Shorter military service term `dangerous emotional injection` -  opposition MP

ArmInfo.  National Assembly member Tigran Abrahamyan, from the With Honor faction, called the decision to reduce the mandatory military service term from 24 to 18 months "an extremely dangerous emotional injection."

Yesterday, the Cabinet of Ministers approved amendments to the Law on  Military Service and the Status of Servicemen and sent it to the  National Assembly for urgent consideration. Effective steps have been  taken in recent years to expand contract military service through the  "Defender of the Fatherland" program (the number of beneficiaries of  the program is 4,220, according to the Ministry of Defense), the  introduction of a professional sergeant system, a military personnel  certification system, and the process of organizing contract military  service with the retention of early military pensions in border  military units. The results of these measures are considered positive  and contribute to increasing the attractiveness and expansion of  contract military service. "In this regard, it was deemed appropriate  to reduce the 24-month mandatory military service for privates by six  months, starting with the winter draft of 2025, establishing an  18-month mandatory military service period," Deputy Defense Minister  Arman Sargsyan announced at a government meeting. The 18-month period  will not apply to those still serving as of January 1, 2026.

According to Tigran Abrahamyan, a month ago he sent a written request  to the Ministry of Defense asking for data on the number of Yerkrapah  Volunteer Union units on combat duty for the past five years. The  Ministry of Defense refused to provide this information, even under  the "secret" classification, which would have deprived it of the  right to make it public.

"Such cases are extremely rare. However, the Ministry of Defense  published general data on participants in the 'Defender of the  Fatherland' program without any restrictions, as it was necessary for  internal propaganda.

However, naturally, the Ministry does not disclose how many  conscripts we have on a two-year cycle and by how much their total  number will decrease as a result of the six-month reduction in  service. It also does not say what percentage of frontline combat  duty is assigned to irregular formations or how many staff positions  remain vacant in military units," the deputy wrote on social media.

In his opinion, when the army is ranked not first, second, or third  in importance, but fifth, issues are considered within this  framework.

"For the current government, the army has become a field for  propaganda experiments, where short-term and extremely dangerous  emotional injections, rather than people, are the focus," Tigran  Abrahamyan concludes. Previously, experts and political opponents of  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the decision was not  motivated by a desire to achieve positive changes in the army, but  rather a well-thought- out pre-election move by the ruling party.  Furthermore, they believe, Prime Minister Pashinyan is attempting to  further advance his false agenda of peace with Azerbaijan. Meanwhile,  reducing conscription by six months means a 25% reduction in the  number of conscripts, and the Defense Ministry's announced increase  in the number of contract service members is not equivalent to the  number being cut. Most importantly, prior to this change, various  government officials acknowledged a serious problem with the Armed  Forces' manpower. And under these circumstances, experts are  convinced, they are resorting to disproportionate reductions in the  army.