Armenian Army celebrates 22nd anniversary
The Armenian Army celebrates its 22nd anniversary today, January 28.
The Armenian Army is the largest branch of the Armed Forces of Armenia and consists of the ground forces responsible for the country's land-based operations. It was established in conjunction with the other components of Armenia's military on January 28, 1992, several months after the republic declared its independence from the Soviet Union. The army's first head was the former deputy commander-in-chief of the main staff of the Soviet Ground Forces, Norat Ter-Grigoryants.
The Armenian army's history is described to have gone through three stages of development.
It entered the first stage in February 1988, from the beginning of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, when Armenian militias were formed to combat Azerbaijani units in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The second phase of the development of the army began in 1992, several months after Armenia declared its independence from the Soviet Union. Ter-Grigoryants and civilian officials in the Armenian Ministry of Defense, including Vazgen Manukyan and Vazgen Sargsyan, sought to establish a "small, well-balanced, combat-ready defense force."
The third phase began after the end of the war and continues to today.
The Armenian Army celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2012. According to experts, the Armenian Army can by right be called the most efficient in the region.