Servicemen who move from mandatory military service to contract service under the Homeland Defender program will be eligible for additional bonus payments. The corresponding decision was adopted during a government meeting.

Such an opportunity had previously been envisaged through amendments to Armenia’s law “On Military Service and the Status of Servicemen,” and has now also been confirmed by a government decision, Sputnik Armenia reported.

Under the current program, a conscript who serves six months can sign a five-year contract and, upon completion, receive a 5 million dram bonus payment in addition to salary received during service years. Under the new decision, contracts may now be signed not only for five years, but also for two years.

Under legislation adopted by the National Assembly, contracts for beneficiaries of the Homeland Defender program will be extendable by an additional two or five years. As a result of the new changes, participants will receive 1.5 million drams for two additional years of service, and another 5 million drams if they continue serving for an extra five years. In total, over a ten-year period, beneficiaries could receive 10 million drams in bonus payments.

At present, around 6,000 servicemen are participating in the program. Since the summer conscription campaign alone, 906 applications have already been submitted.