Kazakhstan to have professional army by 2016

Kazakhstan will have a professional army in 2016, Tengrinews reports citing the press-service of Kazakhstan Defense Ministry. Kazakhstan Defense Ministry plans to complete the transition to the professional army within the nearest two years. Currently Kazakhstan army is formed a mixture of professional military men and conscripts. 65 percent of the militarymen in Kazakhstan are contractors. While the number of conscript soldiers is being decreased and the drafts are becoming smaller every year. Besides, according to the Defense Ministry, conscripts with higher education, now have a right to switch to military service on contractual basis after serving for 6 months as conscripts. Constricts without a higher eduction get this option only after a year. “The Defense Ministry currently has around 12 thousand conscript soldiers left. 6 thousand of them are completing their service this autumn, while we will draft only 1.5 thousand now conscripts in autumn. Another 6 thousand conscripts complete their service in spring 2014, and again we will draft only 1.5 thousand young men. In time we will transit from drafting 1.5 thousand to drafting 500 people. I think that 99 percent of the Kazakhstan army will be made of professional militarymen by 2016,” first deputy Defense Minister and head of the General Staff of the Kazakhstan Armed Forces Colonel General Saken Zhassuzakov said.