January 28, 2014 - 13:55 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Army celebrates
its 22nd anniversary January 28.
The army was established in
conjunction with the other components of Armenia's military in 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, at the outset of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict,
when Armenian militias were formed to combat Azerbaijani units in NKR. 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 till today, concentrating on the developing fighting capacity
and boosting ties with the NKR defense army.
Armenian army became a
guarantor of peace and stability in the South Caucasus, with Armenian soldiers
trusted with peacekeeping missions in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq. Over the last
year, Armenian army units participated in over a dozen of military exercises in
the frameworks of CSTO, NATO and Armenian-American military cooperation.
The London-based
International Institute for Strategic Studies, IISS positively accessed
Armenia's combat readiness level: "Armenian army is quite qualified and
has clear-set objectives. Parallel to this, the Armed Forces of Armenia saw a
steadily growing number of professional soldiers serving on a contract basis,
although a call for military service remains. According to the 2013 report, the
army is most vulnerable is its air forces, yet that is compensated by support
from Russia, who protects Armenia’s air space.
"Today, our army
enjoys the respect and high esteem all over the world," Armenia's Defense
Minister said. As Seyran Ohanyan, a Karabakh war veteran himself, told a
January 27 ceremonial sitting, 20 years ago the victorious ceasefire was
achieved through unity and courage of Armenian people in the face of many
hardships. "Glory and honor to our fallen heroes, those who fought till
the end, those killed or missing. A memory of them will shine in our hearts to
be passed on to generations. It is through their sacrifice that we won and
created a strong army," he said.
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