RA defense minister against mass salary rise for servicemen 

ArmInfo.  Competition, including in the armed forces during military personnel evaluations, always carries elements of inequality and equality. This was stated  by RA Defense Minister Suren Papikyan from the podium of the National  Assembly on December 4, responding to a speech by former Defense  Minister and leader of the opposition "Armenia" parliamentary  faction, Seyran Ohanyan.

The former minister, in particular, emphasized the need to increase  the base salary rather than increase it through evaluations.  According to Ohanyan, evaluations carry elements of inequality.

Meanwhile, the current head of the defense ministry believes that en  masse salary increases for all military personnel without exception  are unacceptable, as this leads to a loss of motivation. "Even if the  necessary funds are available, it would be possible to consider  raising salaries for certain categories of military personnel to a  certain extent, but I am against a wholesale increase. For  comparison, the salary of a serviceman who has passed the  certification process has increased from 205,000 drams to 470,000  drams, which is a considerable sum. If such an opportunity is created  for everyone, why can't everyone take advantage of it?" Papikyan  emphasized.

He noted that the son of a National Assembly member has decided to  continue serving in the army under the "Defender of the Fatherland"  program, which also speaks to public attitudes toward the ongoing  reform program in the Armed Forces.

The minister noted that reducing the length of military service from  24 months to 18 months pursues a single goal: to professionalize the  country's armed forces as quickly as possible.

It is worth noting that the National Assembly is currently debating  amendments to the law "On Military Service and the Status of  Servicemen" in its first reading. According to the amendments, the  mandatory military service period in Armenia will be shortened by six  months.