Back to square one

Combating the negative socioeconomic consequences of defense reform is one of the priorities of Ukraine-NATO cooperation, said Gerard Malet of the NATO Economics Directorate during the presentation of the NATO Partnership for Peace Trust Fund program at the Center for the Retraining and Social Adaptation of Retired Servicemen based at Khmelnytsky National University.

This center, founded in Khmelnytsky in 1996, will now be funded by NATO. In the first six years of its existence, the center was financed as part of the TACIS program. Between 2002 and 2005 funds for the retraining of Ukrainian military servicemen were furnished by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as well as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). In the past three years, 378 officers have successfully completed courses and obtained diplomas, 260 of whom found employment, said Mykhailo Voynarenko, director of the Khmelnytsky retraining center.

In September 2005 the Netherlands, as NATO’s contact embassy in Ukraine, undertook to finance over the next three years the NATO Partnership for Peace Trust Fund to retrain and socially adapt about 600 retired servicemen or those about to leave the service. The fund’s budget is about 500,000 euros.

This project guarantees the continuation of the program launched by Britain in 2003. Officers are given courses in market studies, management, computer systems, and computer technologies. This process also envisages the creation of vacancy data bases and holding employment fairs.

The Netherlands’ Ambassador to Ukraine, Ron Keller, believes that this project will provide a new impetus to long-term cooperation between Ukraine and NATO. According to the Dutch ambassador, the project partners decided to increase their financial aid to Ukraine so that as many retired servicemen as possible can adapt to civilian life.

The head of the NATO Economics Directorate noted that the retraining of Ukrainian servicemen is also financed from NATO’s civilian budget. This year the aid has been doubled, which will make it possible to retrain between 100 and 200 Ukrainian officers, who will also be taught English, German, French, and Italian.

The local authorities say it is very important that the retraining and adaptation center is situated in Khmelnytsky. This region was particularly militarized, and now it is crucial to adjust former servicemen to civilian life, says Serhiy Melnyk, deputy chairman of the Khmelnytsky Oblast Administration. According to Melnyk, servicemen once accounted for 10 percent of the oblast population, but tension was relieved thanks to the center’s activities. The deputy governor is convinced that the three-year project will provide a new impulse and that this segment of the population will find its proper place in real civilian life.