Today (January 28) is a holiday in Armenia – Army Day – this year marking the army’s 18th anniversary.

In 1992 this day the decision on ‘The Ministry of Defense of Armenia’ was made, and a historic decree on the establishment of the army was signed.

The Armenian army was formed based on about 80 voluntary detachments, which already fought in the Nagorno-Karabakh War since 1988. Vazgen Sargsyan was named the first Defense Minister of Armenia (he was a commander of one of those detachments before becoming a minister).

The Armenian Army overcame the bigger and more substantially supplied Army of Azerbaijan in Karabakh, establishing itself as one of the most efficient armies in the region.

The army, though, has itself fought a battle of perception, as mistreatment and even deaths among conscripts – often at the hands of officers – has been a troubling reality that current Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan has vowed to change. The minister says that according to the defense reforms program approved for 2008-2015, several reform measures will be realized in the army, which will significantly strengthen it.

This comes, though, as the defense budget has been necessarily cut due to economic crisis. In 2010, the funds allotted by the State Budget for defense was reduced to 33 billion drams ($86 million) as compared with 2009, totaling 116 billon drams ($305 million)..

For the past four years, alternative military service has, where mainly representatives of religious minorities serve. However, the prospective of having a professional army is not near yet.

Chief military commissar of Armenia, Major-General Kamo Kochunts told ArmeniaNow that the creation of “a professional army is very important, but extremely expensive.”

“Contractual sergeant service is already applied in the military forces of Armenia, but applicants are few, and the border defense is already implemented by the contractual military servants: about 8,000 contracts have been signed,” Major-General Kochunts clarifies.

Today will be a day of ceremony throughout the republic, including the annual visit to ‘Yerblur’ Military Pantheon to commemorate Nagorno-Karabakh war victims.