"The army is absolutely necessary. This is one of the pillars of statehood. If there was no army and defense, the state could not exist," Head of Defense, Gen. Andrey Botsev said in an interview about the 15^th anniversary of Bulgaria's NATO membership on the eve of the Day of Bravery – May 6.

“For 15 years in NATO, about 14,500 soldiers have participated in overseas missions,” Gen. Botsev recalled. “This means a lot of teamwork, as well as gaining experience and abilities,” he added, but admitted that for this period, the only fulfilled recommendation out of a list for small, modern and mobile army was that the army was small. In order for the Bulgarian Army to become modern, Gen. Botsev relies on modernization projects worth about BGN 4 billion, which should be implemented in the next 10 years.

"We have three major projects aimed at the three types of armed forces. There are also many smaller projects that do not require such great resources. All of them are focused on forces available,” the general said and added that the land force project proved to be much more complicated than expected due to lack of methodology and specialists in the ministries of defense and economy. The Chief of Defense expressed hope that in the next four years, the Bulgarian soldier would be equipped in the same way as other NATO troops, in order to feel confidence and equality.

Gen. Botsev recalled that in 2018 and 2019 the salaries of the military rose by 10%. Number of places at the National Military University was also raised. The army also relies on the "Be a Soldier" campaign that started a few months ago to provoke interest in military profession.

"In 2018, for the first time, the number of people leaving the army was smaller than the number of people entering it by about 150 people. With the ‘Be a Soldier’ campaign, we want to motivate people to apply for military service, because the military profession is safe and gives you the chance for development. In Land Forces we have announced a competition for 185 places and documents have been submitted by over 470 candidates. "

“Both Europe and the United States have a problem with attracting professional soldiers,” Gen. Andrei Botsev said. He believes, however, that legislative changes would speed up military recruitment procedures. According to him, the problem is that soldiers are needed against the backdrop of aging mobilization reserve. This is because, since 2007, Bulgaria has had no conscript service to fill this reserve.

"It is very difficult to persuade society to restore the mandatory recruitment service. For the last few years, politicians have realized that we must have a well-equipped and well-armed army, according to the latest NATO standards and technologies. We also need staff able to handle new high-tech equipment," General Botsev said.

Editor: Elena Karkalanova

English: Alexander Markov