The defence minister had "enough" of these senseless killings, and as such, new "guidelines" or "laws" are finally introduced that explicitely allows a PFC or a junior officer to disobey an order of superior if that order is abusive in nature. Some of my compatriots accused me of encouraging young Armenians to avoid the draft...and I really did. But, at the end of the day, the army brass, just like myself, have had enough. All of us Armenians, including yours truely, become defensive when confronted with a "constructive criticism or accusation." All we are trying is to make the army "more" professional, an army where our young will "run to" instead of "run away." Remember, there is light years difference between Discipline and Brutality, unfortunately for some here, the line between the two are blurred. Hopefully this new "laws" will enlighten and open their minds. Remember: An Armenian soldeir was killed by a superior officer, simply because he......laughed. What if that murdered soldier was your brother? How would you have reacted? The bottom line is this: We have a small country, with a small people, and a small army. We don't have the "luxury" of losing ONE soldier, let alone 5-6. Surrounded on ALL sides by enemies, we cannot afford STUPIDITY in our ranks.

JJ Just asking, that's all. 400 oligarchs control Armenia, hmmm? I thought Armenia had only 5 oligarchs? But 400, thats a stretch. Armenia has always been a wealthy country. Remember, all the free housing which was given to Armenian's in the Soviet days were privatized, which meant instant liquidity for Armenians. What they did with these properties no one knows. So to state that 93% of the wealth is control by 400 is a non-fact. The US is worse, 1% of the population controls 90% of the wealth and that was before the economic crisis. I just came from Karabagh and the occupied territories on Monday and my confidence remains high with regards to our Armed Forces.

Jean Jacques what you have experienced in the U.S army doesn't relate to the fact that soldiers still die in the U.S constantly and far worse then they do in Armenia. I do support the fact that the Armenian army should be more careful on who they put in charge. The Armenian army does have a great army though and patriotic soldiers. We have a truly great Defense Minister and we should be proud of that. There is brutal killings happening within the U.S army as well as any other army in the world. Did you forget not long ago what happen in Fort Hood where alone 13 were killed and another 37 injured. I have a friend who is serving there and is actually a muslim as well and he has gone through abuse and humiliation. His story actually reached the Washington Post because he was a muslim serving in the army. Humiliation is within every army its not something that can be controlled. I have another story where my other close friend who is stationed in Kuwait told me certain cases of soldiers killing themselves. What happens hear in the U.S in comparison is much worse. The best they can do in the Armenian army is watch who they put in charge and look into the conscripts backgrounds.

Jean-Jacques decidedly you write in a way to discourage people. Especially in armies fighting a war it is a very common to see that kind of acts. You just don't know or deliberately falsify things. You had better look a little bit bolis newspapers, what is happening in the neighbour armies. officers obliging the young conscripts to take a bomb in their hand and make explose it (2010 case). Several suicides, accidents, walking on mines etc. etc.

SOS The subject matter here is Not about Jean Jaques, it's about the deaths of our young soldiers inside the barracks. If Armenia Now decides one day to write a story about me, by all means they can contact me, I post my real e-mail address here. You see folks, us Armenians have always evaded reponsibility when there is a constructive criticism. I wrote in my first post that I am ready to pay $50 to each Armenia Now visitor if in the next several months no Armenian soldier dies inside Armenia. By the time Armenia Now printed my post, BANG...another soldier killed. And if any of you people think that this is the end of the story, rest Not, it WILL happen again. Remember, we like to use and abuse our own soldiers, the same way the 400 plus oligarchs control 93% of Armnias wealth. All the Turks have to do is WAIT, and pretty soon, therewon't be any soldier left to fight for Armenia. The Turks will simple pack their tootbrushes and walk into Armenia. The army should instate CAPITAL PUNISHMENT for all, soldiers and conscripts who abuse and murder. And before I forget...SOS, I don't need to prove to you my military service in the USA. I don't see what my service has to do with murders in Armenias army. All I can tell you that there was/is discipline in the US army, but abuse and sadistic abuse, I have seen none. After all the pomps and ceremonies and salutations, we all went out and had FUN, officers and PFCs.

JJ Just out of curiosity, when did you serve in the Marine Corps??

Here we go again........On August 24, 2010 yet another Armenian soldier is murdered in Armenia away from the battlefield. Jesus Christ, when will this brutal treatment of our soldiers end? If we want these young soldiers dead, why not attack our Turkic neighbours and let these young die with dignity and on the battlefield?? And try not to mention incidents like this happen in other armies, who cares about the others, we care for our own small army, that's all.

After reading some of the posts here, yours treuly stands corrected. Having said that, Armenia a thinly squeezed tiny country surrounded by a sea of terrorist laden Islamic and Turkic countries, simply CANNOT afford to have A single murder in the ranks of the armed forces, let alone 5-6. And we simply CANNOT and SHOULD NOT compare our small army with the army of USA or France. Some have missed the point I was trying to make. Brutality does Not make Discipline. Having been born in th USA, and having served in the US marine corps, I have Not seen brutality...only discipline. You simply Cannot abuse, beat, slap or kill a conscript in a "civilized army."

Psyops Thank you for taking the time out to write such an informative post. Also, where their are Gangs involved, it is certain without a doubt that drugs are not too far behind. Suicides, assaults and sexual crimes are being reported from the military but not drug use, whether it be illegal or OTC which is worse. Can you post some numbers on that subject?

Sos well said. Occurrences in the army happen everywhere around the world. Armenia being smaller then most countries its easier to spot certain occurrences and imply more control over our troops. What happen here happens in Azerbaijan all the time at least 3x this year. I'm not saying that we should not look at what is happening in our army. On the contrary we should imply more laws and the defense ministry should be more careful who they hire as officers. Another thing, the perpetrator responsible was Karo Avazyan had a history of criminal background in the U.S before coming to Armenia. Why didn't anyone spot this? thats what concerns me.

Violence in our army must come to a halt. This random acts of violence give the external and internal enemies of the state to transfer fear and lack of confidence. This is the sphere of psychological warfare, people claiming to be Armenian are flooding the forum, stating that they will not allow their kid to serve in the military, siting that no rich man's son is going to serve. No place on this planet have I seen a wealthy persons kid serve in the military, I do not see any wealthy person tied to any national interest. Wealthy people can afford to relocate and be well off and thus it is the sons and daughters of the poor in all corners of the world serving in their own respective armed forces. This problem will be addressed as more people will demand justice, people must understand that this country is theirs and that we need to confront and stomp this out of society. Now to this man who claims that he has proudly served in the US armed forces and he claims all was professional atmosphere. Mr Bagratoni, few clicks on the key board has generated the following results, information is easy to uncover it is not the 50's, stop your fear mongering, if you do not have a solution to the problem stop spreading paranoia, the world is not falling. It is a shame you are trying to capitalize on this tragedy by spreading disinformation. I would suggest you read the following and not to utter another word Bagratoni "Since we reported on these implications in 2008, incidents of sexual assault have continued to occur; in fiscal year 2008, DOD reported nearly 3,000 alleged sexual assault cases, and the Coast Guard reported about 80. However, it remains impossible to accurately analyze trends or draw conclusions from these data because DOD and the Coast Guard have not yet standardized their respective reporting requirements. " http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/management-benchmarking/14578949-1.html" Bagratoni this article is completely the opposite to as to what you are saying, should Americans tell their sons and daughters to stop enlisting? Should Americans yell on top of their lungs to stop serving because such tragedies occur? "In 2005, for example, in just those 45 states, there were at least 6,256 suicides among those who served in the armed forces. That's 120 each and every week, in just one year." it is from http://www.presstv.ir/Detail.aspx?id=31730 "Suicides and Post-traumatic Stress Increasing Statements of Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are reported by Jim Garamone of Armed Forces Press Service in the 21 July 2010 article "Mullen: Military Leaders Need to Address Suicide Issue. Garamone observes that during the month of July 2010, "thirty-two soldiers committed suicide - a figure not seen since the Vietnam War when the Army was twice as large." He writes that Mullen demands that leaders respond to the issue of rising suicides as the problem won't simply "disappear." Read more at Suite101: 2010 Suicide Crisis Deployed Forces - Army, Navy , Marine Corps http://us-armed-conflicts.suite101.com/article.cfm/2010-suicide-crisis-deployed-forces---army-navy--marine-corps#ixzz0wN6F6Ggi "FBI says U.S. criminal gangs are using military to spread their reach By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — U.S. criminal gangs have gained a foothold in the U.S. military and are using overseas deployments to spread tentacles around the globe, according to the FBI. FBI gang investigator Jennifer Simon said in an e-mail to Stars and Stripes this week that gang members have been documented on or near U.S. military bases in Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Iraq. “It’s no secret that gang members are prevalent in the armed forces, including internationally,” Simon said, adding that the FBI is preparing to release a report on gangs in the military. Among the cases: ¶ In Iraq, armored vehicles, concrete barricades and bathroom walls have served as canvasses for spray-painted gang art. At Camp Cedar II, about 185 miles southeast of Baghdad, a guard shack was recently defaced with “GDN” for Gangster Disciple Nation, along with the gang’s six-pointed star and the word “Chitown,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times. ¶ In Germany, a soldier is being prosecuted this week for the murder of Sgt. Juwan Johnson, beaten to death on July 4, 2005, allegedly during a Gangster Disciple initiation in Kaiserslautern. ¶ In September, Department of Defense Dependents Schools in Europe warned teachers and parents to watch out for signs of gang activity, including the deadly MS-13 gang. At the time, DODDS-Europe public affairs officer David Ruderman said there had been two incidents in the past 18 months that involved students fighting, wearing gang colors or claiming to be members of gangs. In one of the incidents, a student’s family member may have been a gang member, he said. ¶ Earlier this year, Kadena Air Base on Okinawa established a joint service task force to investigate gang-related activity involving high school teens linked through the Web site MySpace.com. Last year, the U.S. Army conducted 11 felony investigations into gang activity, one of those being the death of Johnson, said Christopher Grey, a spokesman for the Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) in Virginia. Three of the incidents, including the Johnson case, took place in Europe, Grey said. “We investigate all credible reports of gang activity,” Grey said, adding that CID has programs to combat gang activity in the Army. Soldiers are reluctant to talk openly about gang problems. However, Spc. Bautista Kylock, 21, of the 2nd Cavalry (Stryker) Regiment in Vilseck, Germany, said last week that there are gang members within his unit. Kylock blamed recent violence around Vilseck on soldiers affiliated with the Crips and Bloods street gangs. Scott Barfield, a former Defense Department gang detective at 2nd Cav’s last duty station, Fort Lewis, Wash., told the Sun-Times earlier this year that he had identified more than 300 soldiers at the base as gang members. “I think that’s the tip of the iceberg,” he said. However, Vilseck Provost Marshal Maj. Robert Ray said there is not a big gang problem in Vilseck and he has no information on gang members within 2nd Cav. “The military comes from all walks of lives, from rich to poor, and with that comes the ‘society,’” Ray said. “Are there members of the military that belong to gangs? No doubt about it. But the military is not rampant with gang members. “The military chain of commands do not tolerate things like that and do their best to weed out problems,” he said. There are no official statistics on gang membership in the military, but some experts have estimated that 1 percent to 2 percent of the U.S. military are gang members, Simon said. That compares with just 0.02 percent of the U.S. population believed to be gang members, she wrote. “Gang membership in the U.S. armed forces is disproportional to the U.S. population,” she added. Jim Kouri, vice president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, wrote recently that, in addition to the Gangster Disciples, other Chicago gangs such as the Latin Kings and Vice Lords have infiltrated the military along with neo-Nazi groups. Although there are no numbers to back it up, Simon believes gang member presence in the U.S. military is increasing. “The U.S. Army has reported an increase in gang-related activity in the military, although their numbers are low,” she said. Gang-related activity in the military is highly underreported, and the Army is the only branch of the military that collects gang-related statistics, she wrote. “It’s often in the military’s best interest to keep these incidents quiet, given low recruitment numbers and recent negative publicity. The relaxation of recruiting standards, recruiter misconduct and the military’s lack of enforcement (gang membership is not prohibited in the Army) have compounded the problem and allowed gang member presence in the military to proliferate,” Simon said. The following links are positive indicators of gangs existing in the military and how the military training is being used." http://www.gangsorus.com/military.htm

Vanessa, your definition of a "professional" army belongs in Hollywood, not the real world.

JJ According to Jane's?? Those numbers are old and I included attack helicopters in those numbers also. Armenia does not announce their annual military budget. So you nor I really know what is at these bases. As for the Sukoi's and Mig's being gas guzzlers, you dont live in Armenia and you dont see how they are being used everyday, flying over Yerevan and along the borders. Most of them are short range land attack based fighters. If you factor in the Karabagh Defense Forces, you are looking at approximately 100,000 Military personnel combined, You have not factored in that Armenia is the only nation out of the 3 in the SOuth Caucasus which has Rapid Reaction Forces (NATO confirmed). Which Survey showed the army is comprised of the poor? I would like to see it. Their is no brutality or hazing in any other Armed Forces in the world? I am not making excuses and I dont care if it takes place in other armies, but when an incident of this type pops up everyone has something negative to say. Is our army better now than in 1994, 2000, 2005? You bet it is. If the army is not what our government says it is, then why havent the Azeris attacked yet? The Azeris can spend all the money they want on Drones, aircraft and military equipment. Bottom line is, to win a war it must be done conventionally and for Azerbaijan to start an offensive war, against a mountain fort (karabagh) heavily defended and taking the risk of Armenia not only launching counter attacks against existing Azeri positions but starting new offensives against them in Nakhichevan and the taush region would be a no win situation for them. Look forward to your response.

SOS: With all due respect and humility, here are some pointers: 1. Armenia + Russia DO NOT have 100 combat aircraft. According to Jane's it is at or about 50, including Russian air force jets. Armenia's own Sukhois are old, heavy, slow and gas guzzling junks. 2. In a survey done in 2008, most of servicemen in our armed forces were living at or below poverty level. 3. Armenia DOES NOT have 100,000 personnel in its armed forces. According to Jane's it is about 40,000. The 600,000 reserves are acceptable. Here is the problem that I have with Armenian authorities. We have a small country, poor in natural resources, landlocked and surrounded on 3 sides by enemies. Now, would not it be nice if the authorities had an "all inclusive" attitude...meaning every single soldier is disciplined and loved at the same time? Why is it that we always have an excuse for everything? Who really cares if there are shootings in the Turkish army? What does that have to do with us? Turks count 100 million on both sides of Armenia, they can afford killing 1,000 everyday and their "baby producing machines" will produce 10,000 more. But, when it comes to us, I will be blunt and put down the naked truth for all to see. In a 1994 survey, almost 77% of Armenia's population wanted to emigrate, sadly..one million did. In 2008, that number (thanks God) shrank to 54%, now that still is 50% of the population. You are a smart and intelligent Armenian, you do the math, can we afford to lose one "single" Armenian to this foolish and backward mind games played daily in our army? And why are the children of the 400 oligarchs NOT serving in our army? Why? They are there making money from the majority poor, the least they can do is send their sons to serve. We cannot move forward building a professional army on sheer brutality. You see SOS, Armenias military doctrine is based on Soviet military doctrine, where the line(s) of discipline and brutality merge with total harmony. I don't know if you served in any armed force, but since I was born and raised in the USA, I served in the US army, and we had discipline, and lots of it, but brutal treatment??????? You won't see that in Western professional armies. I am tired of seeing our young wasted and murdered in Armenia and that at the hands of Armenian officers away from the battleground. This not only is UNACCEPTABLE but is treason of the highest degree. The more we shove our dirty laundry under the rug, the harder it will become for our future soldiers to execute their duty securing what is left of our once big country.

Vanessa, Define brutal. Given the job any military is supposed to carry out, life for a soldier should not be easy, but it should not be senselessly brutal and abusive either. I get the sense that some of the stuff going on in the Armenian army is unnecessary but I've never served in any military myself. Like anything in life and in any organizations, there are lines that should not be crossed. Physically beating someone up to the point of death is one such line! My heart goes out to the young men who have to serve.

very rare for this sort of thing to happen in the Armenian military. Just last month there was a shooting in the Azeri Army, by a soldier. the conditions the soldiers see in the military are brutal, it is a tough process but necessary for a strong military.

Jean Jacque Please do not spread fear and disinformation about our Armed Force. Currently, their are 100,000 servicemen in the Armenian and Karabagh forces combined with another 600,000 in reserve fit for duty. As for Armenia not having an Air Force, Armenia currently has, jointly with the Russian 102 command, 100 Sukhoi, Mig and Helicopter Gunships, not to mention an AIr Defense system second to none, with S 300 and 100 other different air defense models. The Air Defense system alone has 3000 servicemen. How do you know the conscripts come from poor families. Approximately 30000 males and 30000 females reach military age annually. Do all of them come from poor families? Can you name an army in the world which receives its compatriots with love and understanding? A soldier is trained to defend his homeland and kill his enemy, not jump in to bed him.

Dear Armenian compatriots. The issue here is not about "democracy," or "hazings" in other armies, or "murders" in other countries. The issue is the ongoing hazings and murders in an army that is short on manpower, is made mostly of the rural poor young men, and it is the Only guarantor for safeguarding our tiny republic surrounded by bloodthirsty, "allah" screaming vicious and alien looking peoples. I for one served in the US marine corps. Yes, initially they treat you with "extreme discipline," but at the end of the day, my superiors always invited us to eat, drink, watch movies, and on the weekends go "wild." In another word, I was Not brutalized by my superiors, even though I looked "different" from the rest. The problem in our army I believe is a "lack of education for our officer corps." As I mentioned before, there is a lack of understanding for "discipline." Discipline does not mean "abuse." Look, I have been to Armenia several times, had the priviledge talking to young soldiers. Most come, believe me, from poor families. When conscripted, they have legitimate worries about the welfare of their families. On the other hand, I have met young men, who used "family connections" Not to serve in the army. They have become experts in making up phony and bogus alibies, plus they pay hefty sums of money (bribe). The law should apply to all. Armenia simply cannot afford to descriminate based on "haves" and "have nots." As for some who are trying to compare Armenia to the USA, look my friends, does it really matter whether the USA is ran by crooks or corrupt officials? The USA is a world superpower with 300 million people. How can we compare the USA with Armenia? The USA CAN afford to, but Armenia cannot afford to have a corrupt government and army, we simply cannot afford it. A small landlocked country, with barely 3 million people, and with a small army, which mind you does not have an air force(danger looms on the horizon), and to top this, we are out abusing our young??? All the Turks have to do is wait until we finish killing ourselves, and then they just walk into Yerevan and take possession of our country. Conclusion: Our neighbors have stolen our lands, our churches, our names, our culture and have grandoise designs for our small country, the least we can do is treat our conscripts and welcome them to the army with love and understanding.

To anonymous, hahaha trust me I have close friends serving in the U.S Army. I know very well what happens behind the scenes. What democracy are you referring to? the one where U.S soldiers commit suicides or where they turn their guns on their own. Wait did you forget how in fort worth just recently 13 were killed. There is your transparency and democracy. You can't even compare. This is the first time in Armenia something of this caliber has actually occurred.

Anonymous "The US is a democracy"??? You are joking right?

To Damn and MikeD. First we should not compair our Army to Azerbaijan's or the USA army. If the shootings are happenning in their armies it does not mean it is alright if it happens in the Armenian Army. Secondly, why do you compair only bad things. The USA also has a lot of positive things, such as more democracy, transperancy so forth. Compair those things as well and see how far Armenia is legging behind. "Excuses are for loosers".

This kind shootings happen in US almost on monthly bases, at schools, universities, churches, businesses, and army bases. Interestedly rampages like that are more common in well developed countries where the average citizens are much well off then in poor countries. In Armenia till now we never had shooting rampages even though, Armenians lived through much tougher times. Now, a kid that grew up in US and was like a piece of garbage through out of country, went on shooting rampage in Armenia. Armenia should not accept any Armenian criminal deportees from other countries, Armenia does not need garbage.

Azers/Turks shouldn't even be talking. This happens on a monthly basis in the azeri millitary. You always here one guy shooting a few officers before turning the gun to themselves. This is the first time in the Armenian army that 6 are even killed. In Azerbaijan this has happened in the same caliber if not worse 3x within 2010 alone. Either way Armenian defense ministry needs to take approaches and not take convicts into the army like Ayvazian who had mental issues before he was enlisted.

to "anonymous"...and what are you doing besides attacking Armenians? Are you a tashnag or a turk? (not much difference when it comes to your attitude towards Armenians)

to Armen from Yerevan, yeah publish your posts in 5 different languages that will make our Army really better... if you guys care about Armenian army contribute not just bluff all day on forums

My condolences to all who have fallen in all circumstances of the armed forces. It is hate, simply hate has taken over our people, ideology of money has blindsided our society. The solution to this problem can not come through emotional outbursts, the solution to this problem is that we as people have to believe within ourselves and allow the good side to come out, united and strong. An officer without subordinates is no officer at all, a soldier without a wise leader is just an armed civilian. Remember all this starts from the home, the way we discipline kids and this is magnified in an all male arena. An officer's one of many prerequisites must be an educator. The conscript based military does not cut it for our country since it has a small population and for a professional military it takes huge sums of money. For better or worse this is what we have, either we call it quits or clean up our act. The government is an anti Armenian element, yet there is no alternative to what there is. Let us all brain storm together and come up with a solution, let us all collaborate with one another. I wish you strength, patience and peace to all my people.

after the recent political developments, i think it is obvious by now that Turks (Turkey and Azerbayjan alike) are still on the same path of destroying Armenia. I've yet to see a scenario the Turks agree to that has something positive to Armenians....go back to 1988 borders, no independant Artsakh state, no genocide recognition, anything for Armenia??? It is a typical Muslim mentality against a Christian minority in the near east, just extermination and humiliation...this isn't new... it seems all this is a waste of time... Not to sound like an extremist but Israel's experimentation with professional Jewish soldiers should be implemented in Armenia as well. Diaspora Armenians should be able to join Armenian forces when the need comes to defend the motherland. It is a simple reality under the current circumstances... And for that to happen the Armenian army has to function differently, there is no room for murder inside the new army.... There have been rumors that Azerbayjan wanted to attack Karabakh when the Armenians/Turks signed the protocol last year.... Turks are not going to change, at least the vast majority for now, we can't afford another Genocide that few Turks would show condolences on the streets of Istanbul... We shouldn't expect to call ourselves 'Armenians' worldwide when we do not do anything that makes Armenia stronger... 'Armenians' need an 'Armenia' to make sense in this world.....

... Or the soldier could have been drinking at the post... Another very common case.... Nevertheless, it's a leadership issue.... While the frusturation of the commenters here are totally called for, the calls for not sending kids to army is unacceptable and is a dangerous mentality... It shows total lack of sense of ownership towards your country and your army... With that type of thinking you should put "our army" in quotes... The accoutability lies with the entire population of the country and Armenians around the world, and with that kind of comments you are just trying to clean your name, which is a falasy... Instead of fruitless hretoric. We should wholeheartedly support the army and, at the same time press for immediate reforms and accountability through social, political, and judicial means... But unfortunatly, we as a sociaty are too amature for that...

We have a very small country squeezed like a small sandwich between two marauding Turkic states. We have a small population about 3 million, mostly poor(about 78% of Armenians in Armenia are considered poor, just above the poverty line), and then we have a small clique of well to do and very well "connected" oligarchs who number roughly about 400. The year was 2007, and I was visiting Armenia for the 3rd time. A mutual friend asked me if I wanted to visit the house of one "corporal Agop" in Gyumri. I was expecting to enter a modest house of a fine young soldier serving our nation, my sadness and disgust became quite obvious once I entered a tin shack that was fit for animals but not humans. My point: "Here we have a poor Armenian, whose family lives in a tin shack, just like animals, but who was honest, modest and proud." On the other face of the same coin, another Armenian, who was a Nobody 20 years ago, and who lived in a one bedroom apartment, suddenly has the most luxurious hotel in the Caucasus." This my dear Armenian compatriots is wrong. We cannot and should not allow a bunch of thieves, who steal from the Armenian people, and then go around and abuse our kids. I don't understand our backward mentality. The world has come to know us as arrogant, selfish and greedy people, not to mention our national character, abusing our own children. Trust me, if one day, God forbid, Armenia is betrayed and forsaken, guess who will do the fighting for the poor Armenians left in Armenia, your guess was as good as mine.... THE POOR. Whereas the well to do oligarchs, including Serzh, LTP, Kocharyan, Seyran and the well fed and fattened generals will flee the country on the first plane out of Yerevan. I was expecting to see huge demonstrations on the streets of Yerevan against this chronic abuse of our young soldiers, but unfortunately we all are cowed into submission to our abusive lords living like royalty.

The thing I want to know, why was this soldier sleeping on his post. Was it because someone else had forced him to do his shift and he was tired, or was it because he had been working all day and than had to do a night duty, or was it because he was mentally ill and unfit for army service, etc. Soldiers are not robots. If this soldier was a victim of abuse by his fellow solders and the officers and was tired and fatigued, than his body could have shut down involantarily. I have seen in Soviet Army where some solders were so tired that they could sleep whilst doing dishes or standing. "Fish decays from it's head" and ofcourse the officers and the government are responsible. I know in professionla armys the soldier is respected when he knows his job, works hard and fair and shows good leadership and teamwork. Unfortunatey in Armanian Army it is the other way around: the more you bludge and abuse your fellow solders the more respected you are. Something nees to be done to stop this and held accountalbe all responsible parties.

I'm with you, Jean and John. The youth are our future and should be treated as such. The era of sending soldiers into machine gun nests are over...we need a PROFESSIONAL and DISCIPLINED military.

Mt Bagratuni, Amen' to your comment. I myself moved to the USA from Yerevan and I assure you the whole nation would stand by your words!!! Nobody want to serve in Armenian army, because you have no idea if the very young soldier will come back alive, or if he comes back alive in many cases with with stomach damage(bad food) or some disease. No ONE wants to serve in Armenian army, whoever can safe their sons from "serving". My nephew served in army and he told us there was no even toilet paper, SHAME on you SERJ!!!

Reminds me of "A few good men"...

Very much like "A few good men"...

Unfortunately for the Armenian army generals, who mind you are all morbidly obese (funny I have never seen a lean mean army general in our armed forces, all are simply put F A T), the lines of Discipline and Brutality are blurred to the extent that both of these go together very very well hand in hand. Some might argue that these kind of things happen all over the world..but I don't give one red cent for that flawed explanation. China, which has a standing army of about 4 million, has not have had not one single murder in their ranks since 1965. The same goes to Turkey, with a standing army of 675,000 men. Now, it is the unfortunate norm in Armenia, that every few months, some conscript is brutalized and this leads to murders. I hope not one single Armenian serve in this wretched army, until the guilty are brought to justice. And then the M.O.D. goes around complaining that young Armenians try to evade military service. Here is my challenge to ALL readers of Armenia Now. I guarantee that this WILL happen again next year, if you think I am joking, here is what I will offer each Armenia Now members: $50 to each of you if "murder in the ranks" does Not materialize by this time next year(You can get my email from Armenia Now)." It will happen again, just wait and see. Let us do the job for the Turks, and slowly but surely kill all our young recruits serving selflessly in the armed forces. Remember: It is the children of the poor and the disenfranchised that are serving in our army. Children of the "well to do" and "children of oligarchs" are out doing nothing but drive brand new cars and chase women on the streets of Yerevan. The whole country, including the army, is ran by C R O O K E D people. They should all face the F I R I N G S Q U A D S.

If it's not Armenian politicians pistol-whipping electricity workers, it's Army commanders torturing their own soldiers. Armenia is a strange place where Armenians fear their political masters almost as much they used to fear the ruthless "horse-shoer" of Van, Jevdet Bey, in 1915. http://www.aidarmenia.com/images/jevdet-bey.jpg

What the hell? This absolutely appalling and embarrassing, not to mention an absolute tragedy that one of our own soldiers would be driven to murder-suicide to avoid what was probably going to be a harsh and inhuman punishment. Serzh and the rest of the oligarchical pigs running our government better deal with this kind of problem soon, lest we have an army left to defend us.

The actual Karabakh army is a organization with very young soldiers, sympatic young men. They are innocent and being used of a governement with old men like Sahakian who still lives in Cold War attitudes. The problem is that in Karabakh its their only way to have job to serve in army. Karabakh has no economical future as an independent state. Better Armenia investes in his future, the education of young people of Karabakh and Armenia then to finance a army of a unrecogniced territory.

Dear Jean Jaques Bagrationi, you must understand that this is not fault of the useless government, or the same soldiers, this is the ARMY. This kind of violence happens because of two reason: 1) For more than the heroic approach we Armenians give our army, still, the army all around the world is known as a place where you worth nothing, and you are treated like nothing until you show you are worth something, and that may take years. That kind of measures which are used to "discipline" can have a positive effect on some, but there are any kind of people who will not tolerate such circumstances. You cannot expect all conscripts to be strong-tempered and carry on, there will be weak-tempered people who will grow mental disorders and explode any time from all the abuses and humiliations you suffer in the army. You just cannot say it is not like that. And dear Bagrationi, this happens not only in Armenia.,..have you ever read all the people who die in similar circumstance in Azerbaijan? We are lucky that this is something that doesn't happen so often, although it is increasing, almost every weak more than two soldiers die in Azerbaijan by the hands of his own partners, or in mysterious "accidents". And that is where the second reason takes action: 2) We were part of the Soviet army, and we grew with a Soviet mentality, and our army specially has the remains of that Soviet mentality. During Soviet days, the "mighty" Soviet army was one of the most dangerous places to be. If there are abuses and humiliation in other armies, the Soviet one was the cherry on top of the ice-cream. That kind of mentality sorrily still stands in former Soviet states, and specially in Armenia. I send my condolences to the families of all those poor people victims of the conditions they have to live, it is as you say, unfair and sad to know that a mother can send her boy only to be returned in a casket. This must stop, yet, it is not the government or anyone's fault, it is the mentality of our people's fault. If we want to change this, we must change the Soviet-era thinking, specially when it comes to the army...we are doomed otherwise.

Jesus Christ, how are we going to defend Armenia if we keep abusing our youth in the army? Is this going to stop, or we will kill ourselves until the army is no more. Serzh and Seyran better move their fattened rear ends and stop this nonsense. Cruelty to animals is punishable by 15-20 years in state and federal prisons in the USA. Cruelty to human beings in Armenia is rewarded by absolute silence. Shame on Serzh and Seyran, these two must be thrown out of office. It is simply UNACCEPTABLE for an Armenian soldier to die at the hands of fellow Armenians. Where are the so called patriotic Armenians worldwide when their voices are needed? I would strongly suggest that not one Armenian serve in the armed forces without a "signed agreement" between the conscript and the government, where the life of the conscript is guaranteed not to end at the hands of his superiors. Otherwise, I will support any young Armenian Not to serve. Why would a poor parent send his son to serve in the army, if he is returned home in a casket? This is EXACTLY what happens when you have leaders who care less about the welfare of the population, and who are more interested in fattening their bank accounts and dealing and wheeling with oligarchs. May God bless the souls of all these 6 martyred soldiers. Bravo to the Armenian army, you are doing a more efficient job killing your own soldiers, then the Turks. I could Never understand the brutal treatment of our soldiers in this wretched army.Bastards.