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REP H UB EC L Z IC C WWEE HHAVEAVE CCOMMITMENTSOMMITMENTS TTOO MMEETEET 1/2010 NNewew MMinisterinister ooff DDefenceefence introducedintroduced iinn ttoo hishis OOfficeffice We have commitments to meet Prime Minister of muscle, but fat if necessary. I do not want the cuts be the Czech Republic, done indiscriminately and impair the lowest ranks only.” Petr Necas, introduced The new defence minister stressed the defence Dr. Alexandr Vondra to department needed support from the public, without the offi ce of Minister which it would be able to sustain development of the of Defence following military, and at the same time it needed stability and the appointment of guarantees for those who are serious about defence of new Czech Cabinet by the Czech Republic and its international commitments. the President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Klaus on July 13, 2010. In the process of assuming the offi ce of the Minister of Prime Minister Necas said in his remarks that Defence of the Czech Republic, Alexandr Vondra gave an Dr. Alexandr Vondra had worked in foreign and security interview to www.army.cz – the following is an abbreviated fi elds for almost twenty years and represented a high version: added value for the MoD department. At the same time, Minister, what changes have been the key ones in the he thanked outgoing Minister Bartak for his high-quality development of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic performance. over the past twenty years? PM Necas confi rmed that the department of There are three breaking points in my view: progressive defence faced challenging tasks. ”As to international downsizing of the excessively large armed forces, joining commitments of the Czech Republic, we must remain NATO including deployments for major international a reliable partner, we must keep participating in foreign operations and transitioning to all-volunteer force. These operations in a credible manner. At the same time the three steps were essential and correct. But unfortunately defence department must be able to handle budget not all the reforms were performed with a clear vision. restrictions and the process of making fi nancial fl ows Some decisions were voluntaristic and rather close to and acquisitions more transparent must continue, not improvising, while we keep repying the arising dues only at the MoD, but across governmental departments arising to date. In a way, we are still lacking a clear and agencies.“ answer to the key question: what do we have the military Dr. Alexandr Vondra in his fi rst address as the Minister for and what for we will be using it over the next fi fteen of Defence thanked the outgoing minister Martin Bartak to twenty years. We owe the answer and we must offer it for his endeavour in national defence. He said that both to soldiers inside and the public outside, because we faced huge budget cuts but he did not want to put we will not do without their support. defence of this country in danger. “I do not want to cut What will be the fi rst steps you are going to take at the Ministry of Defence? In the weeks ahead, we will be preparing the budget for the next year. We have undertaken in the coalition agreement to save CZK 2.1 billion. My objective will be to identify possible savings in all types of expenses so that the cuts would not fall only on non-commissioned offi cers and soldiers although it would be the easiest solution for some high-ranking people. In nutshell – if we are to cut anything, it must be fat, not muscle. In addition to that, I would like to call on the defence community to set up a group comprising civilian and military experts both from inside and outside the MoD Department, who will be tasked to the White Book, an essential policy document about the future of the Armed Forces. NATO highly values Czech contributions s t to operations ................................................... 2 n Three days in Operation ISAF ........................... 4 e Looking Ten Years Ahead .................................. 6 t In AWACS over Europe ..................................... 10 n Czech Republic successful o in addressing a major NATO challenge .............. 16 C Contents Mountains and Sand Checking Czechs .............. 18 Crisis Management “Brussels style“ ................. 24 Caring for Security and Cooperation ................. 26 How will you resist the pressure OSCE ............................................................. 30 of your coalition partners aiming to obtain necessary The Drill that’s going to Pay .............................. 34 funding by curtailing defence Journey to Millie Paygham ................................ 38 appropriations? Architects of International Relations ................ 42 The crisis forces us to seek savings in the long run. But the Multinational Logistic Coordination crisis is also an opportunity. Center: One Step Closer ................................... 46 Defence cuts may not go on Safeguarding Part of the Sky ............................ 48 forever; we should stabilise them instead. The practice of everyone Every Mission Unique ...................................... 52 in need of quick funds grabbing for Like Playing a Computer Game ......................... 56 the Ministry of Defence’s budget Two Years of OMeLeTte .................................... 60 must simply be brought to an end. Armed Forces development Bozena at the Jordan River ............................... 63 CZECH ARMED FORCES REVIEW 1/2010 planning period may not be limited Published by Ministry of Defence of just to twelve months, and change the Czech Republic, Presentation and Information Centre the amount of funding every year. Admiral Di Paola then met The Chairman of NATO Military Committee, Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, arrived with General Picek at the General Staff for discussions on Prague July 15, 2010, for a two-day visit of the Czech Republic. transformation of Czech Armed Events Forces and on options available to Czech Armed Forces. General Picek and Admiral Di Paola Address: also touched on modernisation We also have commitments to projects underway in the Czech defence department. Their discussion focused on operations and primarily the Rooseveltova 23 missions in Afghanistan. “The Armed Forces of the Czech Republic has always our NATO Allies to meet. We must worked actively in foreign operations and that will 161 05 Praha 6 continue. Such efforts will however be based on political decisions of our political leaders and will depend on the number one. “Presently, it is essential to invest into potential of national economy,“ General Picek stressed. training Afghani National Security Forces. Secure future Admiral Di Paola’s military service career has been of Afghanistan is also a secure future for us. In case Czech Republic deliver them and not hamper on extremely rich - he commanded Cappelini and Sauro savings are needed, the restrictions should be done in NATO highly values submarines as well as Garibaldi aircraft carrier and overhead and administrative functions, not operations,“ served in senior positions of the Italian Ministry of Admiral Di Paola stressed. Defence and Defence Staff. In a press conference he On Friday, the Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee stated: “As a NATO representative, I would like to say had a call on the Defence Minister Alexandr Vondra at Tel.: + 420-973 215 553 Czech contributions that the Alliance is very grateful for all contributions the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic. Their the Czech Republic is providing into operations in discussion covered the involvement of Czech Armed Kosovo and Afghanistan. Despite the difÀ cult economic OfÀ cers in international efforts, primarily Operation our credit as a reliable Ally with situation impacting on other Allies alike, NATO remains ISAF in Afghanistan, and the ongoing transformation of to operations very grateful for your participation in those efforts.“ Czech Armed Forces. Tel./fax: + 420-973 215 569 The Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee also said The Czech Republic will send a new unit to Afghanistan increasing the number of instructors in Afghanistan was an – an operational mentoring and liaison team to provide Friday,Friday, JulyJuly 16, 2010, Admiral Di Paola attended an ofofÀ cial welcomingwelcoming ceremonceremonyy important moment on the way towards improving security training to Afghani National Army personnel. A À fty- situation in the country. As to NATO’s requirements member team to operate in the Wardak Province in with military honours in the Honorary Courtyard of the Vítkov National MemoriaMemorial,l addressed to the Czech Republic, they are the same as Afghanistan will deploy in a September timeframe. The E-mail: [email protected] ill-considered fi scal planning. accompanied by the Chief of General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces, requirements addressed to all other Allies, and it is up new deployment, however, À ts within the number of to each NATO nation how those contributions will be service personnel in foreign operations mandated by the General Vlastimil Picek. realised. But Afghanistan remains operational priority Parliament for 2010. The schedule of Admiral Di Paola’s visit also included The welcome ceremony also involved the Military a brief call with the President of the Czech Republic, Representative of the Czech Republic in NATO and EU, Václav Klaus. Lieutenant-General Jaroslav Kolkus. After reviewing the Czech Armed Forces Honour Unit, Admiral Di Paola with www.army.cz What concept should the General Picek laid a wreath to the Memorial at Vítkov. photos by
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