The main problem of the Bulgarian military forces is the shortage of personnel, former Defense Minister Angel Naydenov said in an interview for BNT.
He warned that raising army salaries by 30% was definitely not enough of a step.
"Many other solutions are needed - a social package related to their professional development, career and their families. To have investments in terms of housing for military personnel. There is currently a huge housing shortage for military personnel. Investments in relation to conditions of military service. No investment has been made in the barracks areas for years. There should be changes related to the regulatory framework for the professional military career, there should be comparative predictability for the realization of military personnel", Angel Naydenov listed.
He also reported other problems of the Bulgarian army, related to lack of resources, technological backwardness and delayed modernization.
"Even if you have money and equipment, when you don't have people, everything remains a solution on paper. The incompleteness is already increasing and exceeds the 20% that we are used to indicating in recent years. It is currently 21.8%. There are military formations where there are no officers. The shortage of officers exceeds 26%, of soldiers it is close to 28%. Some formations are short of more than 40%. According to the program for the development of the defense capabilities of Bulgaria, the number of military forces should be no less than 43,000. There is an option to be below them. The shortage for the Bulgarian army exceeds 5,000 people," the former defense minister warned.