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The article deals with the Information Support of Human Resources Management of the Ministry of Defense in terms of providing information on the quantity and quality of the personnel of the department for decision making processes. The first part describes the tools and methods of analysis for processing this information. The second part provides practical examples of this information support. On the basis of analytical studies the status of staff is presented in 2015 and 2016, supplemented by comments from the author, indicating possible ways of presenting and using this information in Human Resource Management. The author of the article, which presents the results of the long-standing experience of the creator of the information management support system, concludes that the data generated by this system could lead the adoption of a number of fundamental strategic decisions.

Research into the use of structured analytical techniques has shown that analysts use specific structured techniques to achieve better analysis results than using traditional intuitive approaches. The experiment was based on solving the analytical tasks of two intelligence scenarios in a set of 32 people. To verify the null hypothesis, a chi-square test of independence was performed at a 5% significance level. In the control/intuitive and experimental/structured technique groups, responses were evaluated in four criteria, in an overall qualitative intelligence analysis, in rank corps, depending on the time of service and education. The number of correct answers was the highest in the experimental group when dealing with the intelligence analysis criteria for both scenarios. Improved analysis of the experimental group in the second scenario solution was statistically significant. The null hypothesis, using structured methodology improves qualitative intelligence analysis, is not rejected. In the experiment, other test criteria are below than the critical value. The results of the research have shown that the success of the problem solution is influenced by the correct use of the Hypothesis Testing technique. The use of structured techniques depends on the level of knowledge and the type of intelligence problem. At the same time, the conduct of research has shown the influence of analysts' cognitive biases.

The present article is devoted to the new kind of the Polish Armed Forces, namely the Territorial Defence Force (Polish: Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej, WOT), the essence of which is, i.a., territoriality. Among the many tasks facing this kind of military unit, there are the ones involving non-military threats.
By connecting the two basic elements mentioned above, the authors present in the following article the possibilities of using the Territorial Defence Force and the alternate process of administering the armed force component on a voivodeship level.

The paper deals with the process of radicalization in the armed forces in Central Europe, with specific focus on the Czech Armed Forces and the Bundeswehr. The author conceptualizes radicalization as a recent security threat and explains the specifics of the use of this concept in the armed forces. The most important historical legacies are identified and the current development cases and trends are analyzed and compared, including the specifics of various streams of extremism. Possible recommendations how to counter radicalization are included in the paper.

Africa has became synonymous with conflict, increasingly violent and protracted. The continent is facing huge difficulties today and the EU is more and more involved in peace enforcement and expeditionary operations. Therefore the purpose of this article is to inform and pass knowledge of operational environment to those Czech soldiers designated to deploy overseas and abroad. It covers topics such as operational areas, understanding EU Battle Group operational Environment and Africa's operational environment. It is necessary for Czech soldiers to understand African operational environment very quickly and profoundly to avoid unfortunate misunderstanding of the local culture, customs, believes, religions, regional official and customary laws. It is a new challenge for the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic to be prepared for the CZE/SVK Battle Group. All information and data for this paper were drawn from unclassified sources.

The main topic and focus of this article is to identify the most relevant indicators of the rise of religious extremism as an important cause of armed conflicts. A religiously motivated conflict is a relevant topic in modern security studies and research. Conflict prevention using the early-warning indicators identified in this article might be interesting for the security expert community. In the article chosen methodology is available with the recommendation to following research in the examined field.

The article deals with current state of infantry fighting vehicles training and evaluates current status of training documentation (mainly based on own experience). It focuses on the development of crew training mainly based on example of wheeled IFV PANDUR II. The goal of the paper is open a professionally discussion on the topic the IFV´s crew training. Mainly evaluates training maps, which the author regards as essential.

The paper deals with the ability of engineer units to provide engineer mobility support in combat operations. Based on the analysis of the results of structured interviews conducted with extensive amount of the Czech Armed Forces officers, and their generalization, were found discrepancies between the current and required state in the organizational structure of engineer units to provide effective mobility support, and requirements for engineer devices to support mobility in the Czech Armed Forces conditions were formulated. The aim of this article is to present recommendations for inclusion of different types of engineer devices into formed engineer formations for mobility support in relation to the tasks performed within engineer role of mobility support and determine recommendations for the further direction of research in this area.

The concept of modular forces seems to be an ideal solution for a topical dilemma: how to build a single set of units for a wide range of military operations. However, the concept of unit modularity has its limitations. The article explains how the modular force structure supports flexibility and consequently brings increased demand on the number of support units. For this reason, the modular force organisation cannot be built without massive investment in support capabilities. The concept of modularity includes the risk that shortage of support units will significantly limit the readiness of forces for a large conventional war. The author presents four recommendations for the application of the concept of modularity at a national level to facilitate the formation of allied forces.

The aim of the article is to make the general public acquainted with a new view of the state service issue and to offer the author´s observations and conclusions relating to state service issues. The article briefly explains the public service and defines the relationship between the public service and the state service. It describes the organization of the state service and the entities of service relationships in the Czech Republic. It deals with the employment relationship - its origin, non acceptance for employment relationship and its termination. It presents important milestones of the employment relationship, such as an oath of service, a clerical exam and a service evaluation. It characterizes the state service within the Ministry of Defence, clarifies the role and responsibilities of the Secretary of State within the Ministry of Defence, state employees and other categories of the staff in the service office.

The authors present the results of the research on the Lessons Learned process applied within the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic. The main purpose of the article is to introduce the proposal of the process optimization to readers. The paper describes the process in detail, and this description is used to identify procedural shortcomings exploiting the process analysis method in terms of factual and logical accuracy of the process. The following part of the article presents the results of the comparative analysis of the chosen Lessons Learned processes. The result of the comparative analysis allows authors to make in an innovative way suitable recommendations for optimizing the current state of the whole process of Lessons Learned. Based on the analysis of the educational programs, the paper proposes to include the subject of the Lessons Learned process into the learning outcomes, especially from the perspective of competency based approach to education.

Military Intelligence plays important part in national defence, indicating particular kinds of potential threats to the Republic or Allied partners. Its effectiveness mainly consists in evaluating the security situation continuously and in exchanging of intelligence information between our services and the Allies, with the aim to detect any potential threats and to eliminate a possibility of surprise in time. According to Act No. 153/1994, concerning the intelligence services, its activities are strictly limited by law. It gains information from open sources (OSINT), by means of signal intelligence (SIGINT), human intelligence (HUMINT), and by using intelligence equipment and tools (IMINT, imagery intelligence). The author proposes to establish central organizational unit, in order to organize, assess, and evaluate individual intelligence branches, their intelligence support to individual target addressees. It should be allowed to reallocate both material and financial sources in form of proposals, reflecting developments of individual intelligence branches.

The paper analyses goals of the Slovak and German foreign and security policy focused on their role in NATO as well as on the role by forming European security and defence policy. The paper deals with potential and opportunities for more intensive and effective cooperation between Slovakia and Germany regarding their security and defence policy orientation. It finds out that there are some important NATO and EU projects and initiatives, such as "out of area" missions engagement, battle groups building, Framework Nations Concept or a new announced project Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) to be used in the deepening process of Slovak-German security and defence relations.

Light Infantry units are primarily equipped with the Iveco light armored vehicles in the Army of the Czech Republic. Similar type of vehicles was acquired by the armies of some other NATO members. Armored LMVs represent a new category of equipment and no specific tactical procedures have yet been created. The aim of the text was to develop general tactical light infantry procedures for the current training needs of units with Iveco LMVs. In the text, combat battle drills on vehicles and tactical procedures for the use of light units equipped with the LMV Iveco have been created. Combat deployment experience and results of live simulation were main source of information for development of LMV tactics and procedures. Presented procedures can be used for training of units equipped with LMV Iveco. The use of light armored vehicles also showed the design limits of this technique. LMVs Iveco cannot fulfill the role of primary vehicle of light infantry units on a conventional battlefield mainly due to their low level of endurance.

The article deals with approaches and tasks of education in the field of security and state defence of the Czech Republic. It is based on the legal framework and informs the professional public about the initiative and process of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic and Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic in particular area. Preparation of citizens for state defence conception, which was approved by the resolution of the Government of the Czech Republic on the 1^st April 2019, reacts to results within the implementation of this Conception adopted in 2013 and reflects an unsatisfactory situation in its realization. It deals with new approaches and tasks of education in the field of security and state defence.

The article deals with the mental strain, as subjectively perceived by Czech soldiers and their families in the course of and after return from international missions. The research part was processed based on nine in-depth interviews with soldiers with different experiences from foreign missions. The data were processed with the help of grounded theory. The results showed that the involvement in missions is mainly positively assessed, primarily thanks to professional development. The operations bring specific stressors; additionally to critical situations, there is primarily the stress related to separation from the family and the cabin fever. The soldiers cope with the stressors thanks to the contact with their families, thanks to a good team, leisure time activities and support from the chaplain or the psychologist. The duration of the adaptation stage after the mission varies very much. It includes problems with restoring contact with the children and adapting to routine life, as well as the envy of surrounding people, considered by the soldiers a "Czech particularity", caused by low positive publicity of the Czech army.

The article focuses on the issue of foreign fighters from the Balkan peninsula, and examines the measures that have been taken by governments in the region to combat it. The author asserts that the first ISIS losses and the thinning of the first wave of enthusiastic recruits accompanied with the first disillusioned returnees and changes in public policies and in public discourse (political narrative and narrative of Islamic communities, mass media) caused the unprecedented decline in the number of new recruits.

The authors' intention is to present findings to which they came while analysing the implementation process of the EU Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), especially in the area of EU operations planning and development of capabilities required for achieving the EU level of ambition. Only issuing the EU Global Strategy in 2016 and its subsequent implementation process seems to be a momentum for specifying commitments stemming from PESCO. At present, there is a list of common binding commitments which 25 of 28 EU member states have signed to. This list includes specific commitments as for development of required capabilities needed for achieving expected objectives of CSDP operations. Nevertheless, a very critical point related to the current PESCO implementation process is whether the present level of EU member states integration allows fully completing all highly ambitious commitments as declared by political leaders.

The paper deals with general aspects of problems of biological warfare agents and toxic industrial biologicals understanding from the point of view of protection against their effects and a possibility of specialists´ cooperation. The aim of the paper is to point to some problematic aspects of biological defense realization in connection to experiences from their historical usage. With the help of analysis of current strategical and operational documents and synthesis of available experiences from operational deployment of medical service and chemical corps units variants of optimization of current state have been proposed. These ones are main conclusion of the paper.

At present, it can be seen a tangible progress in the NATO-EU common approach to deal with challenging security issues. Paradoxically, it has been economic recession in combination with growing danger of arising armed conflicts, specifically on the European continent territory, to start up the closer cooperation between NATO and the EU. Logically, the current security situation ended in conclusions that the complementarity between NATO and the EU became a real necessity and only interaction between the Alliance and Union?s security and defence policies could bring required effects, while upholding global and local security stability. The article is available only in the Czech language. For more information please contact editors.

The development of C2 theory and practice within force requires an interdisciplinary approach. Commanding army needs not only the familiarity with armed forces and warfare principles, but also the knowledge and understanding of the development of security and operational environments. It is the development of security and operational environments that directly affects the theoretical and doctrinal thinking, the approaches to armed forces employment to deal with contemporary and future crisis situations. This paper is an attempt to project some opinions on C2 issues from the sixties last century to the present. As there are two periods with dozens of common characteristics, we can find a number of similarities. This article aims to point them out.

A major challenge in defence planning is to establish a clear audit trail between security challenges, political ambitions and the recommended force structure. This paper describes a capability- and scenario-based methodology combined with a software toolset called JDARTS that gives long term defence planners a systematic approach to create links from high level security challenges to force structure recommendations. The security challenges are represented by mission types exemplified by scenarios which give concrete requirements. These requirements are represented by capabilities which are matched against the capabilities of force structure elements. The matching is a selection process where the outcome is the cheapest set of the force structure elements that fulfil the requirements. The JDARTS-software supports this method. Even though the future is uncertain, the defence planner's job is to help decision makers prioritize between economic constraints, national preparedness and international commitment.

The Russian armed forces are influenced by a new concept of possible armed conflict. At present, Russian forces are not preparing themselves to one massive conflict, as in the period of bi-polar world, but the main stress is put on power-projection, into the spheres of Russian interests, i. e. into post-soviet republics. The Russian armed forces ought to be able partake in three regional conflicts simultaneously. That's why organizational and technological changes are presently in motion. The acquisition of French first Mistral-class vessels is an organic part of this process. The theme is particularly topical in the context of the current Ukrainian crisis.

Europe is a maritime continent whose economic concerns and security could be backed only by the power of navy forces. The Czech Republic is not a maritime state, but it is a member country of both NATO and the EU, it participates in the formation of common security policy. Czech soldiers could take part in combined joint military operations, where one of forces is also a Navy. Dozens of Czech citizens are employed in common international institutes and staffs; they all need a broader view, including the knowledge of Integrated European Naval Strategy. Their activities promote the status of the Czech Republic at international level.
This contribution contextually explores European space and its naval power. It introduces naval forces projection of European national navies, the bulk of which best respond to current security issues, along with decisions of the national governments of the EU and NATO member states. The article also dedicates extensive attention to the Russian naval strategy.

The article identifies specific attributes which have influenced success of modern warfare conducted by infantry battalions and their sub-units. There are mentioned ways to suppress the negatives and opportunities to use positives. There is drafted a possible task organization structure of battalion which allows the variability, modularity and combat readiness, according to capabilities and statements catalogue. The author was inspired by his own experiences as an infantry unit commander. He uses his knowledge gained from military assignments. The article could be considered as topic for future discussions not only on academic but also on specialized level.

The article reviews contemporary traditional approaches towards the evaluation of ground military vehicles and equipment, oriented on the role and potential of top-ranking officials in this area. The author promotes the introduction of some electronic Log Book for monitoring and rating the operational data of the military equipment, with the help of new General Packet Radio Service module, to improve the effectiveness of operational system, maintenance and savings.