This opinion was expressed by Radu Burduja, Executive Director of the Euro-Atlantic Institute, former Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense, commenting on Moldova’s new Military Strategy.
“In the new strategy, the concept of “active neutrality” appears, and it is envisaged to increase the National Army by 2 thousand servicemen. We need to understand very clearly: in order to attract two thousand more military men, we need money and an efficient recruitment system. In recent years, we have seen stagnation and a decrease in the number of conscripts we manage to attract. Accordingly, in my subjective opinion as a military expert, I do not believe that it is possible to achieve this goal without changing the format. What I mean is that we should focus on contract soldiers, and not continue to conscript people by force, which does not create a real combat capability,” Burduja commented in the Eurosecuritate program on Vocea Basarabiei.
According to the expert, the transition to a professional army is an inevitability if the country wants to have a modern, combat-ready army.
“Contracts by military personnel are usually for three years and can be extended; they receive a salary and social guarantees. For officers, it is usually for five years, renewable. I believe that we need to move to a professional army based on contract service. In the current system, soldiers who come for conscription mostly do not want to join the army, and this is a big problem. They perceive it as a waste of time – they come for one year, they don’t get money, even if the army really teaches them something – discipline and so on,” the former Defense Ministry secretary general said.
Burduja also notes that the quality of conscripts is another big problem:
“With all due respect to these guys, you can’t discriminate against them. But students enter universities and are exempted from the army. Those who have money go abroad and stay there as long as it takes to avoid the army. Not to mention bribes and other means of evasion. As a result, we are left with soldiers whose level of training is unfortunately low, and, consequently, the necessary combat readiness is not formed. And today’s wars are characterized by high technology – weapon systems, complex electronic equipment, anti-aircraft complexes, drones and so on. The question arises: can such soldiers master and operate this equipment?”.
He believes that radical changes are needed – abandoning the current mixed system in favor of a fully professional army consisting of contract soldiers.
Today, according to the Law on the Preparation of Citizens to Protect the Homeland, military service in Moldova takes the following forms: fixed-term military service (1 year); shortened military service (3 months); military service under contract; military service of reservists called up for military training or mobilization.
As Logos Press previously reported, at one of the last meetings of Dorin Recean’s government, the Military Strategy was approved, which defines the directions of development of Moldova’s national defense system for the next 10 years. According to the document, the number of the Armed Forces will be increased from 6,500 to 8,500 servicemen, and military expenditures will increase to 1% of GDP by 2034.
