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This study deals with long-term monitoring of physical fitness of soldiers, namely members of the 31st Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Regiment in order to determine whether the annual fitness test has rising trend, or in another words, whether the military service physical training process is fittingly effective. The study was carried out by comparing the assessment of physical fitness each year 2012-2019. The monitored group consisted of 316 professional soldiers, who participated in this assessment regularly, without interruption in the same disciplines.
Due to the managed long-term military physical training process, overall improvement in the strength and endurance disciplines throughout the monitoring period took place.
Based on the acquired data, it may be stated that the annual testing showed rising trend and thus the efficiency of the in-service physical training process proved to be good and appropriate.

The article addresses the use of social media intelligence (SOCMINT) as a tool for recruiting and selecting souces by foreign intelligence services, with an emphasis on the risks it poses to students in military studies at national military universitiy. It analyzes the specific ways in which SOCMINT enables foreign intelligence agencies to effectively gather personal data and profile potential collaborators from both public and private information shared online. Research conducted among students of the University of Defense and other institutions revealed that military students share comparable types of information on social networks as their civilian peers, making them equally vulnerable to the activities of foreign intelligence services. However, military students are preparing for careers in defense and security, making them a significantly more attractive target for foreign intelligence agencies than other categories of employees.

The assessment of force ratios and battle casualties is a crucial aspect of the military decision-making process. This article evaluates three different tools used by the Army of the Czech Republic at the tactical level: a calculator based on Lanchester's laws, a module within the Battle Information System, and a constructive simulation system. The results indicate that while all tools produce similar outputs, the constructive simulation system offers more accurate estimates of combat losses for both equipment and personnel. Additionally, this system enhances the ability of commanders and staff to adapt to changing scenarios during planning. The primary conclusion is that the constructive simulation system provides a practical and flexible solution for supporting the military decision-making process at the brigade and battalion levels.

The annual examination is an integral part of the physical training system of a soldier of the Army of the Czech Republic, which assesses his physical fitness. This assessment provides dual feedback - it informs examinees of how they are performing against normative tables and each other, and at the same time, gives commanders an idea of the current physical fitness of their subordinates. This thesis focuses on the endurance event of the 12-minute run (also known as the Cooper test). Based on data from 2011 to 2021 and nearly 50,000 evaluated tests, the potential effects of age on soldiers' physical performance and appropriate adjustments to individual age limits were examined. The analysis showed that the difficulty setting for achieving the same rating differs for both genders and that there is a different decline in physical performance with increasing age than reflected in current norms. Based on these analyses, a proposal for modifications to the annual physical training test was developed and is appended to this paper.

The article addresses the issue of the emergence of new technologies and their impact on the capabilities of the Czech Armed Forces (CAF). A summary of the recommendations is presented. In particular, there is a need for a conceptual approach to the integration of new systems in order to avoid spontaneous purchasing, which could be very logistically demanding. The very rapid development in the field of unmanned autonomous systems using elements of artificial intelligence offers opportunities to use them in support of the tasks of CAF. Due to the breadth of this issue, the scope is limited to the area of the Special Forces, which introduce these new sophisticated means into use throughout the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic.

The article deals with the evaluation of current possibilities of medical support capabilities in the area of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defence. The evaluation of national strategic documents shows that the area of providing care in the event of chemical and biological hazards is significantly more developed than in the area of radiation, while the security threats associated with radiation are constantly growing. Analysis of NATO standardization documents in the field of medical support and relevant Czech doctrinal documents was carried out, based on which the diagnostics and triage of irradiated persons, called biological dosimetry, was identified as a potential capability. Using the capability planning methodology and based on the evaluation of the functional areas, a conceptual approach to the development of biological dosimetry capabilities was defined. The presented recommendations also include a proposal for the organizational structure of the Czech Armed Forces biodosimetric network.

This paper assesses the information war in Ukraine in the context of the military strategy. An influence of the information operation (disinformation and deception) presents the strategic tool. The author pragmatically analyses the information war from the military art perspectives and as a part of the strategy used for support of the combat operations. He identifies phases of the information war in the context of the war. The author expects and confirms the opinion that the information war is led by both external actors (the USA and the Russian Federation). Their top representatives are involving in the information war because they support their own interests. This paper has been written as a neo-realist case study. The balance of power concept is in accordance with the used theory, as well as with the key interests of the external actors.

This paper deals with teaching of operations research at University of Defence and its support by means of using selected software for linear programming. The main aim of the paper is to demonstrate possibilities of using the add-in program Solver in Microsoft Excel and Linear Program Solver in teaching operations research via solving an illustrative example of linear programming problem. The paper further introduces operations research as a scientific discipline and a course taught at University of Defence. Last but not least, it discusses advantages and drawbacks of introducing software into teaching of operations research.

The aim of this study was to create an overview of the Czech Armed Forces' development in approach to environmental protection from 1989 to 2022. Using the methods of analysis, synthesis and comparison of the Czech, EU´s and NATO´s environmental legislation, we created a comprehensive and previously unpublished overview of environmental protection within the Czech Armed Forces. Found outputs were set into illustrations depicting the activities in the environmental field with internal links between civil legislation, EU's requirements, and NATO's policy in chronological order. We conclude that the year 2000 represents a key milestone from which the approach to environmental protection have stagnated. Among the reasons for the stagnation, we identify commanders' concerns about "green approach" to troop training and the lack environmental education within defence department.

The article is a creative elaboration and proposal for optimization of selected activities of the human resources management process in the Ministry of Defense, which have a fundamental influence on achieving the set goals of personnel policy of the Ministry of Defense. The article builds on the analysis of the "status quo" of the human resource management in the Ministry of Defense, carried out with the help of dimensional and stakeholder analysis, sector analysis PESTLE-M, and questionnaire survey with a sample of officers (students of career courses KVD and KGŠ). It also uses the results of capability-based scenario, on which a prediction of the future needs of personnel and financial resources is calculated and demonstrated. For selected activities of the human resources management process their possible content is discussed, as well as the effects (or the necessity to set them accordingly) of internal and external process controllers.

The article deals with the issue of identification and evaluation of the competencies of senior officers of the Czech Armed Forces. Paper investigates the role of the authorities responsible for military branches and military occupation specialties in the system of defining officer´s competencies. It was also examined the scope of possible application of the competency model of a professional soldier defined by the National System of Occupations in the process of career management. As a comprehensive and optimal solution, a full application of competency model is proposed. The partial application of the competency model is based only on the use of the soft competencies component. Both of these proposals are formulated primarily for the purpose of describing the job position and official evaluation. The paper also brings a number of proposals in the conceptual and normative area circumscribing and strengthening the role of the responsible authorities in the process of defining the officer´s competencies.

The main goal of this article is to discuss in the context of selected security intentions the world peace as an idealistic phenomenon, which is determined by many factors in the current dynamically changing environment. The intention is not to compare individual philosophical theories, but to provide selected synthetic security indicators that can help measure the state of the security environment. On the basis of these arguments, we can observe a downward trend in the rate represented, also linked to an increase in the activities of terrorist groups and generally transnational threats. The article also highlights the current relatively rigid role of the UN in relation to global peace. The international community and world peace are particularly influenced by the mutual relations and the rivalry of the superpowers. In future conflicts, the transition from the physical form of the battlefield to the imaginary platform, represented mainly by cyber space, will be more evident.

The theoretical journal Vojenské rozhledy was founded in 1920. Its publishing was interrupted twice, but it has continued until now. The aim of the article is to evaluate the importance of the journal for development of the military and security theory and practice and to reflect on its possible future. Attention is paid to the focus of the magazine during the Czechoslovak First Republic. The article also deals with the attempt to issue Vojenské rozhledy during the Second World War and unsuccessful efforts to restore it after 1945. The article also deals with the circumstances of publishing and aiming of the magazine Vojenská mysl, which replaced Vojenské rozhledy in the period 1950-1991. Since 1992 it has been continuously published under the original name Vojenské rozhledy. The author concluded in his analysis that, despite the changed conditions, which make it difficult to publish theoretical journals in general, the Vojenské rozhledy are irreplaceable in the Czech conditions.

The author presents the results of the research in the field of defining the competencies for military professionals in command and control in military operations. The main purpose of the article is to familiarize the readers with the proposal of the recommendations for implementing an integrated approach to defining the competencies needed for military personnel within the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic. On the basis of the analysis of the national strategic documents, analysis of the system of management of educational and training activities and evaluation of the current competency model for the members of the Czech Armed Forces, the recommendations were drawn up to introduce a conceptual approach to defining the competencies for military personnel. This set of proposed measures provides a baseline for applying the competency model as a human resource management tool.

The article deals with the experimentation in the military domain. It is anchored by the experiment explanation in the NATO context paying special attention to the capability development. Basic principles and terminology of design, execution and analysis is discussed in the following part employing 5W approach. The main focus is aimed at the experiments' examples from the NATO and Nations environment. The article is closed by the explanation of the role of the experiment in the decision making process under the uncertainty in the complex environment.

The aim of the article is to recall the thoughts of war strategists on how to conduct military operations during the Cold War and to present the issue of operational maneuvering groups. Their use was a new conceptual framework of offensive operations led by the highly mobile military units of the Warsaw Pact in the 1970s and 1980s. Based on the analysis and comparison of historical sources, a set of information and knowledge from the field of military art is presented here as well as a more comprehensive view on the tactical, operational and strategic context of the offensive operations on the European battlefield. Their impacts were also essential in the way of training of troops and education of military officers in the former regime.

The general trend of weight gain, decreasing physical fitness and health complications in the general population is also reflected in the recruitment of new candidates. Their physical readiness is expected to be high. The aim of this study was to verify whether or not the physical condition of the soldiers entering the army during the 2000-2017 test of physical fitness actually deteriorated or not. The results for the assessed period in the monitored parameters indicate that some components of physical fitness are copying the general trend and showing a slight deterioration. Yet, in general, it can not be said that the fitness of new soldiers is declining, as some of its components show a slight increase.

The paper deals with cyber security, cyber defence and operations in cyber space focusing on the department of defence. Tasks implied from the Czech Republic's, NATO's and European Union strategic documents and roles of participating subjects have been analysed. Four scenarios as another source of identified tasks were created and used to describe possible situations requiring cyber defence capabilities. The presented analysis is a prerequisite for specifying required capabilities, and a proposal how to assign roles, responsibilities and required capabilities.

In the first part of the article was described terminology, main features and phases of Russian engagement in the conflict. It was pronounced that Russian engagement in the conflict is possible to designate it as military operation. The second article deals with other aspects of the conflict focused on indication of the Russian forces in operation, its unmasking signs and available operational experiences. The ending of the article deals with future possibilities of Russian engagement in region of the post-soviet states and political-military aspects of Russian foreign policy in extensive connection.

The article focuses on confronting the Lebanon's Shiite movement Hezbollah with Israel in the field of energy. The aim of the article is to analyse the importance of energy in strategy of movement Hezbollah generally and specifically in confronting with Israel and motives and methods of the energy strategy of the Hezbollah. The primary method of Hezbollah action is to use or threat of violence consisting in threatening to attack on the Israeli energy sector to defend Lebanese energy wealth and deter its enemy from production of gas and oil in the disputed waters of the eastern Mediterranean. The main motive of Hezbollah's activities is especially strengthening of stable energy supplies and Israel's accusations of aggressive energy policy towards Lebanon.

The article informs about the state service of professional soldiers in the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. It compares the state service of professional soldiers in both countries mentioned and analyses the changes that took place in the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic on January 1, 2016. With reference to the state service it deals with the career of professional soldiers in the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic. It offers the list of current career courses in the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic. It analyses and compares the career courses designed for officers of both countries.

The article deals with ways to help soldiers with the integration into the labour market after leaving the military service. Its aim is to describe the current state of knowledge in conditions of the Czech defence department and methods of so called outplacement in selected European countries. Within the description of the current situation in the Czech Republic, the article focuses on the training of a professional soldier, retraining courses and other measures that are implemented. While processing the text, literature search, analysis of legislative and statistical documents and direct interviews with experts from the Ministry of Defence and other experts from foreign ministries and institutions of the defence department were applied. The article provides a summary of the pros and cons of preparation of soldier for a career in the civilian sector in the Czech Republic, and submits suggestions for improving the current situation.

The article is based on the positions of neo-realism, namely in the works by S. Walt and J. Mearsheimer. It characterizes the key actors of the war in Ukraine, which is a result of a long-term geopolitical competition between the USA and RF in the Black Sea region. The NATO enlargement in the area is classified as a non-coercive Expansion by Invitation (articulated by the elites of the former member states of the USSR and Warsaw Pact), which has provoked growing irritation of Russian political and military elites and the following hybrid war with dramatic international consequences. Last but not least, the article analyses military incidents and resulting security threats and challenges.

This article focuses on answering the question to what extent did the German foreign and security policy change, based on the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, especially when it comes to military deployment abroad. The author identifies and analyses the consequences associated with the German experience in Afghanistan and their influence on the current and future deployment of German armed forces abroad. The attention is given to the German strategic culture of "civilian power" and the question, if Germany still fulfills the attributes connected with this theoretical concept. The author verifies this assumption by means of the role theory concept, which helps to understand the behavior of Germany on the international level.

On the introduction, the article focuses on clarifying the place and role of counterinsurgency in current military operations. It also deals with the principles of counterinsurgency and their doctrinal comparison within some advanced armies and the NATO. The aim is to highlight some findings related to principles that should be changed,added in doctrine and incorporated into the training of the ACR troops. The result of the analysis and comparison of individual principles with own experience of the author from the mission in Afghanistan are recommendations given for the troop training in the theatre. The implementation of the proposed measures in preparation of the Czech Army units may improve the effectivenessof counterinsurgency in military operations.

The article identifies specific attributes which have influenced duality of training for urban area operations. There are mentioned only the crucial ones. The author was inspired his own experience as infantry unit commander. He used his knowledge gained from military assignments. The article could be considered as topic for future discussion not only on academic but also on specialized level.

The article is aimed on the identification of the tools of the international security organisations (NATO, European Union, Organisation for security and Cooperation in Europe) for de-escalation and resolution of the violent conflict in Ukraine. It is based on the liberal institucionalism. It characterizes and systematises tools and divides it into "soft power" and "hard power" tools. It is analysed the possibility of the use of armed forces as a coercive tool or in peacekeeping or monitoring missions. The NATO and the EU became involved in coercive diplomacy, the OSCE as a "soft power" becomes involved in mediation of the conflict in eastern Ukraine and dispatched long time missions. All three analysed organisations used the tools without placing of armed forces.

This text is focused on current situation in Syria and Iraq and so called Islamic State, the one of the biggest threats of contemporary world. The rise of this quasi­state at background of civil war in Syria and still not fully solved conflict in Iraq is the result of involvement of many internal and external actors. The form of their involvement and especially their goals are very different from each other and despite sporadic and declaratory agreements in partial points the main reason the Islamic State still exists in very good shape is disunited attitude of local and external powers against it. The main aim of this text is to explain and to analyze main motives and goals of all relevant actors and sides of mentioned conflict and describe the way they affect its dynamics. Due to that it is possible to increase the knowledge of readers in such a chaotic, unclear and often misinterpreted situation in the Middle-East.