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Today, at the Мountainous Armenia recreation center of the Ministry of Defense in Dilijan President Serzh Sargsyan met with the recently decommissioned servicemen, who have shown dedication and courage during their course of duty. The majority of them participated at the combat activities and defended the Homeland from the encroachments of the adversary. Present at the meeting with the participation of the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of Armenia was also the Minister of Defense Vigen Sargsyan. Panorama.am reports referring to the Press Service of the Armenian President’s Office.

The President greeted the participants of the meeting, expressed gratitude for their excellent service and addressed his remarks not only to those present but to all decommissioned servicemen.

Noting that last year the military service of our troops coincided with the period of time when in April they had to face the offensive of the adversary and defended Fatherland with honor, the President underscored that after decommissioning they still remain the soldiers of Fatherland regardless of the sphere of their future activities.                                      

“Certainly, we miss and take pride in all those guys who died as heroes. We are also proud of our friends who fought courageously and stayed alive and now will continue their service to Fatherland. I’ve asked the Minister of Defense to organize this meeting because it is always gratifying to talking to the servicemen in active duty. But troops in active duty are somewhat restrained which is conditioned by two reasons: I believe one of the them is the fact that they are reluctant to voice about problems and hardship lest they appear mumbling whiners, lest there is an impression that they demand better conditions to serve their Fatherland. However, there is also the second reason: soldiers are always anxious that if they speak of problems, the superior may get upset. I think today we need to have a frank discussion, a free exchange to understand what the advantages of our Army are, what the positive sides of our military service are, and where we stand now. But we also need to talk about the problems which are to be addressed in the future to make our Army even more efficient because we are compelled to have a combat-ready army. Every nation needs an army; however there are cases when the need becomes a must, a vital must. For us, a combat-ready army is a must,” said the President of Armenia.

Proposing to speak unreservedly about the existing problems and about the future development of our country in general, Serzh Sargsyan noted at the same time that he too had questions on which he would like to hear the opinion of the Homeland defenders.

The decommissioned servicemen asked the President about the prospects of the NK peace process, the greatest achievement of the Armenian Army in 25 years, the role of the decommissioned troops in the implementation of the Nation-Army concept of the newly appointed Minister of Defense, creation of a proper image of the officer in the society, ways to enhance the reputation of the officers, the probable response of the Armenian side in case the adversary engages in the armsrace, the program for reimbursement of the tuition fees for the troops involved in combat duty, and other issues and topics related to housing programs and the area of defense.   

During the discussions, the President of Armenia heard from the troops answers to his questions, including what the troops would like to see changed in the armed forces, what problems they see, what the military service has given to the soldiers who have served their country, who is the most remembered commander and why, was the knowledge received before joining the Army sufficient to carry out military actions efficiently, would any of the participants of the meeting consider joining the Army on the contractual base or become an officer, whether their expectations of the Army before drafting were met during their service, and whether they intend to stay in touch with their pals after the decommissioning.

Based on the results of the meeting, the President issued a number of directives for the Ministry of Defense which were related to the enhanced safety in the course of military service, patriotic education of the troops and development and improvement of the works aimed at the organization of their leisure, in parallel with the acquisition of new weaponry continuous training of specialists, introduction in the educational centers of new programs if required, a continued work with the Ministry of Education and Science on the implementation of the program of reimbursement of the tuition fees for the troops in active military service, and the relocation of the MoD Monte Melokonian military and sport school to Dilijan, to the former educational center of the RA State Revenue Committee.