President meets with demobilized servicemen

President of the Republic of Armenia, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Serzh Sargsyan hosted at the Presidential Palace 30 servicemen demobilized in 2017-2018 who have shown best results and a positive character during army service.

In addition to the problems faced during the army service, the possible ways of their solution, the reforms and steps taken by the State in the armed forces, the meeting discussed the findings of a sociological survey conducted under the Ditaket program initiated by the Defense Ministry, which involved some of those servicemen present at the meeting.

The President of Armenia congratulated the meeting participants on their having honored their duty before the homeland, on St. Sarkis Day being celebrated today and the upcoming holiday - the 26th anniversary of the formation of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia. The Head of State highlighted the importance of such meetings and introduced the main goal behind today’s meeting.

“Everyone understands that military service is not a light ride that the army service implies difficulties and challenges, but I am sure that each of you, after completing the service successfully, will then remember the years of service with pride and affection.

And even if somebody has been upset about something or has had some difficulties, they will go into oblivion over time, and only the fact that you have fulfilled your duty before the State and the nation. Therefore, I thank you for your honest fulfillment on behalf of our people and the State.

Secondly, I want to congratulate you on St. Sarkis Day. A few hours ago, together with the Minister of Defense, we prayed under the arches of the St. Sarkis church to God so that the Lord would look at the Armenian army with a good eye, keep and protect our soldiers and officers and the souls of our martyred friends forever.

Thirdly, I would like to congratulate all of you on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the Armenian Army. Tomorrow, we will be celebrating the Day, we will remember our best officers, soldiers, our killed comrades, we will speak out what we have in our heart and we will pay tribute to the Armenian army.

I do not even know how to address you: beloved soldiers, maybe guys, because those guys, who serve with conscience and honor their sacred duty, remain the soldiers of the army, country soldiers, soldiers to get knowledge. Nevertheless, dear guys, such meetings, have at least two goals.

The first is that you can hear from my lips that by returning home by paying your debt, you can also expect State support. If any one of you has decided to get a job or a profession, the Defense Ministry, our State is ready to assist you. Of course, it does not concern you alone. I mean all those who have been demobilized.

The second goal is for me to get a summary information and understanding of our armed forces. Obviously, I have plenty of channels to keep in control of the situation in the army in search of ways to finding solutions, but listening to suggestions from immediate participants of the process is crucial.

Last year, we initiated a project called Ditaket in a bid to conduct anonymous surveys of all soldiers discharged in the summer of 2017 and give soldiers a few questions, of course, which we should use in our future work.
Today, the Defense Minister and our partner - General Director of Brevis, sociologist Hovhannes Grigoryan will present part of that huge study.

Then I will ask you to comment on some of their conclusions or give your own conclusions or try to clarify certain circumstances or make suggestions. This is very important for the army because our armed forces and our army are a popular army; our army is comprised of almost all conscription ages, covering the larger part of our society.

By the way, I must say that our army is the youngest State structure because so many young people are involved in no other structure at the same time. Therefore, it is extremely important for us to ensure that our soldiers and officers serve with pleasure so that they could be inspired by the fact that they are just the ones to join today the eternal march of our nation of millennial history. You may not fully realize this now, but believe that you will come to understand over years that the supreme pleasure is to serve one’s people, one’s State,” President Serzh Sargsyan said.

In attendance of the meeting, Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan thanked the servicemen for good service and highlighted the importance of such meetings hosted by the President of the Armenia which, as he said, give the opportunity to combine and compare the proposed policy and reforms with the opinions and impressions of demobilized servicemen.

The Minister spoke about the sociological survey conducted within the framework of Ditaket program, the findings of which had been presented at the annual board meeting held at the Defense Ministry.

“Individual assignments have been issued in order to understand what each unit has to do with the negative findings. We have also reviewed the situation at each military unit.

Yesterday at the Collegium, we generally pointed out the units that were in a better position and the issues of conscientious objectors in the public perception were better resolved, as well as the units where there were concerns in every direction. We will work separately with the commander of every military unit to make corrections and find solutions,” Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan pointed out.

Introducing the results of the sociological survey conducted under Ditaket program, Director General Brevis company Hovhannes Grigoryan advised that their interviewers had visited 47 urban and 688 rural settlements, conducting surveys with all those conscripts discharged last summer who had been in the army for 12 months or more. The survey covered 73% of those who had been discharged from military service in the period under review.

“Specific requirements had been set for the study: strict conditions for data security as well as the freedom of expression for demobilized persons.

A special software system has been introduced, which transmits data on the tablet within a few minutes, making it inaccessible for those interested parties, even for our experts,” the sociologist said, adding that his company’s analysts team spent about a month on analytical work and presented detailed reports to the Ministry of Defense.

The research resulted in an extensive database, with about 560 questions and sub-categories, as well as data derived from their combination. They refer to all aspects of army life from material base, health issues, education and entertainment to living conditions and non-formal relationships.

According to the Rapporteur, the research data give a clear picture of demobilized persons’ attitude to military service. Hovhannes Grigoryan emphasized the both positive and negative opinions had been received from the respondents, with the research showing that there are some stereotypical notions of military service which significantly change after demobilization.

He noted that all the other servicemen who took part in the poll and thus contributed to this program of modernization of the army will also have an opportunity to get acquainted with the full results of the survey at the reception held on February 3 at the Ministry of Defense.

After discussing the results of the survey, the President of the Republic suggested continuing the meeting without cameras in order to address the questions both in the subject and in an uneasy atmosphere.