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The Armenian State Pedagogical University (ASPU) hosted acting Head of the Conscription and Mobilization Service of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, Colonel Aren Sargsyan.
Introducing the guest, Advisor to the ASPU Rector Hakob Tadevosyan informed that, besides military service, Sargsyan is also involved in science, teaches, is a Candidate of Political Science and an Associate Professor and is known to the circle of experts as an experienced and literate lawyer.
Aren Sargsyan, who has been serving in the military for 21 years, has held various positions and has an in-depth understanding of the sector, emphasized that proper military service is a deep and complex matter of psychology, society, demography and value system.
Sargsyan says people often blame them for the incidents linked to interpersonal relations in the army, but, according to him, serving the homeland is not limited to two years or proper military service during a lifetime; what is extremely important is to observe the family model, environment, education and the basic values.
During the meeting with the Acting Head of the Conscription and Mobilization Service of the Ministry of Defense, the students inquired about conscription and mobilization, the drawing for military service, exemption from service due to illnesses, the right to deferment, the transfer from one military unit to another, the differences of service in peace and during war, the role of women engaged in military service, the service of military doctors and more.
Aren Sargsyan provided the students with details about the “Defender of the Homeland” 6-month compulsory military service which was introduced as a service on voluntary basis and is aimed at making military service more engaging, talked about the practice of the Israeli army, the actions aimed at organizing medical services more effective, the need for a position of psychologist at military registration offices and the precedents of people wishing to evade military service.
The Colonel, who managed conscription during and after the 44-day war [in Artsakh], notes that any event is reflected in this process and has an impact on the willingness to serve or participate in military service, or does not have an impact.
“The Armed Forces are a living organism. It is necessary to reach a point where the best, the strong and the resistant is appreciated as an elite unit in the army,” Aren Sargsyan says, adding that all positions in the army are useful; during combat duty, one observer prevents the entry of the adversary into the unit’s protection area, ensures the activities and physical existence of the unit.
When asked who is a national hero, Colonel Sargsyan said this is a legal category that contains elements of morality, didactics and discipline and is the most distant bar that everyone in the sector must strive for, but it must be reachable for the unique ones.
Summing up the meeting, the speaker voiced hope that the contacts and communication with students will continue.
According to Advisor to the Rector, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor Hakob Tadevosyan, these meetings foster the strengthening of the army-society relationship, help raise youth awareness about military service (fixed-term compulsory service, contractual service, reserve assemblies and mobilization) and contribute to professional orientation.
Tadevosyan considered a major achievement the proposal of the Head of the Conscription and Mobilization Service of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia to conduct social-psychological and pedagogical studies with pre-conscription age youth for which the Head of the Service will personally create opportunities and conditions. “We are certain that the findings of such studies will foster development of the sector,” Hakob Tadevosyan told aspu.am.
