The First Notion in the Army is ‘National Survival’

According to the correspondent of Iran Book News Agency (IBNA), the unveiling ceremony of the book “Achievements of Sea-Oriented Diplomacy” was held on Sunday, 25th of Aban (November 15), at the General Command Headquarters of AJA (Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran). Attendees included Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, the author of the work and Chief of Staff of the Army; Mehdi Kamous, writer, researcher, and advisor to the Army’s Specialized Publishers Desk; and Ebrahim Heidari, CEO of Book House.

Ebrahim Heidari, CEO of Book House, emphasized the necessity of documenting the experiences of military commanders in wars, explaining: “The experiences of our army friends during the war are a great legacy for us. I believe we should create the conditions for these experiences to be properly transferred to future generations. Based on my studies, Rear Admiral Sayyari was present in the eight-year war and has valuable experiences that he can transfer to me and others like me. We can provide a correct narrative of the 12-day war; a narrative of a nation that wholeheartedly stood behind the country’s military force and preserved this country. These need to be written for future generations.”

He added: “The stage after writing is the stage of distribution and dissemination of books. Our society needs books. In the General Staff of the Armed Forces, there are 150 active publishers, and we must strive to pay attention to content and quality alongside quantitative growth. The formation of this assembly and specialized working groups helps to identify challenges and harms. Finally, I thank the generous hosts who help ensure that, alongside military power, our cultural sphere also becomes powerful; both in the specialized and public domains.”

Mehdi Kamous, advisor to the Army’s Specialized Publishers Desk, referring to the notions or perceptions of a book, said: “Initially, I will express the notion of a book in three steps: The first notion is ‘development indicator’. The number of book printings and their publication is directly related to the country’s per capita study, which indicates the scale of the country’s development indicator. The second notion of a book is that a book is a media matter. And the third and final notion is ‘identity’; a book as a civilizational element and symbolic capital of Iranian identity.”

He added: “We also have several notions regarding the army: The first notion of the army is ‘national survival’. The second notion is ‘creating a common sentiment and national consensus’. And the next notion is ‘strengthening the national spirit’. Now, these notions of the army have been combined with the notions of a book, and the result was the idea of forming the ‘Army’s Specialized Publishers Desk’.”

The thirty-third Iran Book Week, with the slogan “Read for Iran,” commenced on Saturday, 24th of Aban (November 14) [1404 Persian calendar year] and will continue until 30th of Aban (November 20) [1404 Persian calendar year].