Fulltext search in archive

EU Battle Group CZE/SVK was formed as the part of a long-term strategy to turn the Czech Army from static defence, garrison force, to mobile, expeditionary formations capable to participate in EU common security and defence policy operations. In June 2003, the first EU autonomous military crisis management operation Artermis was launched. It successfully demonstrated EU ability to operate with quite a small Interim Emergency Multinational Force (IEMF) in a highly hostile environment. The IEMF, dispatched 6,500 km from Brussels, operated under the UNSC mandate, in cooperation with UN forces (MONUC) in the Ituri District, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Operation Artermis demonstrated the need for further development of rapid response capabilities. Subsequently, it has become a reference model for the development of Battle Groups, with rapid response capability. Lessons learned are valuable for Czech army planners being involved in force planning, or building the first EU Battle Group CZE/SVK. All information and sources for this paper were drawn from unclassified sources.

The proposals of systems approach are sometimes met with a negative acceptance. While solving difficult problems, army members exploit mere practical approaches and they proved to be successful. For that reason the author offers a short glimpse into systems thinking, as necessary starting point for pinpointing the cause of current difficulties. The system is any collection of component elements that work together to perform a task. In economic science, system is used in a variety of contexts. Military cost-effective system can be an essential programme that manage Planning Programming and Budgeting System, flexibly reacting to emerging military challenges resulting from new budget rules (based upon NATO doctrines). One of possible causes of disproportionate and undesirable reactions are wrongly set systems rules, e.g. in market systems manifested by the so-called risks factors. In the forces, the same position ought to be held by unified systems rules, taking into account individual economic subsystems (billing systems, spending elements, etc.), harmonizing them in terms of general independent economic principles.

In the early 21st century defence research can be discussed in two ways: we can stay either within existing discipline "theory of state defence", or we can set up new academic specialization concentrating more on the notion "security" and its individual aspects, including their inner ties. In the former case, there are spheres in which civil and military experts can complement each other, whereas other spheres of studies ought to stay exclusively in the domain of military experts. Mutual cooperation between civilian and military experts can be concentrated on systematic studies of security threats, predictions of potential conflicts, analyses of security cooperation between the Czech Republic and NATO, the EU and the OSCE, economy support of state defence. On the contrary, military specialist ought to focus on e.g. major regional conflicts, low intensity conflicts, military operations other than war. As the term "security science" is not used in NATO nations, the author suggests, it would be more useful to preserve academic discipline "defence theory" to make full use of military experts.

The world is full of unsolvable problems. Every key problem has turned now into multinational one; in fact, this can be handled only if it becomes a transnational problem. Security development is multifaceted process tied with the whole globe. The author recapitulates several models or paradigms that influenced a lot our global strategical thinking. The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives by Zbigniew Brzezinski; The Choice: The Global Domination or Global Leadership of by the same author; The Clash of Civilizations by Samuel P. Huntington; Avin Toffler's The Third Wave; Kauffman's Fourth Law: Prolegomenon to General Biology (Investigations); Order Out of Chaos by I. Prigogine and I. Stengers. Dr. Volner says that the contemporary humankind has its last chance to push such a solution that might lead us out the world of dangers and threats to start building up a balanced and lasting security, but he warns against waging "small preventive wars", as the only way to safeguard the peace.

The authoress makes us acquainted with several basic methods of language drills, standardly used not only in military or state schools, but also in private educational institutions. Every described method is elaborated in detail, together with desirable educational goals, key characteristics, and representative ways of instruction. They are as follows: Audio-lingual Method, Grammar Translation Method, Direct Method (i.e. Berlitz Method) and Silent Way. Berlitz's method, although popular, was superseded by the old, classical, form-emphasizing Grammar Translation Method, which held reign until the 1950s when it was supplanted by the Audio-lingual Method (ALM), a method sometimes called "military method", based upon deep control, examination, extensive repetition. In a kind of behavioural conditioning, students do language drills, memorize set phrases and patterns, learn vocabulary in context, and focuse on correct form and the production of error-free sentences. "Silent Way", which came into existence in the 60s, covers all above mentioned methods. Learners of foreign language study the language in a similar way as they learned their own mother tongue, even with mistakes, later corrected by a teacher.

The defence of country is demanded, but as far as monetary resources are concerned (the effectiveness of which is mostly not transparent), the civilian public takes them as a mistake, as superfluous expenditures. The military economy is an interdisciplinary branch of knowledge, it is a broad subject that can?t be reduced for mere controlling expenses. Still, it is very difficult to assess its recoverability, in comparison with its importance for state defence.

The end of the Cold War was the most important factor determinating political and security realities in the world. Consequent development has gradually led to the significant reengagement of the former Warsaw Pact member states and other military alliances, especially into all form of peace operations. The Czech Republic is following the path common for the other countries in Euroatlantic region, being motivated by common struggle for enlargement this area of stability, security, democracy and peaceful resolution of crises. Hand in hand, with growing experiences from peace operations, the Czech Republic reflects specificities of national security and military strategies, as well as the level of declared military ambitions. Principal changes the Czech forces undergoing now are aiming at fulfilment basic principles of the Security Strategy of the Czech Republic. Participation of the Czech Republic in peace operations and operations outside the republic is becoming the most predominant form of deployment of our armed forces. Therefore, peace operations studies are more pressing today than ever before in the past.

Conventional military strategists did not hold counterinsurgency (COIN) and irregular warfare with high esteem. In fact, strategists often marginalized COIN and irregular warfare, never regarding irregular warfare as worthy of strategic-level discussions. But true strategic thinking on the subject of COIN and irregular warfare consider time and space and long strategic view. Now we must consider critical areas for the global war on terrorism (GWOT), including changing nature of the threat environment. Sources: Principles, Imperatives and Paradoxes of Counterinsurgency, by E. Cohen, Lt.Col. C. Crane, Lt.Col. J. Horvath, Lt.Col. J. Nagl; Strategic Aspects of Counterinsurgency by Col. J. B. Celeski in Military Review March-April 2006.

The article is the information on a conference which was held in September 2006 at Defence University Brno ?Tactis 2006?. Management section held dealings under the title ?Management Trends for the 21st Century?. The leading paper was concentrated on 21st management styles and their implementation into armed forces. Furter papers were concentrated on schooling and training military professionals in NEC environment (network enanbled capability). They will be released in the following issue of this magazine. The report was prepared by Lt.Col. Ing. Miroslav Mašlej, Doc. Ing. Vítězslav Stodůlka, CSc., and Doc. Ing. Bohumil Brechta, CSc.

The practice of a company sending work to outside factories to reduce production costs is called outsourcing. Outsourcing is one of many methods that might help defence department to fulfil a number of various tasks that either can't be accomplished within the armed forces or such work or services can be obtained at low-costs in civil sector. The authors propose several practicable techniques using dynamic outsourcing model to identify prospective services to support given transformation process.

This article examines depth in the nonlinear battlefield and how planners might develop operational effects to defeat insurgencies. The former field manual stated that depth was the extension of operations in time, space and resources. This is a decidedly linear construction of the battlefield based on industrialized warfare between conventional enemies. The Global War on Terrorism operating environment is both nonlinear and non-contiguous. The enemy has no national borders or traditional infrastructure. If we understand cognitive depth, we can develop ways to paralyze the insurgent system or produce operational shock. Colonel John A. Warden III, an architect of the Persian Gulf War air campaign, introduced Five Rings Model as a methodology for successfully attacking and paralyzing a conventional enemy system in depth. An adaptation of this model depicts tangible targets that together constitute depth in the insurgent battle space. Source: Is There a Deep Fight in a Counterinsurgency by Lee K. Grubbs and Michael J. Forsyth, Military Review, July-August 2005.

In the defence department of the Czech Republic they give a great attention to raising economic effectiveness of process ensuring reliable security. One of partial problems is the creating of risk management system. Even though there are more problems with integration within defence planning systems, it is also important to create not only risk management system, but all overall integrated system of management risks and opportunities, tied together.

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

The term "securitology" seems to be appropriate for nomenclative scientific discipline dealing with a research subject, security reality. This article proposes to use Yin- Yang principle and its applications to a philosophy of approach, holistic understanding contrapositive security forces. The classification of selected philosophical and methodological approaches to theme of securitology, the formalization of wide problems of securitology research, are the main items to be done first. The author presents his own approach to measurement in securitology, proposes theoretical models for description of problems connected with security questions, applications of various scenarios. He recapitulates traditional theories and practices of securitology and offers some new information on imaginable problems connected with multiparadigmatic sciences. Finally, he summarises contemporary state of research, including original draft of mathematical formulas to localize security threats. There are also some recommendations for future research in the field of securitology.

This is the question asked by the book ?Strategical Governance and the Czech Republic?, published by the Centre of Social and Economic Strategies, Social Science Faculty, Charles University Prague, in which also the Centre for Security Policy participates. The opening sentence says that humankind is not able to control itself. The team of authors guide us through individual items dealing with world?s political and economy situations, plans for economy growth, security and defence concepts, forming supranational security structures and finally towards depressing destiny of adopted strategy concepts and plans. If Czech leadership has any deficiency, then it is a lack of strategical dimension, concludes the reviewer.

The basic purpose of this article is to introduce mentioned new military publication, recently compiled and prepared by the team of authors from the Czech Tradoc in Vyškov. This code should unify the practice within the ACR. It is not an internal normative rule (military manual), but it has validity of service document, under the authority of the Chief of Czech General Staff. In a way, it is the document of new generation, possessing doctrinal character. Principles explained in this publication are binding, but the ways of their application and usage depend solely on army commanders. The publication integrates, unifies and harmonizes military terminology in use, describe the preparation of units for foreign missions, military exercises and their evaluations (including respective documents), defines methods of planning namely at the level of company (battery), battalion (group), underlines significance of e-learning and so on.

Even though we use those terms very often, there is an ambiguity and unclearness in their usage, so the author tries to lay down their definitions first. He deals with the following terms: physical violence, harassment, psychological violence, staffing. Bullying (in the U.S. called "employee abuse" is a coverage terms for mobbing and bossing. Both mobbing and bossing carry over for a long time, it must last at minimum for half a year. They are more sophisticated than bullying that takes place mostly in simple communities, such as military, schools, or prisons. The primary law guarantees equal rights for all citizens is the Act No. 2/1993, introducing the Bill of Rights as an indispensable part of the Constitution of the Czech Republic. The author enumerates laws that protect rights of Czech citizens. In the armed forces an injured person could request for help at the Inspection of Defence Minister. In this institution there is a Humane Rights Section that is the highest control authority within the Czech armed forces. At the end of this essay there are several recommendations how to prevent and solve symptoms and indications of mobbing, bossing and harassment.

Internal auditing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization's operations. It helps an organization to accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach, so that we are able to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, command and control, or other processes. Internal auditing is a tool of Ministry of Defence management that is used for increasing effectiveness both in departmental and public sector administration. The article is supplemented by two schemes of the position of audition authorities within the Slovak MoD.

This essay is practically the first public essay concerning the system of financial standards within the scope of the Czech Ministry of Defence. The author describes current system of financial standards in short-term a medium-term planning. He clarifies their creation, points at some absences and outlines areas suitable for further research. The document is based upon data collected in the specific research project SV05-VVŠ-K02-10-ING. The article is accompanied by several tablets of financial items and cost sheets for individual financial standards.

This piece of writing is a polemic with the article by Maj. Pernica "System of Planning, Programming, Budgeting (and Flogging a Dead Horse)? in Vojenské rozhledy 4/2005. Allegedly, the criticized article quoted some misleading statements, based on financial records, inappropriate for this purpose. Ing. Dušek does not agree with its general idea, introduced out of contexts. The Planning, Programming and Budgeting System was introduced by leading economy experts (e.g. university professor Mr. Ochrana, School of Economy, Prague). Some deficiencies and shortages are inevitable, but as a whole, the PPB system works. Statistics is a dynamic science and statistical data are to be judged only in connection with statistical methods used in years in concern. For example, in answering the Defence Planning Questionnaire, we were asked by NATO authorities to transfer entries for leasing Grippen aircrafts from modernization and development items to the operational item. Consequently, the percentage of investment purchases decreased. The same goes for the percentages of National Gross Domestic Product spent for military budget, and so on. Moreover, MoD financial department put several useful proposals how to make financial flows more clear, but the were refused by the government.

According to the study by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the expenses for armament and armed conflict in the world have been increasing in the last ten years by 37 percent (in 2006), they reached 1,204 billion dollars. It is estimated that this trend will continue even the following five years. It is a leading factor for economy trends in the near future, so the author proposes coordinated national armaments policy in world arms market. The article is based upon SIPRI Yearbook 2007 ...168

The purpose of this article is to explain methods of the application of artillery fire, according to the width and shape of targets by artillery regiment (without rocket battery) and by artillery battery, if components/data for effective fire are set by substitute means, without computer with respective SW. The assignment of optimal method of artillery fire and its professional implementation has a great influence on FFE (fire for effect). For the sake of economy, live firing practice is executed only to a limited extend. Most of activities are carried out only in the field of command skills, keeping documents, commanders' performance and training gun crews; their reactions to commands and orders. The article is accompanied by several tablets with data concerning application of artillery fire, variable data for aiming devices, adjusted ranges of fire, widths of target divided into several sheaves of fire (converge sheaf, sheaf for target width), their corrections.

Chinese test shows that the Chinese military can threaten the imaging reconnaissance satellites operated by the U. S., Japan, Russia, Israel and Europe. Among others, Aviation Week, Defence Technology etc. report that the test signifies a major new Chinese military capability. China's growing military space capability is one major reason why the US is going to develop a new space policy. Such a policy is to be designed to ensure that US space capabilities are protected in a time of increasing challenges and threats. remove nuclear weapons from Europe. As the alternative to American nuclear weapons they offer forming European nuclear forces, consisting mostly or exclusively of Britain and France potentials. Nevertheless, most of European states ask the US to keep nuclear weapons on European continent. NATO nuclear strategy is still valid: atomic arsenals represent an effective deterrence against the weapons of mass destruction, whoever might use them. fl Potential Deployment of Snipers in ACR Operations by Maj. Ing. Josef Ručka, Ph.D. The article deals with duties of a sniper and a military observer, sharp shooting at long distances, movement at areas in which operations are being carried out. Snipers are trained marksmen who are specialized in sniping the enemy. They are usually sited away form the main force, so that they can concentrate on shooting at selected targets instead of being drawn into general firefight. They are also less likely to be affected when the main force comes under artillery fire. The modern sniper is not alone, he is usually employed in team of two. The author also describes rifles and other weapons and equipments snipers are armed. The article is supplemented by graphs and tablets.

This work consists of analysis of differences in chain of command, tactics, weaponry and equipment used by Russian Army during the first and the second Chechen war. Main theme is searching for the answer to what degree were Russian generals able to learn from their own tragic mistakes, being done in the first war, and what are the main reasons of Russian relative success in the second. In simplification, the key factors are as follows: new joint command, at the beginning delegated to the Ministry of Defence; detailed planning of combat operations; and respect to enemy combat abilities. In addition: increased effectiveness of Russian ground forces, artillery and air force cooperation, massive deployment of new weapon systems such as Precisely Guided Ammunition and ammunition with Thermobaric effect, last but not least rather unusual effort of the Russian Army to minimize human casualties of its own forces. The reasons mentioned above with many others lead us to the conclusion that Russia is bound for a military victory in Chechnya, nevertheless a long journey remains to be covered.

Asymmetric operations lack some linear qualifications at operational levels and split themselves into dozens of tactical warfares. This type of warfare demands quick analytical thinking tied with intelligence preparation of the battlefield, formulating specific information requirement to fill in the missing elements in information requests. As to technological potential, military intelligence is developing very fast. So, the intelligence analysts transfer the main information burden on various information systems, e.g. JSTARS (Joint Deployable Intelligence Support System), AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System), ASAS (All Source Analysis System), or JDISS (Joint Deployable Intelligence Support System). But large capacities of those systems gave rise to another logical judgement that leads to different interpretation of intelligence data, i.e. the judgements corresponding to higher levels (operational and above) of analytical thinking. Nevertheless, tactical warfare represents operations of small tactical units and this fact puts the main burden on an intelligence analyst who must very quickly cover the gaps in intelligence reports and adopt appropriate decisions.

On 13-17 March, 2006, the Directorate of Centre of Simulation and Trainer Technologies Brno ran experimental computer-aided exercise dealing with combat activities of a Battalion Task Force (BTF) in urban area. It was outlined as a double-sided opponent procedural exercise, with the use of computer potential, in attendance of staff and personnel from Special Force Command, Support and Training Force Command, Training Base Vyškov, Military Academy Vyškov, designated unit commanders from Special Force, namely 72 Mech Bt. This experimental exercise proved right some factors that are prepared in accordance with NATO operational concept USECT (Understand, Shape, Engage, Consolidate, Transition). In the first place, the experiment demonstrated the practicability of manoeuvre attack by BTF on fully prepared opponent's defences and subsequently occupying his positions and locations, even though at the cost of relatively higher losses of combat vehicles. The article is accompanied by the Table of Exercise Summary.

The primary aim of the method Hazard & Impact Index (H&I Index) is to enable the commander to evaluate possible negative impacts of military exercise on environment, and quickly and in an operative way interpret whether intended military activities can be a threat to the conditions or surroundings, in which the units are employed. The authors propose several tables for the comparison of environmental groups (soils, forests, climates) with forces movements. The method still undergoes the development. The evaluated numbers are set only for a mechanized company of the Army of the Czech Republic in our local surrounding. But in the near future the authors predict its extension to all organic units of NATO stationed in European continent. The article is a sequel to the article by the same authors in Vojenské rozhledy, No 1 /2006.

Today we use the Space for military and commercial satellites of passive, non-offensive character. The prospective so-called militarization of Space has qualitatively higher level. It means that offensive means will be located in the Space, probably as part of ballistic missile defence. Antisatellite systems began to be tested in 1959 (US), in 1968 (USSR), or in 2005 (China) respectively. The US administration places emphasis on limited character of created antimissiles defence. In fact, the presentday laws do not ban situating cosmic weapons in the Space. But whereas the United States regards existing agreements concerning the Space as sufficient, explicitly the Russian Federation and China point out that e.g. the Cosmic Treaty of 1967 is inadequate and insufficient and therefore among others they block the signing of Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty, important for the USA. The author presents and summarizes main treatises concerning the Space: Outer Space Treaty (1967), Convention on the Registration (1975), Moon Agreement (1979) and others, all of them hardly known to ordinary citizens.

The basic pillar of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction is the obligation of the States Parties of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to eliminate chemical weapons and facilities for their production within the year of 2007. The 11th Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons took place in the Hague (5-8 December 2006). The Conference evaluated the present course of the destruction of chemical weapons and approved requests for extensions of the final date for the destruction of the declared chemical weapons stockpiles for all State Parties-owners of chemical weapons. It remains questionable whether such extension accomplishes the original goal of the Convention - to eliminate the chemical weapons around the globe.