Armenian parliament raises age threshold for contract military personnel

YEREVAN, April 19. /ARKA/. By a vote of 103 and 2 abstentions, the parliament of Armenia has passed today in the second and final reading a set of amendments to the law on military service, which raise the age threshold for contract military personnel.

According to the changes, contract privates and junior non-commissioned officers, both males and females, can remain in active duty until they are 55 years old. Junior officers can serve until 57. The threshold for majors and senior lieutenant colonels is raised to 60, and that of senior colonels to 63.

Edmon Marukyan, the leader of the opposition Bright Armenia party, who is a co-author of the changes, noted earlier that under the current legislation, the age threshold for contract servicemen is 40-45 years, which means that after reaching it they should resign.

According to him, many healthy and in good physical shape males aged 40-45 with extensive military experience, want to be recruited as contract servicemen and serve their homeland, but cannot because of the age qualification.

He said this in view his party initiated legislative changes to raise the age threshold for contract servicemen. He said that war veterans with experience of active involvement in hostilities and appropriate professional skills should be given the opportunity to engage in military service. -0-