AANSI’S GROUNDBREAKING DRIVE FOR SUPPORT OF ARMENIA’S DEMOCRACY, SOVEREIGNTY, INDEPENDENCE & DEFENSE
Posted on April. 26. 2024
A televised conversation took place between US Army Major General ((Ret.) Mark MacCarley who’s also the founding chairman of AANSI the American Armenian National Security Institute, and Appo Jabarian. The conversation took place on the eve of the 109th anniversary commemoration of the 1915-1923 Turkish-executed Armenian Genocide. Below is the text of the conversation. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnIrnlPCf0U
APPO JABARIAN: good evening, my name is Appo Jabarian and my guest today is US Army Major General ((Ret.) Mark MacCarley who’s also the founding chairman of AANSI the American Armenian National Security Institute and it was founded in the aftermath of the 2020 44-Day anti-Armenian aggression by Azerbaijan, Turkey and ISIS in response to Armenia’s need and as a follow up by a major concern expressed by the American Armenian community members and not just American Armenian community members but also, fellow Americans who have affinity with Armenia. Welcome Mr. MacCarley.
MARK MACCARLEY: thank you Appo. I really appreciate the invitation. In fact, it’s been some time since I was last on your program. But I think; we’ve had some substantial developments since that period and when Artsakh was overrun by the forces of Azerbaijan and over a 100,000 Armenians who had made their lives in Artsakh were forcefully evicted and that was a tragic day.
But now we’re looking forward to the future and are outlining how AANSI the American arm Armenian National Security Institute can contribute to making a better situation in that part of our world.
APPO JABARIAN: Could you please tell us what was the most recent activities undertaken by AANSI?
MARK MACCARLEY: We’ve talked on earlier shows Appo AANSI has what we call three lines of effort meaning three big objectives that we have outlined we put these objectives together at the very outset of the formation of AANSI and first is education and we focus on education not only in the United States contributing to the discussion of Armenian issues especially the issue regarding the maintenance of the sovereignty and security of Armenia but we also teach in Armenia and last February the end of February as part of a program that AANSI started two and a half years ago we send two or three recently (Ret.) us Military Officers always at Star rank generals and they along with other expert experts will find themselves at the Republic of Armenia its army war college and that educational institution is called the National Defense research University.
And for a little over a week these American subject-matter experts work very closely with their counterparts in the Republic of Armenia Army and there are discussions about evolving tactics and techniques and how best to utilize the strength of the Armenian Army as a Force for good as an organization that can successfully defend the borders of Armenia so that began in late February and we concluded the I think it was the 3rd of March this year so what other line of efforts is an the performing now the second line of effort is consistent, Appo, with our Charter and that is charity and philanthropy and AANSI raises money.
We’re going to have an opportunity to do that in about two months at our third annual Taglyan banquet and we ra money and some of that money a good portion of that money is directly contributed to veterans hospitals in Armenia to assist those severely wounded members of The Armenian Armed Forces who have sacrificed almost all to defend their country how about the third line of the third line is perhaps the one that is most both challenging to AANSI but as well it’s one that perhaps provides the most value to Armenia and that is AANSI’s Humanitarian Support Brigade.
The AANSI Humanitarian Support Brigade is not a military organization. It’s not a militia by any stretch of the imagination. What the Humanitarian Support Brigade is, it is a group of Armenian Americans, Armenians from throughout the Diaspora and non- Armenians who are very supportive of Armenia and its quest for continued freedom and the development of its Democracy — that’s the best way of explaining it.
AANSI supported 47 Armenians and non- Armenians from throughout the diaspora and these 47 came to Yerevan and found themselves in the Aragats training area which is about 35 miles Northwest of Yerevan where they learned first aid first responder what we call first responder tactics and the whole intent of the training is to develop a group of people throughout the diaspora who can respond within 96 hours of a call from the Armenian Ministry of interior to come to Armenia and to assist in providing humanitarian assistance during times of great need.
And great need could be anything from a flood, it could be an earthquake, it could be a massive fire in an urban area such as Yerevan. But it could equally be the consequence of some sort of military activity by an enemy against Armenia. And so, we train these young people and I say young because young with us can mean somebody all the way up to the age of 65 or 70. I think one of our oldest participants was 70 years old. Not all will succeed in this intense training but all the 47 benefited from participation in classes ranging from First-Aid to Emergency Communications to some fundamentals about construction and removal of debris and there one and a half weeks or so of training I think to each one of them Pro very valuable and they become a Cadre that once again can be called forth to Armenia in times of Crisis
APPO JABARIAN: From what I understand the AANSI American Armenian National Security Institute Humanitarian Support Brigade training is not consisted of only training but also some cultural activities to my knowledge. Can you please elaborate on that and could you share with our viewers as to what percentage of the last year’s participants in the Humanitarian Support Brigade training were individuals who have visited Armenia for the first time in their lifetime?
MARK MACCARLEY: and that’s the other benefit of that line of effort that we call support the Humanitarian Support Brigade because we extended invitations to Armenians of the diaspora, we had participants from all over whether it’s Armenia itself Syria we had some from France we had some from Canada all of whom came together all came together in Yerevan and then we pushed out to Aragats to begin the training. but when we did a survey of those 47 participants, 23 of them had never been to Armenia in their lives.
They are children of the diaspora or grandchildren of those who suffered the horrific genocide of 1915 or great-grandchildren of those who survived 1915 genocide and for them it was not only the training that was attractive which caused them to sign up and fly with us to Yerevan but it was equally the opportunity for them to spend time and we allocated enough time so that these people would have the opportunity to visit some of the cultural highlights of Armenia be it the genocide Memorial the war museum monuments to ancient culture in Goris.
All these activities contributed to what I believe for almost everyone I’d say everyone who participated all had what could be called a very stimulating and educationally profitable week and a half in Armenia through their participation with the Humanitarian Support Brigade.
APPO JABARIAN: Could you please share with our viewers about the makeup in other words looking at the roster I noticed there are quite a few non- Armenians next to you for example the former mayor of Carson California and a son the son of National Press Club past president Randy Allen. Could you tell our viewers as to what was their reaction how did they feel themselves for being in Armenia for the first time?
MARK MACCARLEY: I think the best way to answer that is to ask that same question of myself and why was it important for me to participate with the Humanitarian Support Brigade why was it important for me to come forth and assist in the creation of the American Armenian National Security Institute and those who see that Armenia is really the last Bastion of Democracy in the South Caucasus.
It’s a country that has a wondrous history going back Millennia and it is a place of great cultural development and so people from around the world who have that same passion.
They do not have to be blood Armenian. What they have to be is a man or woman who believes in the importance of Freedom and the importance of preserving a nation that is quite frankly, the ancestral home of so many Armenians.
Certainly Armenia, their ancestral home and so they come there with great enthusiasm they participate in every single one of the Humanitarian Support activities and I think they come away when they leave at the end of the training and they come away with a vastly magnified understanding and appreciation of all that is Armenia as a nation as a culture and as a wondrous place where men and women are striving to become a citadel of democracy in the South Caucasus
APPO JABARIAN: Recently AANSI’s media team American Armenian National Security Institute media team put together a almost a one minute commercial infomercial that is about the twin activities that are upcoming activities by AANSI the first one is on June 13 the 3rd annual banquet and the second one is the August 2024 second Humanitarian Support Brigade training in Armenia. Let’s watch the commercial and we’ll continue our conversation.
TV Commercial:
Attend the 3rd annual American Armenian National Security Institute – The AANSI BANQUET on June 13th.
Become an active supporter of Armenia’s Democracy, Sovereignty, Independence and Defense.
Join us to celebrate the impactful work by AANSI.
Featuring The World Premiere of a New AANSI Documentary.
Also Featuring AANSI’s Founding Chairman, Retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Mark MacCarley and other distinguished public speakers.
The proceeds will support the 2nd AANSI Humanitarian Support Brigade’s training in Armenia this August and its Educational mission.
Make a difference by joining the AANSI Humanitarian Support Brigade this August. And please attend the June 13th banquet in Los Angeles.
For tickets or information call 818-241-5800
APPO JABARIAN: What I love about AANSI is that under the able leadership by US Army Major General (Ret.) Mark MacCarley and its founding chairman AANSI is contributing to the creation of a new culture in the Armenian diaspora which is not really new because right during the time period when the Armenian Genocide was being perpetrated at the hands of turkey from 1915 to 1923 at that time the Survivor generation of the Armenian Genocide created a worldwide diaspora wide movement under the banner of Armenian legionnaires to support Armenian sovereignty Independence and defense.
Back in those years and they made a huge difference. So thanks to US Army Major General (Ret.) Mark MacCarley this culture of revitalizing the diaspora to create a new mindset to be psychologically and intellectually and physically be ready to be deployed to the motherland to the ancestral homelands in times of national emergency but not just in times of national emergency but anytime to land a helping hand in supporting Armenia’s democracy Independence sovereignty and defense and also economically speaking make a contribution and make Armenia’s economy a strong economy. My question to you, Mr. MacCarley: What is it that we can each do in order to make our personal contributions to these efforts?
MARK MACCARLEY: Well first of all Appo I should thank you for the undeserved compliments I’m committed and so are so many others to Armenia and what Armenia means to the world and as we find ourselves in 2024 we look at what I call two of the most important activities that any organization can engage in when working with Armenia.
The first, of course and it’s what we focused on and what you’ve described, is assistance to the military to maintain the sovereignty and the stability of the borders of Armenia from any enemies now of course an is not a military organization but as I described earlier in our conversation AANSI does participate in seminars conversations and has developed a series of courses that we provide to senior officers of the Armenian army they of course share their learning and understanding and together I think we build relationships between our two countries that in times of Crisis will become very important so number one is and this is across the board around the world there is no such thing as a nation without the maintenance of its sovereignty and the protection of its borders but the second and we begun to look at this very closely is the development of economic opportunities within Armenia.
Armenia is an emerging country it has a wonderful reputation historical reputation for being a center of technology and manufacturer unfortunately when the s IET Union collapsed and the Soviet Union the Russians decided to remove themselves from Armenia they took a lot of that manufacturing infrastructure and left Armenia with very little.
Now, at this point in time, there are many who have realized the value of investment in Armenia — monetary investment and intellectual investment in Armenia which would give Armenia the opportunity to attract people once again those who have found themselves in different parts of the Diaspora, to return to the Homeland, to return to Armenia, because it will be a place of dynamic Economic Development. It will be a place of extreme excitement and opportunity and that’s what we, at AANSI, want to assist in that effort as well. It’s a bit different from pure education but at the end of the day, you want a country that is vibrant economically as well as culturally and is capable of defending itself against all enemies. So that’s one I suppose, we could call that, the newest line of effort for AANSI.
APPO JABARIAN: thank you Mr. MacCarley. Is it true that the second Humanitarian Support Brigade training participants will be taken on field trips to Syunik which is the southern region that connects Armenia with Iran and the Gulf States and the great wider greater Middle East and also other cultural sites in various parts of Armenia?
MARK MACCARLEY: Yeah, no question about it, Appo. As I described just a few minutes ago the training itself is complemented by the immersion of our participants those who have opted to participate in the training and they’ll see as much of Armenia as we have the time to do so but this corresponds of course to their training the most important thing of course is the understanding of the various tools and knowledge NE necessary to become qualified First Responders that will support Armenia in times of Crisis but at the same period of time we’ll have our participants they’ll find their way with us of course to the Syunik area and to various parts like lake Sevan and so if you want to look at it that way, you got a great benefit in participation and participating with the Humanitarian Support Brigade; 1) you receive state-of-the-art training and number 2) you’re going to have one wonderful adventure in Armenia
APPO JABARIAN: one other thing that I found out about is that AANSI is a nonpartisan non-political organization and it does not receive funds from neither the US government nor the Armenian government it’s funded by supporters who have the spiritual intellectual and political maturity to understand appreciate the kind of effort the lines of effort that Mr. MacCarley described earlier in our conversation so it’s not enough for us to participate in protest rallies in Los Angeles, Washington DC, New York, Paris, all around the world to commemorate the Armenian Genocide. As a third-generation survivor I am in search of new approaches.
One of my friends has asked me if USA Armenian Life was planning to put out a Special Commemorative Issue on the Armenian Genocide. I said “no” the editorial team along with many fellow Armenians and friends of Armenia, are in the process of rethinking The Armenian National Strategy. I’m glad to acknowledge that there are numerous Armenians in Armenia and the Diaspora who are rethinking the national strategy as to how to achieve Justice that we couldn’t achieve so far during the last 100 years plus? So, in my opinion, one of the best ways to pursue justice is to be in total solidarity with the Republic of Armenia especially in the aftermath of the series of tragedies that took place from 2020 to 2021 and 2022 September attacks by Azerbaijan against Armenia proper and the staged depopulation of Artsakh Nagorno Karabakh in September 2023. Apparently, our efforts, our people’s efforts in United States and elsewhere during the past 100 years has not been that much successful.
Now I’m a firm believer in the New Horizon that is being opened up by a unique organization like the American Armenian National Security Institute. I’d like to ask Mr. MacCarley to share his perspective.
MACCARLEY: Well thank you, Appo and again, I appreciate the invitation from you and your newspaper to participate in this TV show. But I’ll emphasize as you’ve touched upon, AANSI is a nonprofit organization registered with both the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the State of California. We take no money from the US government. We take no money from The Armenian government. We depend on our supporters who have been behind us from the very beginning and who have contributed to the good works that we have completed in Armenia — the educational programs.
The contributions to hospitals, for disabled Armenian War veterans and the Humanitarian Support Brigade. These are things that we do but we do them with – I have to say this and emphasize this — we are nonpolitical. We don’t associate with any organization or political party in Armenia and we don’t associate with any political party in the United States.
JABARIAN: Thank you, Mr. MacCarley. I’d like to share with our TV viewers the fact that neither Mr. MacCarley nor myself as Founding Vice President of AANSI are remunerated for our efforts. This is 100% volunteer efforts and also, I’d like to acknowledge several members of the American Armenian Media outlets that have contributed and are continuing to contribute to AANSI’s efforts. One of them is The Armenian Media Group of America (AMGA) the other one is AABC TV, the other one is ARTN TV and also USA Armenian life and Hye Kiank newspapers with their print and online editions. All the announcements and the advertisements that are being published and disseminated by all the media Outlets including USA Armenian Life and Hye Kiank are being offered as a courtesy — at no charge. Please join the efforts. Join the visionary supporters of AANSI
TV Commercial:
Attend the 3rd annual American Armenian National Security Institute – The AANSI BANQUET on June 13th.
Become an active supporter of Armenia’s Democracy, Sovereignty, Independence and Defense.
Join us to celebrate the impactful work by AANSI.
Featuring The World Premiere of a New AANSI Documentary.
Also Featuring AANSI’s Founding Chairman, Retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Mark MacCarley and other distinguished public speakers.
The proceeds will support the 2nd AANSI Humanitarian Support Brigade’s training in Armenia this August and its Educational mission.
Make a difference by joining the AANSI Humanitarian Support Brigade this August. And please attend the June 13th banquet in Los Angeles.
For tickets or information call 818-241-5800