Albanians, towards military uniform - From salaries, to infrastructure. Why is the interest in being part of the Armed Forces growing so much?
Year after year, there has been an increase in interest in contributing to the country's security. The Armed Forces Academy's bachelor's program has received a record 1,634 applications for only 70 available spots in the 2025-2026 academic year. This represents a 46% increase in interest in joining the Forces compared to last year.
The greater desire to serve the country comes after a series of investments by the Ministry of Defense to improve and modernize infrastructure and education programs, accompanied by salary increases.
The state budget for this year offers higher salaries for the Armed Forces. The Minister of Defense, Pirro Vengu, has stated that the salaries of military personnel will increase significantly and continuously, with the aim of reaching the NATO average by 2029, while the increase is expected to be 60%-70% for basic salaries and about 30% for high levels of command.
Another incentive is the fact that in the first bachelor's year, a student of the Armed Forces Academy is paid around 800 euros per month, which increases with rank and seniority.
As for the educational infrastructure, part of the Armed Forces Campus is expected to be inaugurated this year. With an area of 7600 m², the new campus offers modern classrooms and auditoriums, a training range, a swimming pool, laboratories and functional facilities that meet the highest standards of military education. This campus will be transformed into a regional cadet school.
Meanwhile, the project in collaboration with Israel for the construction of the Aviation School buildings in Vlora has already been completed.
The Armed Forces Academy also offers 3 master's programs. For the first time this year, in collaboration with the University of Vlora "Ismail Qemali", a master's program in "Armament Engineering with a Profile in Aviation and Naval", has been opened, while work is underway to open a doctoral program in collaboration with the University of Tirana.
Applying to join the Armed Forces is very simple, but getting accepted is not so easy. For a number of 70 places there is a lot of competition among applicants, most of whom are excellent, with an average grade of 10.
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