History of the People's National Army
The National Service a locomotive of construction and development
The national service was instituted within PNA on 16th April 1969; at the time, the country was engaged in a vast program of development and transformation, whether at the economic, social or cultural level.
Today, the National Service can be proud of a considerable contribution to the development of the country. This participation has been demonstrated in the implementation of projects to enhance rural areas; construction and restoration of dams, construction of hydraulic installations and road infrastructure; the installation of electric and telephone lines, etc. furthermore, it was illustrated by the construction of agricultural villages, airports, hospitals and polyclinics (including the contribution to the construction of the Central Hospital of Army / Ain Naadja), university housing estates, schools, high schools, etc. for example, land development programs or reforestation campaigns, such as those carried out in Saida in 1970-1971… etc.
But the most spectacular achievements of the National Service, particularly present in the memory of Algerians, remain:
The African Unity Road or Trans-Saharan, aimed to open up the regions of the Algerian Sahara and to the historic opening of a modern traffic road between the Maghreb and the Sahel. With a length of 2000 km, it constitutes one of the finest contributions of the PNA conscripts to the regional development plan and continental integration.
The green dam intended to slow down the desert advance towards the north, through an immense plantation site over a length of 1500 km and a depth of 20 km, or three million hectares covering the high plains and the foothills of the Saharan Atlas.
The construction of agricultural villages: the young conscripts of the national service have also participated to the construction of 1000 agricultural villages and modern housing with all their convenience, to complete Independence in all areas and change the deteriorated social reality from which large categories of our people have suffered.
In addition, Algerians still remember the decisive participation of the National Service during the deadly earthquake which struck, in October 1980, the town of Chlef (formerly El Asnam) and its surroundings. Since then, it has always been present alongside the population during major natural disasters, such as the floods in the Bab-El-Oued, in Algiers, in November 2001, and the Boumerdes earthquake in 2003. Finally, we should mention the contribution of the PNA to various humanitarian works such as the construction of reception structures for the benefit of the elderly or in distress, like the Diar Errahma centre in the municipality of Birkhadem (Algiers).
Thus, defined as the mobilization of the country's potential, national service embodies the link between the armed forces and the people, proved at many times in the country's history.
National service has developed over the years to follow the transformations that our country has undergone; of an initial duration of two years, the National Service was reduced to 18 months then to 12 months, and this within the framework of the professionalism and the modernization of the army. In addition, a large number of the National Service offices and centres are spread across the different wilayas of the country to bring the Administration closer to the citizen, particularly for those living in inaccessible and isolated areas.
The national service was instituted within PNA on 16th April 1969; at the time, the country was engaged in a vast program of development and transformation, whether at the economic, social or cultural level.
Today, the National Service can be proud of a considerable contribution to the development of the country. This participation has been demonstrated in the implementation of projects to enhance rural areas; construction and restoration of dams, construction of hydraulic installations and road infrastructure; the installation of electric and telephone lines, etc. furthermore, it was illustrated by the construction of agricultural villages, airports, hospitals and polyclinics (including the contribution to the construction of the Central Hospital of Army / Ain Naadja), university housing estates, schools, high schools, etc. for example, land development programs or reforestation campaigns, such as those carried out in Saida in 1970-1971… etc.
But the most spectacular achievements of the National Service, particularly present in the memory of Algerians, remain:
The African Unity Road or Trans-Saharan, aimed to open up the regions of the Algerian Sahara and to the historic opening of a modern traffic road between the Maghreb and the Sahel. With a length of 2000 km, it constitutes one of the finest contributions of the PNA conscripts to the regional development plan and continental integration.
The green dam intended to slow down the desert advance towards the north, through an immense plantation site over a length of 1500 km and a depth of 20 km, or three million hectares covering the high plains and the foothills of the Saharan Atlas.
The construction of agricultural villages: the young conscripts of the national service have also participated to the construction of 1000 agricultural villages and modern housing with all their convenience, to complete Independence in all areas and change the deteriorated social reality from which large categories of our people have suffered.
In addition, Algerians still remember the decisive participation of the National Service during the deadly earthquake which struck, in October 1980, the town of Chlef (formerly El Asnam) and its surroundings. Since then, it has always been present alongside the population during major natural disasters, such as the floods in the Bab-El-Oued, in Algiers, in November 2001, and the Boumerdes earthquake in 2003. Finally, we should mention the contribution of the PNA to various humanitarian works such as the construction of reception structures for the benefit of the elderly or in distress, like the Diar Errahma centre in the municipality of Birkhadem (Algiers).
Thus, defined as the mobilization of the country's potential, national service embodies the link between the armed forces and the people, proved at many times in the country's history.
National service has developed over the years to follow the transformations that our country has undergone; of an initial duration of two years, the National Service was reduced to 18 months then to 12 months, and this within the framework of the professionalism and the modernization of the army. In addition, a large number of the National Service offices and centres are spread across the different wilayas of the country to bring the Administration closer to the citizen, particularly for those living in inaccessible and isolated areas.