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In May 2017, Islamists of the South-Philippine Separate Groups of Abu Sajyaf and Maute occupied Marawi City in Mindanao. Five-month fighting was attended by more than 3,000 armed forces against about 1,000 jihadists. Dozens of foreign fighters took part in the fighting on the Islamists side and confirming the pan-Islamic ethos of the Islamic state's ideology in this part of the world. Philippine troops were not prepared for the character of fighting in urbanized environment against motivated and experienced militants. The shortcomings were manifested in the conducting of operations in a heavily built-up area, but also in low-level coordination and limits of capabilities of the technical intelligence. It was decided to create Special Operations Command to which all Philippine special purpose forces are subordinated. The conflict experience has initiated a change of doctrinal approach that focuses on air support to reduce losses due to inaccurate bombing and acquisitions of high-tech reconnaissance and weapon systems.

The paper deals with the professional development of cyber security corps. In the introduction the individual elements that are active in cyber security are described. Strategic analysis of the education is carried out to define the initial state. The main part of the paper is devoted to the design of the education system. The individual elements are defined in the paper, and the model of relationships between these elements is shaped. The attachment contains complete set of topics and their classification into the strands to fulfil the profile of the cyber security expert.

The article deals with selected international treaties, current agreements and international cooperation initiatives in the field of non-proliferation of nuclear and chemical weapons, in which the Czech Republic is represented through specific bodies or ministries. There is also a general description of the view and the specific military approach. The involvement of the MoD and the Czech Armed Forces in NATO structures enables to influence the strategic decision-making in the area of CBRN and thus support the current trends concerning forensic analysis, sampling of CBRN samples and response to new trends in the field of WMD elimination.

The article offers for expert discussion research outcomes assessing commanders´ development in the area of leadership for assignments in defense organization. It also evaluates the level of utilization of gained competencies while managing these organizations. Research was conducted from 2017 to 2019 and embraced predominantly surveys among participants of career courses provided by the Centre for Security and Military Strategic Studies of Defense University in the life-long education program. Research outcomes proved limited level of understanding and implementation of leadership theoretical framework in daily business. Additionally, it shows that the implementation of verified leadership processes and principles by middle- and higher-military management fluctuates about the average level. Furthermore, it figured out an insufficient application of all available instruments for people motivation and support including the approach "leading by example". Finally, it outlined several recommendations for the reinforcement of military personal preparation in the area of leadership for the successful conduct of middle- and higher-managerial position in military organizations. The first and at the same time the most significant step is the recommendation for implementing leadership areas into the Ministry of Defense conceptual documents in the form of vision, strategy and systemic measures.

The article deals with the applicability of professional soldiers in the labour market after the termination of military service. Its aim is to outline the information about the unemployment of former soldiers and to present the main results of sociological research, which was held among 313 former members of the Czech Armed Forces. Based on the processing of statistics of the Labour Office of the Czech Republic, it was found out that on average 18% of former soldiers of productive age were 8 months without employment during 2008 - 2017. With the help of a questionnaire survey, it was found out that more than a fifth of the respondents were looking for an employment in the civilian sector for more than half a year. The majority of respondents do not perceive the system of preparation for a second career of soldiers as elaborate. They state that the issue of second career was not addressed during their military service. There are possible recommendations for improving the current state of integration of soldiers into the labour market at the end of the article.

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 article provides partial results of the research Strategic Analysis Methods applicable within the Defence Department of the Czech Republic. This research addresses a low level of use of strategic analysis methods in the development of strategic and conceptual documents of the department. In the years 2017 and 2018, interviews with the processors of these documents were carried out and the problems related to the use of strategic analysis methods in sector planning were analysed. In particular, the article analyses the content and utilization process of stakeholder analysis method, SWOT analysis, future scenarios, benchmarking and GAP analysis.

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 paper deals with the ministerial officials of the Czech Republic. Using large-N survey on the Czech ministerial officials and in-depth interviews with them, we are exploring the role of social scientific knowledge, which use ministry officials. Based on results of the empirical research are drawn comparative conclusions concerning the ministry of defence and other ministries.

This article describes the basic terms used in prognostics (future studies, forecasting the future, prognosis, prediction, expert) and introduces selected prognostic methods and techniques which could be applied in security area (brainstorming, focus group, trend extrapolation, Delphi method, scenarios etc.). The basic classifications and prognosis typologies are mentioned as well. Particular phases of prognosis making are described too. For the Czech security community the prognosis making has an important potential whose outcomes (of particular surveys) should be manifest in following years. This text has only tried to outline selected methods and techniques for their potential application.

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.

Recent developments in security environment in the last two years re-opened crucial European debates such as the reform of the NATO architecture to address resurgent Russia to the East and as finding common European solution to migratory pressures that test both national capabilities and European solidarity. Even through the Visegrád countries do not always share common interests, the V4 manifests that it can play indispensable role in reaction to these developments. However, V4 still lacks actually proactive regional approach that would accommodate polish interests in order to keep informal leader Poland invested in this cooperation format. Polish elections mean one more challenging test for the V4 to coordinate positions before the crucial NATO Warsaw summit. Should this endeavor be unsuccessful, Poland could look to other formats that mirror its interests and threat perception more closely meaning that V4 would take a back seat with regard to NATO agenda. The task for the Czech V4 presidency is to produce practical results in ongoing ambitious project in defence cooperation so that is demonstrates the cooperation's 'added value.'

This paper addresses a gap in the literature relating to the effects and implications of water scarcity and the potential for water wars. The theme has evident military consequences. Experts provide rather pessimistic forecasts about the situation with freshwater on the planet. The early warning models seem to be quite useful as well as early warning conflict indicators. The author deals with the problem from the level of the Czech Republic.

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.

This polemics is written by Prof. Fr. Ochrana, both reader and author of the Military Review quarterly. It is a response to the article in No 4, 2013, by Vl. Karaffa, editorial board chairman. Prof. Ochrana generally supports his conclusions concerning the further survival of this Czech Military Review. According to him, the review has indispensable role in the spectrum of both civilian and military professional journals. He recommends to evaluate the problem of its existence upon the principles of cost/benefit analysis, with regard to the so-called socials costs, the key steps of which he enumerates.

Evaluating offers of contestants for public contracts belong to key and critical moments of public tenders and the whole acquisition process at all. Variety and comprehensibility of numerical and rating methods shouldn't prevent applicants from understanding conditions and terms of contract/agreement. The transparency principle of evaluating is only slowly pushing forward in our legal system. We move from mere subjectivistic and unverifiable impressions to the unbiased comparing of best offers, together with the requirement of transparency, as a part of the process of comparing, ranking, and assessing offers, by the use of specific qualitative or quantitative factors, such as prices, feasibility, collateral risks, time plan or other conditions. The final step is called amalgamation, when we merge individual classifications in one complex appraisal.

The establishment of the Permanent Structured Co-operation (PESCO) in defence in 2017 is one of the most important European initiatives of recent years, aiming at enhancing effectiveness in addressing security challenges and advancing towards further integrating defence cooperation within the EU framework. The article describes the genesis of PESCO and explains its functioning, including its legal framework, objectives, the role of the main actors and the dynamics of the whole process. The purpose of the article is to demonstrate the scope and strength of the more binding commitments that the participating Member States have decided to fulfil in the name of strengthening Europe's defence under the umbrella of the Common Security and Defence Policy.

The European Union is interested in ensuring the security of African countries in the region of Sahel because some of the threats originating from this region can potentially endanger its member states. With the deteriorating situation in northern Mali, the EU has decided to become more active in this country through Common Security and Defence Policy missions. The aim of this article is to introduce and subsequently assess the contemporary policy of EU in Mali. Particular attention will be paid to the European Union Training Mission in Mali and European Union Capacity Building Mission in Mali, which have so far produced rather mixed results. The article will also focus on the EU strategy in the Sahel region and partly on the EU counterterrorist and counterinsurgency activities in Mali.

The article deals with the use and future prospects of the international cooperation for the development some of Czech Armed Forces capabilities in the field of military medicine. It has no ambition to address this issue in its entirety, but only contains an analysis of some of the current formats and initiatives of international cooperation in the field of military medicine, with the justification of their origins and a brief evaluation of their contribution. Part of the article is also a proposal for possible measures to improve the development of medical capabilities in the framework of international cooperation.

Since the 1st release of an internal ministerial norm guiding planning processes of activities and development within the Czech Ministry of Defence (MOD) presuming existence of Capability Planning Methodology, this document has not been established. This article offers selected theoretical starting points and, on their basis, it outlines possible a ministerial process tree focused on the capability process as a ground for its definition within Czech MOD conditions. Further in a framework of an added value model proposes possible internal structure of above mentioned process down to sub-processes level with justification of their purpose and mutual links. Formulating mentioned attributes of the capability planning process this article makes a contribution to set up this process within the Czech MOD.

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.

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.

Within the context of evaluation system of education quality in career courses that are organized at the Center for Security and Military Strategic Studies of the University of Defence in Brno, the article deals with course evaluation questionnaires. It demonstrates benefits of introducing online questionnaires, and a persistence of responses sets that are invalid in terms of internal imbalance. To filter out this undesirable natural phenomenon, a method was proposed for determining the consistency of responses sets. The outcomes lead to the goal to enhance quality as well as quantity of responses to evaluation questionnaires. In terms of quality, the intention is to continue filtering out invalid responses sets using the proposed method. In terms of quantity, the intention is to motivate the course participants to fill the evaluation questionnaire by dividing it in parts, so that they can experience the changes based on their responses yet during their course.

When planning and conducting tactical exercises of units and formations, it is often the case that aspects of long-term operations in a chemical, biological or radiological contaminated environments have disappeared from consideration of commanders and staff officers. The reluktance to "complicate the situation" in training may have different causes, but the continuing importance of CBRN defence is indisputable. The article discusses probable commander questions related to the effective management of subordinate units in a contaminated environments. Their answering can help to successfully fulfill defined combat tasks that have been disrupted by the use of enemy weapons of mass destruction, improvised devices containing highly toxic substances, or leakage of industrial hazardous substances into the environment.

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.

Participation of experts form NATO member and partner countries in security situation development trends together with related military implications is meanwhile the newest mean of member states engagement onto NATO Defence Planning. In one hand this possibility is a way to gain findings from national experts and in other hand an opportunity enabling countries to enlarge knowledge and experience of national participants in order to development of similar activities at national level. Moreover there is an opportunity to present activities of nations´ institutions working in the similar field as well as national findings linked to security trends and defence planning. The author concludes that the Czech Republic has not yet formulated its own defence planning process, and suggests the possible effects of this condition

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 motivation and professional values of soldiers involved in Other People's Wars is one of the most important knowledge necessary for effective command and control. Those were main reasons for an extensive questionnaire survey among soldiers, deployed in PRT ISAF in 2010-2011. One of the key topics was motivation to leave for Afghanistan, professional expectations and evaluations of external and internal environment of the mission. The purpose of this paper is to present the basic outlines of values of today's Czech soldiers, their professional motives and expectations. The results are interpreted in the context of Moskos' theory of the contradiction between institutional and occupational orientations of present armed forces and adapted to the actual social and political state of affairs.