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The primary mission of commanders and staffs is a skillful realization of all measures related to preparation, planning, conduct and control of military operations. Ability to implement these measures originates from their professional knowledge of the theory of operational art and capability to execute it in practice. Based on a feedback from the courses participants, the authors of the article propose a set of measures which may contribute not only to improvement of the level of knowledge, skills and competences of military personal, but also to increase interest in the overall development of operational art in the Czech Armed Forces.

This article deals with the research of the internationalization of conflicts, trying to examine this phenomenon from the theoretical perspective and as a definition. Then the term of internationalization of conflict is conceptualized in order to be applied to a chosen internationalized internal armed conflict. The text also deals with various actors intervening in the internationalized conflict. They are divided into external and internal actors, while their interventions during civil war can be multilateral or unilateral. The concept of the conflict internationalization is also compared with the concept of the proxy war. The closeness of both terms can be confusing for many researchers and their division is one of the important outcomes of this article. There is also a typology of internationalized internal armed conflict types in the text as well as identification of reasons for military actions against a neighbouring state in civil war. At the end, two case studies of Syrian and Yemeni civil wars are introduced to the reader in the framework of the conflict internationalization concept. The text itself is a conference contribution and it has no ambition of bringing new scientific findings and extending knowledge. Rather, it presents a general survey of the examined phenomenon, which can be developed and researched by social sciences based on case studies.

comprehensive cooperation within reliable security partnerships. Thus, regional tailored military cooperation has gained more importance than ever before in order to tackle various threats and challenges and to strengthen crisis management capabilities. Therefore, Austria launched the Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC) in 2010 to foster regional security cooperation and to promote modernisation of military resources. Two years later, Austria co-founded the EU Mountain Training Initiative, which closely coordinates training and education with the NATO Mountain Warfare Centre of Excellence in Slovenia. This paper aims at analysing and discussing current initiatives and possible ways of improving Central European security cooperation between NATO member states and Austria.

The global security environment brings forward different and surprising challenges for the armed forces, which require a good training and preparation. One way of sorting out the endeavour is using scenarios, the concept used extensively in the military field, the military field being the initiator of this concept. Military scenario development is the subject of this article, which is going to bring some essential characteristics and propose a working option for elaborating a scenario. The final aim is to help military planners have a good working procedure when developing a scenario in order to create a document updated with warfare evolution and operational planning process ready to respond to all risks and threats. The scenario is a way used by military structures at all levels of military art (strategical, operational and tactical) to get in contact with a probable unknown situation, to assimilate it and to sort it out. The article focuses on the scenario development process and proposes stages and activities that should be followed by a joint operational group when tasked with preparing a scenario.

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.

At present, MoD department prepares a new method of economic control: budgeting by objectives. The process has two levels. The fi rst level covers all sources control, the second one is restricted to budgeting methods. Our defence department is under the pressured of continual budget cuts, so the leading defence representatives should welcome this new technique which will clearly and distinctly present results of limited defence budgets, both for the army by itself and for country defence. Targeted budgeting will be oriented towards outward institutions (parliament) and inside activities (within defence department). Departmental objectives are to be taken as integrative, supported by IT system linked up with state treasury, offering reliable data about costs and expenses within the Chapter of the Ministry of Defence.

The future security environment through 2035 and beyond will likely be increasingly complex and both present challenges and offer opportunities to NATO military forces. Analysis of the future security environment indicates that forces will likely face challenges that could unfold in an exponentially accelerated and increasingly complex fashion. As trends converge in the future, there are twelve likely instability situations that could reach a threshold requiring the Alliance's use of military forces, including: weapons of mass destruction/effect use, conventional war, escalatory use of force, hybrid war, unconventional war/terrorism, global commons disruption, critical infrastructure attack, cyberattack, governance challenges, endangerment of civilian populations, pandemic disease, and natural/man-made disasters. However, there are also many opportunities that NATO military forces could seize in the future, including building and strengthening relationships, addressing emerging challenges, capitalising on innovative technology and ideas to maintain the military edge, and understanding and influencing the human aspects of conflict. Ultimately, to keep the operational edge today and in the future, NATO joint forces and partners will need to continually evolve, adapt, and innovate to improve their ability to act together comprehensively across all domains to communicate and achieve the political-military objectives of the Alliance.

The aim of the paper is description and analysis of the transformation of the concept of hybrid war. The Russian intervention in Ukraine in 2014 meant principal re-definition of the concept which is reflected in the contemporary views on the hybrid wars and hybrid threats. The concept of hybrid war had been questioned in the past already as his validity and the efforts to be applied on the past conflicts deformed its innovative content. One could argue, that adding new dimensions and topic such as economic factors, ideological activity etc. brings risk of concept´s expansion which goes far behind of the framework of the phenomenon of the war and the use of armed forces in the armed conflicts. The author draws attention to the fact that the definition of hybrid war tends to be subordinate to the current needs, which in turn only hinders their explanation potential.

In the shadow of the profound transformation of the security environment, the long rejected idea of a multi-speed Europe in defence is taking shape. What is the Czech Republic's stance in this context? Is it ready to adapt and make defence one of the government's priorities, or will it only passively observe the events around it and at some point tolerate another intervention or occupation of another power? The article outlines several practical recommendations to the Czech Republic in the area of military capabilities, armaments, defence research, defence industry and market, which could provide guidance in this process.

The paper focuses on issues related to possibilities of use of mine delivery systems within the Czech Armed Forces. Its content is aimed on technical and tactical capabilities of the mine launcher MV-3 during the placement of anti-tank minefields according to the desired effect on the enemy. On the basis of indicative calculations this paper presents limited possibilities and abilities of the Czech Armed Forces Corps of Engineers within the area of remotely placement mine fields and the use of the mine launcher MV-3, which is currently the only special established means for fulfilling this task. This fact has a significant impact on tactical deployment of countermobility engineer units during carrying out their missions.

The article discusses advanced aspects in urban operations for presumed military robotics applications. The rise of city population and increasing number of cities stands new treats for warfare. First part of the article reminds steep rise of population and populated urban areas, dangers for today's deployed troops are shortly discussed in the second part, outlining some features there. Results lead to a possible solution of upgrading combat-space awareness, multiplying firepower capacity and combat support. Two examples of Unmanned Ground Vehicles in next part present the possible way of future development and finally conclusion outlines required characteristics for these UGVs during urban operations.

The article brings a "Condition-If-Then" construct as a proven protocol for writing risk statement and its application into assessing risks related to capability gaps identified during the defense planning processAuthors discuss utility of "Common approach" and "Impact averse approach" to risk rank ordering as a tool for ordering risks according to their importance. Using the discussed tools enables the planners to run risk assessment that sets preconditions for prioritizing the Force Development Options (FDOs) and for minimizing the impact of capability gaps on conduct of future operations. The ORAMF and the application of the given protocol for writing risks are some of the building blocks of the defense planning process, offering a toolset for reinforcement of the defense planning of the Czech Republic.

The article explores the energy security relations between Russia and the EU. The aims of this article are two. The first is to analyze the content and basic themes of the Russian security discourse on energy relations with the EU in 2012-2017. The second is to interpret the influence of norms and values in the energy security discourse on identity and interests of Russia in the studied period. Security discourse of the Russian Federation focuses on defending Russian diversification projects to strengthen EU energy security. In the security discourse, Russia in relations with the EU de-securitizes the issue of energy when it presents itself as the main and reliable partner and supplier of oil and gas to the EU.

Despite the attempts of labeling hybrid warfare as a new form of warfare or even as a factor that is changing the nature of war, hybrid warfare is part of a war from the Antiquity to the present day. The essence of hybrid warfare is in parallel use of regular and irregular military forcesand different means of pressure by a power unwilling to openly attack a weaker opponent. Information dimension is analyzed in the cases of hybrid warfare against Croatia (1990-91) and Ukraine (2014). In both cases the key target of hybrid warfare was social cohesion of the attacked countries. In the Croatian case, despite a strong propaganda campaign followed by the direct and indirect use of military force, the attacking side was unable to break social cohesion of the majority of Croatia's population. In the Ukrainian case, the lack of social cohesion has prevented organization of the efficient response to hybrid warfare waged by the Russian Federation. Both cases also indicate the significance of national identity in preserving a society's social cohesion.

The paper discusses the correlation between methodologies of conflict analysis and dynamics of international security environment and highlights the need to tailor these methodologies to the rapid sequencing of world events. The analytical approach starts with an overview on the general theory of conflict, whereupon the author focuses on the most widely used models of contemporary conflict analysis and summarizes the way they approach the same conflict, namely the recent events in Ukraine, in order to illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of each model. The final part of the paper develops, instead of conclusions, the correlation between the two analysed items and the way in which specific components of the methodologies can be adapted to the development of main characteristics of the international security environment.

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 presents some prospective variants of accoutrements supply for professional soldiers. The system might operate like that: the soldiers will receive cash money to buy equipment, outfits, even clothing by themselves, in civilian outfit distribution network. There are three possible variants in question, first equivalent items, identical with military categories of components, second sports items, and third field outfits that do not affect the functionality of uniform, its completeness, as well as external appearance.

Although private military companies like the former Blackwater were regarded as a relatively new phenomenon in international security, their history is not new. The participation of private individuals, and /or groups of private individuals, soldiers of fortune, in "foreign" armed conflicts is at least as old as the history of wars by itself. It is impossible to open a debate about the scope and possible impact of the current use of private military and security companies without knowing and evaluating their long-term historical developments. The goal of this study is therefore to map the history of the use of private military forces, their involvement in various conflicts, services they offer, among others, from the point of international law.

The classification of a term of "decontamination" comes out not only from the Alliance norms, national military regulations and publications, but also from the documents that deal with the conception of decontamination for civilian purposes, i.e. from documents of the Fire Rescue Brigades of the Czech Republic. The study of both Alliance and national documents has proved that in many cases this term is being introduced in a different way which might cause not very homogenous interpretation and understanding to accomplished decontamination measurements and thus even overall disunity in a framework not only of Alliance, but also in selected basic and other parts of the Integrated Rescue System of the Czech Republic. The paper analyses approaches to the term of "decontamination"practically only by means of definitions in use nowadays. At the end of this document there are recommendations which ought be considered by the management of the Czech Armed Forces Chemical Corps within the area of its respective interest.

Among others, the transformation of an institution is determined by its human capital. Gains and losses of this transformation depend on the acceptation of organisational changes in the institution by its employees, working staffs that behave above all economically (expediency). The salary and benefit system, compensation packages, play a key role in transformation. The underestimation of this role could precipitate the situation that employees simply quit the institution, and thus endanger the whole process of transformation. The state of affairs in Czech Intelligence Services proves this author's view. Its adaptability is lowered, there is a danger the system will become less effective in key domains of their activities.

This article aims to reflect a digression into the history of selected strategic documents, which processed the Ministry of Defence or was in the processing involved - in connection to the planning of acquisitions. The ambition of the article is not a comprehensive evaluation process, but only the selected aspects. After many years of decreasing Czech defence budget, is here the opposite situation. In connection with the new situation it is necessary to rethink the current approach to this topic; to ensure maximal security of the Czech Republic and in a figurative sense NATO and the European Union also. The fact, that the Czech strategy document was among the best in the EU, does not mean that defence spending is automatically efficient.

The article presents possible approaches to solve problems of finding the optimum state of tactical activities within the level of small Engineer Units. The intention is, by elaborating of the partial engineer goal which is focussed on the area of engineer units' tactics, to develop input data/ information needed for further development of mathematical models of the tactical activities. Subsequently, with the judgement on modelling outputs (applicability within C2 activities of staffs' task force structures) from engineer unit tactics point of view, the article contributes to enhancing all of C2 processes effectiveness. The article also provides us with information about the range of facts relative with problems of selected engineer unit (counter-mobility task forces) deployment planning, and controlling. There can be also found inventory of activities appropriate for optimization.

This article deals with challenges for the defence policy and strategy of the Czech Republic and their further adaptation and. It outlines set of recommendations for ensuring its armed forces relevance and their long term sustainability. The article reflects debate during the international conference Defence and Strategy organised by the Centre of Security and Military Strategic Studies of the Defence University and held on 15-16 June 2015 in Brno.

The objective of this article is to answer the question to which extent a respective concentration on Alliance approaches is really indispensable. A substance of the answer is to be found in the outcomes of analysis made on defence planning processes of NATO nations and EU member states. This analysis indicates to which extent national planning processes correlate with principles of NDPP and EU capability development. The analysis outcomes point out a significant diversity of approaches to national defence planning processes, the fact which stems from different interests of their national security and defence policies and, at the same time, the outcomes substantiate that the centre of gravity of national approaches does not lean on implementing principles of NDPP but on achieving outputs of the NDPP.

The article deals with experience in closure of military bases in foreign operations. It follows in article Life cycle of military bases in foreign operations, published in Vojenské rozhledy Nr. 4/2009. The text of article presents current knowledge about the life cycle of military bases and general principles from the perspective of the latest NATO Handbook. The theoretical part of the article introduces weighting method of decision analysis, which compares current ways for the field bases closure. Authors describe findings from base closure Šajkovac that significantly influenced removal activities.

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.

The article deals with a strategic document that currently represents understanding of trends, which form the future security and operational environment,and that sets up the vectors for building-up and development of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. The first aim is to assess the Long Term Perspective for Defence 2030 and its significance in context of other strategic documents adopted in the Czech Republic. Another aim is to confront its contents with a structured analysis of large quantity of the state-of-the-art foresight studies,differentiated in geographical and thematic scope. The comparison allows identifying convergence and divergence between the Czech document and relevant findings from the foreign foresight documents. This approach enables the judgement whether the Long Term Perspective for Defence 2030 provides a relevant guideline for the defence sector development, and whether it does or does not miss some of the issues found significant in the foresight documents in the outer world.

The author discusses the issues surrounding the construction of modern logistic support for the Czech Army as it transforms from a conscript to an all professional force of agile, light forces, with high reliability and low support requirements. The basic philosophy is to create comprehensive system that would offer complex service for a commander in the field of materiel, technology and medical services. The logistics reform must be supported by enhancing communication systems (Information Logistics System) and by seeking the ways of rationale savings, to reach the highest level of compatibility with logistics systems of other NATO nations. "Time Based Competition" and "Time Compression" must be accepted at all levels of logistics system both in peace and field conditions. In the future, the security problems will be managed more by civilian means than by hard force. The goals will be political, economical and cultural. Those changing threats will ask logistic support to be more flexible, mobile, integrated, compact and precise.

The author discusses the issues surrounding the construction of modern logistic support for the Czech Army as it transforms from a conscript to an all professional force of agile, light forces, with high reliability and low support requirements. The basic philosophy is to create comprehensive system that would offer complex service for a commander in the field of materiel, technology and medical services. The logistics reform must be supported by enhancing communication systems (Information Logistics System) and by seeking the ways of rationale savings, to reach the highest level of compatibility with logistics systems of other NATO nations. "Time Based Competition" and "Time Compression" must be accepted at all levels of logistics system both in peace and field conditions. In the future, the security problems will be managed more by civilian means than by hard force. The goals will be political, economical and cultural. Those changing threats will ask logistic support to be more flexible, mobile, integrated, compact and precise.

The Directed energy weapons use highly focused energy to damage targets. These weapons use electromagnetic radiation, sound, or subatomic particles. This article aims mainly presentation of information on the current situation in the field of directed electromagnetic weapons that use pulsed electromagnetic field in the range of radio waves and microwaves band. These technologies are used for disruption or destruction of electronic and electrical circuits of the enemy equipment. This makes it possible to neutralize or completely destroy the operation of information, communication, management, control, firing and other electronic devices.