Armenia: Women to be recruited in proposed voluntary military

PanARMENIAN.Net - Deputy Minister of Defense Gabriel Balayan has said that women will be involved in a proposed all-voluntary military in Armenia, Sputnik Armenia reports.

According to him, no discrimination will be applied when it comes to recruitment in the civilian militia.

For several years now, women have also been enrolled in military schools, the Deputy Defense Minister said.

"In the first stage, women will perform non-combat missions, should they express such a desire. There are female officers, sergeants in the army reserve force who are not assigned to specific military units," Balayan explained.

He also said that the creation of an all-voluntary military does not mean that armed people will be freely roaming the streets.

Defense Minister David Tonoyan provided some details about the proposed volunteer military in the country, explaining that the move seeks to first of all solve the problem of organizing self-defense in border villages.