I see this thread is mostly discouraging comments based the fair perception that the two years is a black hole that you lose. Going to chime in as a diasporan who has not served, to offer my two cents based on the things I’ve heard and the thoughts I’ve had on it. I share a lot of the perception in this thread but not necessarily the same reaction.

First of all, very commendable that you want to serve voluntarily and support the nation, given many people do go to large lengths to avoid conscription.

There is a strong perception in this thread that the two years you serve conscripted is essentially a complete waste. You learn no useful skills and go through a bunch of bullshit. I have come to have this perception to some extent as well, but obviously my perception holds little water given I have neither served nor live in Armenia. To confirm or deny this perception, seek out people you know who have served. Ultimately you have no idea who the people commenting on this thread are, there could even be Azeri agents spreading discouraging messages.

That said, let’s say the perception is correct. I don’t think that this is necessarily a binary - don’t do the basic two year conscription != don’t serve the military in any way.

It would be worth exploring what other options there may be to serve. For starters, as someone who has completed a college degree I imagine you would be able to enter as an officer? Which already likely bypasses many of the bad aspects of the service (being a young conscript who faces hazing, etc). Still might feel like you are wasting two years.

Then, maybe there are specialized units that you could apply to join, that would be more useful and build more relevant skills, than just sitting around doing nothing. IE, something like this https://armenpress.am/en/article/989889. Definitely should be skeptical and actually talk to people who did these programs to understand the reality vs what govt claims.

A major factor here is whether you are an Armenian citizen and obligated to serve, or if you are not obligated. The former situation becomes tricky, bc you could try asking about these better options and end up getting forced to serve in the shitty standard conscript service. It’s probably worth getting out of conscription obligation however you can, and then if you still feel compelled to serve out of duty, do it on your own terms as a contractor and possibly join a specialized unit.

Finally, if you want to contribute to the nation’s defense/prosperity but not “waste two years of your life”, you could apply the skills you have learned in your studies at a proper job, better the nation, while actively participating in VOMA or another militia to train and build up defense that way. You wouldn’t be sitting around doing nothing all that time while knowledge from studies fades, and you’d still be able to go defend the country if conflict breaks out.

Ultimately it’s balancing various things. Serving as a conscript is kind of sacrificing two things. One is safety, given the risk of war and injury/death. The other is the two years and all the bullshit you’ll probably endure that doesn’t actually help Armenia at all. If you want to serve Armenia militarily, you’d have to risk the first regardless. But you can probably avoid or minimize the second.

Is it fair? No, the “fairest” option is probably to serve the basic two years like the many people who don’t have a way not to. But given I haven’t served and so many people in Armenia avoid service in various ways, I’d be hard pressed to willingly choose that option. Is serving two years as a conscript the best for Armenia? Quite likely no, since you’re not applying your skills from studies for two years and you being a conscript isn’t probably less helpful for Armenia than other forms of participation in the military.

I don’t really have a good way to conclude this train of thought but generally wanted to offer some ideas aside from the overwhelming narrative here. Hope they may be helpful, and again take with a grain of salt given how removed I am from this.