Serve, suffer, sacrifice
This year, 27 non-combat deaths have occurred in the Armenian army, nine of which were suicides. Road and training accidents, as well as murder, were also major causes of young conscripts' deaths. These losses have sparked public debate about the state of the Armenian military.
In Armenia, conscription has always been mandatory, with most 18-year-old boys required to serve for two years. Yet, everyone in the country is painfully aware of the deep-rooted issues plaguing the armed forces – staff incompetence, corruption, inadequate food and housing, rampant harassment, and toxic masculinity.
Nikol Pashinyan's government came to power after the 2018 Velvet revolution with promises of a more egalitarian Armenia. Although they have implemented reforms in various areas, meaningful institutional changes in the military remain overdue.
Mandatory military service is gaining renewed interest across Europe. Many politicians and experts argue that the continent must be prepared to defend itself against external threats, with leaders in several countries openly advocating for the reintroduction of conscription.
Unfortunately, this push is often accompanied by a romanticised view of military service – the way you'd see them in American movies. In the Netherlands, where I currently live, I've spoken with people who see conscription as a means of fostering patriotism and shaping the minds of young conscripts. While some European countries consider reintroducing mandatory conscription to foster patriotism, others, like Armenia, maintain it out of sheer necessity. What many fail to recognise, however, is that, especially in Eastern Europe, military service continues to claim young lives far beyond the battlefield.