Tert.am has interviewed Muraz Sargsyan, a retired Armenian lieutenant-general who now teaches military education in secondary schools.

The merited high ranking serviceman, who for 30 years served in the Soviet Army and some 22 years in the Armenian Armed Forces, expressed his high esteem and trust of the younger generation whom he considered smarter, more literate and devoted.

“Our future is in the hands of a good youth, so we have to help them to choose the right path and be above us in everything,” he said.

Asked whether he doesn’t see disappointment in the younger generation (which very often complains about social injustice in the military), the lieutenant-general said he doesn’t think it would be right to expect absolute equality everywhere.

“My son is a general’s son, and he was on the frontline for 19 years. Could the sons of [Minister of Defense] Seyran Ohanyan and [Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces] Yuri Khachaturov have served in a different place? That’s the law of nature, but let us not follow the things that others are doing. Injustice has always existed. The way I maintained law and order in the Soviet Army surprised all people. I never saw the son of a library director or a rich person serve in the military then. I no longer even look for such people. Let the parent himself think about it, as such an attitude is a sign of faithlessness in the child. So we cannot label everyone.”