Those Exempted from Military Service to Join Local Defense Forces

A draft law stipulates that the replenishment of local defense forces will be carried out by individuals who have been removed from reserve registration due to age. This was announced by Sasun Simonian, head of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Defense, during a meeting of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Defense and Security, while clarifying provisions for amendments and additions to the Law on Defense. The draft replaces the previously existing provisions regarding the Territorial Defense with those of local defense forces.

He stated that such individuals are not considered mobilization resources. "The second group of reservists also includes those with less experience, for instance, those who have served for less than six months," Simonian noted, emphasizing that the issues concerning local self-defense forces are clear and differ from the preparation of personnel replenished through mobilization during wartime.

According to Simonian, local defense forces will be replenished with reservists registered in the second group, who are older and are not primarily assigned to the units that get reinforced during wartime. The head of the Ministry of Defense's department clarified that individuals exempted from mandatory military service for health reasons are recorded in the second group of reserves and may join local defense forces.

“If the provisions regarding Territorial Defense have not been implemented for three years, what value does this law hold?” Manukyan remarked, pointing out that the existing law stipulates that the government has not appointed deputies for territorial defense or the deputy mayor of Yerevan during these years.