NATO experts support Armenia’s efforts to modernize military education
From 28 June to 1 July 2010, a team of military education and training experts from NATO met with high ranking Armenian officials in Yerevan for one of a series of visits requested by Armenia to assist with its military education strategic review.
The NATO team reviewed the recent progress made by the Armenian Ministry of Defence to develop a design for a new military education concept.
The Military Education Concept, inspired by the experiences of other militaries and tailored to Armenia’s particular situation, foresees a significantly modernized junior officer course. It will also include new senior and higher military education courses within a well-structured defence education and training system.
The greatest challenge will be to build a sufficient cadre of qualified instructors, and full implementation will take years. Armeniahas nonetheless made significant progress, and will begin the new junior officer course this fall.
The Armenian participants came from the Ministry of Defence, the Army and Air Force institutes, and the National Strategic Studies Institute. The NATO team, led by Mr Jean d'Andurain from NATO’s International Staff and Dr Jim Barrett from the Royal Military College of Canada, also comprised representatives of academia, NATO's International Military Staff and Allied Command Transformation. The team included experts from Canadaand Romania, and an Austrian expert from the Peace Support Operations Training Centrein Sarajevo.
These visits aim to support the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) agreement between NATO and Armeniawithin the larger context of Partnership for Peace (PfP) activities. The PfP programme is in part designed to enhance military interoperability among NATO and its Partners.