DUSHANBE, June 18, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- A group of young officers have joined the ranks of Tajikistan’s Air and Air Defense Forces.

On June 17, a group of young officers received diplomas certifying that they successfully graduated from the Faculty of Aviation at the Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense (MoD), Faridoun Mahmadaliyev, a spokesman for a MoD, said.

According to him, the Faculty of Aviation was established in 2004 and those officers are the fourth cadet graduate from that faculty.  “Before that, we had to send our military cadets to Russia, Kazakhstan, China and India to study these disciplines,” Mahmadaliyev said.

Tajikistan''s armed forces consist of Land Forces, Mobile Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Presidential National Guard, and Security Forces (internal and border troops).