is planned to seriously reconsider  the issue of resolving the housing problem for the officers.     "Experience shows that the long-running program of apartment queues  that lasts for years, containing numerous corruption risks, is more  exhausting than the crucial issue of the apartment queues itself,  instead of trying to switch to the program of affordable mortgage  lending, although the implementation of this program creates an  additional financial burden for our state budget, I instructed to  study in detail and give a solution to the task for the  implementation of the program, and I am almost sure that we will be  able to use this system from January 1, " he said. "We are also ready  to find a serious source of co-financing for those of our officers  who want to join the funded pension program, in addition to the  existing military pension, in order to create a safety margin for  their old age." Preliminary calculation allows expecting that  collecting 5 percent of its salary in the fund the officer after 65  years will receive a monthly pension such as the salary of an officer  at a rate equal to the position occupied by him at the time of  demobilization .On January 1 of this year, he started acting the fund  of dead and disabled soldiers, God grant that this fund was never  needed, but the reality is slightly different. This program we solve  the problem of financial assistance to the families of the dead and  disabled soldiers - the most vulnerable group to date. our heroes, "-  said the president, stressing that the fund operates according to the  most transparent, to date, and accountable procedure. We should also  encourage voluntary donations to this fund.  He promised, this year    to solve  completely also the housing problem of families that do  not have a dwelling, dead servicemen and became invalids of the 1st  group. "As you remember, during the famous meeting such a task was  set, and the defense minister will report to everyone in late  December that this problem has been completely resolved at that  time." This policy will continue, "the head of state said.  Speaking  about the situation in the region, Sargsyan stressed that so far the  Armenian side managed to maintain military balance in the region. We  will continue to maintain. "We will not be drawn into a quantitative  race, we will prefer quality solutions." Money, of course, is  important, but even more important is the mind and ability. "We will  spend money reasonably, we will continue to compare these two: money  and reason.This is necessary for our armed forces, including  financial means, exist and will always be, we will not spare anything  for the army, I promise it, "he said. All these reforms, according to  the head of state, will become a reality, if only we ourselves find  the opportunity to change and spread around ourselves the desire for  change. "Yesterday I had a meeting at the police and during this  meeting I repeated what I have been saying for years: if the middle  and lower links of any structure, any subdivision, or any institution  will see that the leadership of this structure, division, institution  is actually fighting negative phenomena that these phenomena are  unacceptable to management, when they see that the leadership is  striving for a new, always striving for changes in this rapidly  changing world, then things will turn out there, but when below, in  the middle links they see that only they are demanded, and even then  it's formal, but the leadership does not do it, it will not work, and  it's not up to me to tell you, because there's a law in the army: do  it like I. If the commander does not know how to shoot, he can not  teach the subordinate how to shoot properly. A law-abiding,  patriotic, skillful officer is not only a smith of victory, but also  of our everyday life, therefore, first of all, I urge you, to be  vigilant in the course of discharging your duties, to uproot any  manifestation of corruption, to open the way for the advancement of  young officers and a smooth change of generations. Mutual respect and  unity-based relations must be rooted in our armed forces. We need an  army with the spirit of one family, and the main responsible for this  are the commanders of all levels, "the head of  Armenian state  concluded.