"Defense cooperation with NATO has been and continues to be one of the pillars of Armenian Defense Policy and Defense Reforms. The main outcome of the cooperation with North-Atlantic Alliance in the framework of 2nd IPAP cycle was the Strategic Defense Review of the Republic of Armenia, a process aimed at matching Armenian Defense sector with the security environment requirements and addressing the appropriate challenges. As a result of the SDR we have developed the Armed Forces 2011-2015 mid-term development plan, which ensures management of Defense under democratic and civilian control." Seyran Ohanyan also talked about the participation of Armenia in the international peacekeeping operations under the leadership of NATO and noted: "The other important area in the cooperation with the Alliance was the improvement of interoperable capabilities. During the participation in the operations we are provided with valuable support in strategic airlift and logistics by Germany and Greece. Recently we have increased our contribution to ISAF, with the deployment of 81 strong contingent in Mazar-e-Sharif and providing 5 instructors for NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan. Taking into account the strength of Armenian contingent in Kunduz (40 soldiers), currently there are 126 soldiers deployed under German operational control. In the framework of the Transition process in Afghanistan, if required, we will consider the possibility to reinvest our personnel in training and mentoring tasks". ARM Defense Minister noted with satisfaction that Armenia-NATO cooperation contributes to the development of professional military education and professional NCO corps: "The SDR conclusion gave an impetus to the professional military education and professional NCO corps development, currently being carried out in the framework of comprehensive process of Human Resources Management reforms of Armenian Armed Forces, and also addressed in the draft Armenian Military Education Concept. In the military education and training area a substantial contribution has been demonstrated by NATO-led expert group, as well as by individual efforts of Canada, Romania, Czech Republic, France, Italy and Bulgaria. In 2013 we anticipate to start senior officer`s command and staff courses, which will serve as a basis for the establishment of command and staff academy. The development process of Special Civil Service in the MOD is right underway, and in this area we have successfully cooperated with Norwegian MOD. With the support of the US and the UK experts we are currently working out professional NCO corps development strategy. We consider this process as a tool to improve operational effectiveness of units, and discipline in Armed Forces, through the combination of officers` knowledge and NCO`s experience." ARM Defense Minister also referred to human rights in the Armed Forces: "We fully understand that we should not afford tolerating dozens of deaths under non-combat conditions. Human rights protection in the Armed Forces and improvement of discipline are among our primary goals. In this regard we envisage adopting a new disciplinary code; the efforts to improve officers` military education, combat training procedures, technical equipment, and development of professional NCO corps are also directed towards this end".