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This article examines the needs and problems of the modern war veterans and identifies factors that may contribute to making them a  high-risk group. It uses data from two questionnaire surveys. The respondents were war veterans leaving active service and war veterans who left active service less than ten years ago. The analysis shows that participation in the mission has a negative impact mainly on the family and relationships, and that the most common problems on leaving active service are related to finances and finding a new job. Further, few factors have been identified that may contribute to a high-risky group: less than nineteen years of service, age under forty, having health restrictions due to active service and leaving service as a decision of the employer.

The article presents selected functionalities of intelligence support in the Czech Armed Forces, which are addressed in the context of opportunities and challenges of the future operating environment. Its aim is to formulate, in parallel reflection with the current approaches of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the possibilities of implementing intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and electromagnetic warfare in national conditions. Military practice is presented with a direction on how to respond to changes in the nature of the operational environment, including changes in the physical and non-physical domains of the battlespace to which all components of modern military forces must adapt while maintaining the necessary interoperability. The article is a response to differing and often not entirely correct understandings of the issue, which can be found even among specialists. It summarizes what has been learned so far and suggests where the discussed functionalities should go.

The selection of optimal weapon systems is crucial for national defense. Traditional empirical methods struggle to address the complexities of modern warfare. This article explores the potential of constructive simulation for informed decision-making in this domain. Simulating tactical operations with complex variables, such as terrain, enemy actions, and system interoperability, provides valuable insights into weapon effectiveness. This enables the optimization of acquisitions in line with strategic goals. Design simulation allows for the exploration of factors difficult to test comparison of armament configurations, analysis of enemy tactics, and optimization of unit composition and deployment, saving costs and time. Simulation enables the safe exploration of even high-risk scenarios.

The language training within the Ministry of Defence [MoD] of the Czech Republic is primarily focused on English. However, in accordance with the Concept of Personnel Training for the Needs of the MoD, the MoD provides language training in other foreign languages as well. The language teaching is the responsibility of the Language Centre of the University of Defence Brno [CJV UO] and includes English, French, German and Russian. The aim of this article is to compare the activities of the CJV UO with similar language centres in the defence departments of Germany, Austria and France and to present the teaching of French, German and Russian within the MoD through examples of good practice. In the context of the current geopolitical situation, the teaching of French, German and Russian becomes more important, and the CJV UO responds flexibly to the demands of the MoD regarding the provision of the teaching of these languages including professional language and electronic teaching support.

The paper evaluates the level of cooperation between the Ministry of Defence and the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) in the field of procurement of military equipment. In the practical part, the results of the research on the level of participation of Czech-based suppliers in NSPA activities between 2018 and 2022 are presented. Pareto analysis comparing the participation of the Czech and international companies in contracts implemented by NSPA in terms of their subject, quantity and financial value is used. Qualitative case studies from three different areas illustrate in which NSPA projects the Czech Republic has already been involved in and which benefits and risks are associated with this cooperation for the MoD. Positives and drawbacks in the process of acquiring military equipment in-house and opportunities and threats that may arise from the acquisition of military equipment through the NSPA are summarised in the form of the SWOT analysis. Finally, recommendations are presented on how to improve the cooperation between the MoD and the NSPA in the field of acquisition.

The aim of this paper is to contribute to scientific research in the field of examining the shortcomings in the use of strategic communication for armaments. A comprehensive approach that rationalises the political, military, economic and technical decision-making process, as well as appropriate strategic communication with stakeholders, is required for the procurement of military equipment for the armed forces. The paper first analyses the existing shortcomings in the use of strategic communication in support of armaments, and then recommends a model for the adequate use of it. The results of a questionnaire survey and structured interviews with specialists in strategic communication and armaments show a high level of support for the use of strategic communication. However, the selected case studies on the Pandur and BVP modernization projects did not confirm the assumption of an improvement in the ability of the Czech Ministry of Defence to acquire new military equipment.

This article deals with the use of constructive simulation software in the planning process of military engineer staff personnel. The possibilities regarding the implementation of MASA SWORD simulation software are demonstrated on specific data from the Engineer Support Management Course, with overlapping applications to other specialized military troops. Three scenarios were used for the simulations, which were practiced and verified during the course’s  exercise. Each scenario was evaluated in silico within the simulation environment, incorporating analytical and graphical outputs. Utilizing the MASA SWORD analytical module, each scenario underwent comparative analysis using statistical tests to assess the fulfilment or failure of the assigned task. The findings emphasize the promising role of constructive simulation in enhancing military personnel training and planning process on tactical level.

Since the end of the Cold War, several military reforms have been carried out in Germany so far and a new military transformation is in the process of preparation. Over the years, the definition of the Bundeswehr's main missions has gradually shifted towards crisis management operations and the structure of the armed forces has accommodated to this shift. After the 2010-2011 reform, it was entirely evident that crisis management operations have become the main task of the armed forces. At present, German military policy places the main emphasis on "restoring the capacities" for collective defence. The strengthening of the expeditionary element in the German armed forces was made possible by the most efficient use of resources and investment inherited from the Cold War era and cutting capacities tailored to territorial defence. The author comes to the conclusion, that such policy is now evidently exhausted and is no longer sustainable - if German collective defence capacities are to be truly restored.

The role of civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) is increasing in the post-modern wars (operations). CIMIC is a significant element at the coordination of military and civilian participant activities over current military operations. New tasks for actors are as result from new NATO concept and outline new tasks dimension. The armed forces as well as the Army of the Czech Republic (ACR), have to solve many problems associated with this new dimension. The article outlines a possible set of activities associated with the new approach to CIMIC in crisis management in the context of the Alliance operation.

Long-term cuts in military expenditures of European allied countries caused growing differences within the Alliance which can be seen in uneven sharing of military burden and in behaviour called free-riding. The aim of this contribution is to define possible approaches to the freeriding identification and to analyse military expenditure development in relation to conclusions and recommendations declared at the NATO Summit in 2014. The results of military expenditure analysis identify only a small group of countries which, from a long-term point of view, follow the recommendations of the Alliance in the form of allocating a corresponding amount as percentage of GDP and in the form of a recommended structure of military expenditures.

The article deals with the issue of application of the European Sectoral Qualifications Framework for Military Officer Profession. Paper brings the main results of levelling the Senior Officer Course to the European Core Curriculum for Military Officers (MILOF-CORE). It was found out that 18 out of 35 learning outcomes of the Senior Officer Course were found to considerable degree relevant to the MILOF-CORE, the rest contain a various degree of national specifics. Lessons learned gained from the levelling were employed in a recent revision of study programs of the career courses organized by the Center for Security and Military Strategic Studies of the University of Defence.

This study analyzes the involvement of external actors in Ethiopia's civil war between 2020 and 2022, categorizing their behaviors and discourses based on the dominance of instrumental and affective motives. It argues that the convergence of objectives between instrumental motive-dominant actors, who seek to protect the stability and survival of the Ethiopian government, and affective motive-dominant actors, who address humanitarian crises, reached a point of overlap and consent which led the war to end in relatively short duration.

The article deals with the interpretation of the term "armed forces" in the context of the current legal system of the Czech Republic. The authors propose to distinguish between the armed forces in the institutional concept and in the functional concept. The essence of the solution is the interpretation of Section 3(1) of the Armed Forces Act (No. 219/1999 Coll.) in the functional concept, i.e. in such a way that the armed forces are understood to include soldiers assigned to the Ministry of Defence, military schools, the Military Police and the Military Intelligence. Another solution could be to add a paragraph to the Armed Forces Act stating that "The provisions on members of the armed forces shall apply mutatis mutandis to soldiers on active service assigned to the Ministry of Defence, military schools, the Military Police and the Military Intelligence." The aim of the article is initiation professional discussions about the issue in question, as well as indications of directions as to how it would be appropriate to solve the matter.

Leadership and its styles have been in the spotlight for many years. The changing military environment and demands on army readiness bring new questions and perspectives to leadership. Leaders now face constant changes and specifications of the new modern era. Concerning these changes and transformations in society and the Army, there are new demands on soldiers and leaders at all levels of the Army of the Czech Republic. This paper provides insight and muse about both transactional and transformational leadership styles and investigates an approach to these styles by Czech military students. This paper aims to identify what leadership style Czech military students prefer at the University of Defence. This research focused on evaluating the personal characteristics required for a leadership position. To verify the relevance of the gained results, we employed paired t-test.

This article focuses on the identification of key factors of material resources in the field of equipment, armaments and military vehicles within the Czech state needed for effective mobilization. The primary goal is to answer the question of whether the Army of the Czech Republic still has adequate supplies of these key resources and whether it has the ability to increase these resources in crisis situations without significant dependence on foreign imports. The above analysis revealed mostly sufficient stocks, but at the same time significant limitations were identified in some categories, especially in their technical and moral quality (obsolescence, respectively), especially in most types of military vehicles. The issue of dependence on foreign imports concerning raw materials then changes considerably, from the minimum (combat dress) to the almost maximum (ballistic helmet) level.

The paper is focused on the area of defence sources in the Czech Republic. Within an analysis of the actual situation in military spending in the Czech Republic, some potential approaches are defined to enable the reasonable and transparent allocation of resources for national defence. Based on these approaches, three courses of action are derived in order to deal with current resources inadequacy and instability in defence.

The article is available only in the Czech language. For more information please contact editors.

The article is devoted to the draft law on defence financing, which aims to oblige the government to allocate an amount of at least 2% of GDP to defence in every draft law on the state budget. During the inter-ministerial comment procedure, the Supreme Audit Office expressed doubts whether the draft means anything more than an unenforceable political commitment in relation to the Chamber of Deputies". The article convincingly demonstrates, with the help of legal argumentation and interpretation of the Constitution of the Czech Republic, the Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies, as well as the established case law of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, that if approved, the Chamber of Deputies will also be bound by the Defence Financing Act when approving the state budget. To do otherwise would violate constitutionality.

This article deals with PMSCs as a relatively new phenomenon in warfare areas. It is open to discussion whether private military companies and the private contractors that they employ, should be treated just like any other transnational industry, or whether they should be treated like mercenaries under international law. As it happened in many countries, private companies and private contractors operate in a legal vacuum. From a strictly legal point of view individuals employed by private military companies are not to be considered as mercenaries. The private military industry offers a wide range of services. Procurement of military services by individuals and private firms has developed in a direction that had probably not been anticipated in previous years. Some military analysts say that the exclusive role of the state in the domain of defence and security is outdated and should be re-examined.

The article holistically assesses the US application of security-development nexus (SDN) through the most known example of SDN in practice - provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs) - to elucidate what lessons learned can be drawn from there. The PRT's unique small footprint approach aimed to skip combat phases and focus on development in Panjshir. The research detected fourteen lessons learned from PRT's Panjshir wrongdoings and relatively successful initiatives. Lessons learned include defining mission objectives, early identification of instability sources, unified funding, emphasis on security sector reform, cultural awareness, empowering locals, and continuity in leadership and mission. PRT Panjshir's approach is debated, emphasizing managing, not fully resolving, complex conditions. Depending on contextual factors and learned lessons, the model's duplicability in future conflicts remains uncertain.

The purpose of this article is to inform on elements of military deception in NATO armies and overarching principles that make military deception successful. Deception Planning is an iterative process that should be considered as an inextricable part of the operational planning. The knowledge in the field of military deception in the Czech military is low; no operational deception plan has been prepared for foreign operations or any military exercise. Deception is widely appreciated as a powerful instrument of military operations, yet it is surprisingly neglected by both the Czech Army and Military Educational System. The author tries to encourage officers and members of higher staffs to study this subject.

The article deals with the comparison of refunds of non-material damage in public and private area. In the public area is analyzed legal regulation on health injuries in service relations, in private area is discussed legal regulation on health injuries in civil law and labour law. Particular attention will be focused on the transfer of compensation in the event of injury to the heirs - while in service relationships, such claims are extinguished by death (not transferred on the heirs), which was taken over from the 1960s legislation, in current private law, do not cease if they have been recognized or at least brought in court. The aim of the paper is a critical analysis for the current state of legal regulation and the proposals de lege ferenda (approximation to labour law regulation). The issue has increased importance for public finances and functioning of public sector and enforcement of the rule of law.

Infomantion era could be characterized as a period of steem qualitative and quantitative information raise, aroused namely by sharp development of information and comunication technologies (ICT) . Military deception thus acquires new dimensions, wider chances to be employed in armed forces operations. This article concludes a free series of essays dealing with military deceiving. It is thinking over questions resulting from deception-information age relations, the beginnig of which could be situated into the 80s last century.

This paper is devoted to the role of a periodical Vojenská mysl in the reform of Czechoslovak "1968". There were various contributions on its pages, which criticized the lack of the Czechoslovak military doctrine. The corn of criticism was also aimed at non-systemic arrangements based on Soviet pressures in the area of diplomacy and military policy. Vojenská mysl reflected carefully the general process of democratization, which influenced the daily life in the Czechoslovakian army. The democratization required involvement of scientific base in military affaires, a long with better use of personnel capacity in the military.

The paper deals with the principle of legality during putting in practice of Military police support to allied armed forces in the Host nation Support operation on the Czech Republic territory. Security of sending nation armed forces weaknesses have been identified on the base of analysis of the issue current state supplemented by the legal framework assessment. Suggestions, for expert discussion of Military police authority change, are in the last chapter.

The article describes the reasons that led to the development of the implementation tool for development projects used by the Czech Ministry of Defence to simplify the planning processes and the experience of its users with the tool. Modernization of the army is one of the basic building blocks needed to achieve the goals set by the state's security strategies. A comprehensive approach is necessary to perform many consecutive activities, such as project management, risk management, and others. To streamline the processes needed for the preparation and planning of development projects, the Czech Armed Forces issued a methodology to create an implementation plan for the acquisition of new military equipment in 2021. The purpose of this article is to present the results of the analysis of experience with its annual use in practice.

The article deals with the preparation of the Active Reserve of Czech Armed Forces, territorial forces in detail. It compares them to the equivalent of the active reserves of the Polish army, namely the Territorial Defense troops. A comparison of the development and preparation of these forces points to the necessity of solving or updating the system of calling up reserves of the Czech Armed Forces, their training, arming and equipping.

The article deals with the process of identification of competencies for commanders in leading units in military operations. The used methodology based on combined approach founded on selected competency rosters and its further modification seemed to be relevant and applicable in the Czech Armed Forces conditions. Military officer's profiles anchored in the EU Commission Database for Armed Forces and in the EU Sectoral Qualifications Framework for Military Officer Profession have been proven as the most relevant frameworks of competencies. Both are formulated and structured to be as generic as possible for all officers regardless of their specialization. They were established on current theories and incorporate extensive amount of entries from various national sources. The resulting list of 24 generic competencies, selected from a total of 69 competencies analyzed, represents a possible example of a set of requirements imposed on the Czech Armed Forces officers.