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The process of procuring military equipment, technology, material, and associated services (VM) is frequently shrouded in concerns about cost-effectiveness and, in some instances, even becomes the focus of law enforcement investigations. This often leads to delays in strategic investments and exposes involved individuals to the risk of criminal charges. Additionally, there is a notable lack of capacity to impartially evaluate the overall investment's efficacy. Consequently, the "Znalec" (Expert Witness) project was initiated as a part of the defense research program. Its objective is to explore the feasibility of establishing an expert institute that could impartially assess the value of the military procurements, set a standard for evaluating these assets, and outline a training program for relevant experts. This paper specifically addresses the first objective of the project, proposing a legal framework for the expert institute based on an extensive systems analysis.

Russia has always had a keen interest in the Western Balkans. It was historically realised in the context of geopolitical continuities of the expansion of its territory and influence. Russia has tried to gain influence in this region for political, economic, identity and strategic reasons. However, after the start of military aggression against Ukraine in 2014, Russia opted for a confrontation in the Western Balkans where it opposes the EU and NATO expansion policies and influence of the West in this region. Key Russian leverage for spreading its influence in the region is the Serbian geopolitical design of military neutrality and the convergence of strategic interests of the two countries. Russia wants to exert a strong influence on the Western Balkans, and thus on the security of the EU. On the other hand, Serbia wants to position itself as the main actor of power in the region with simultaneous support from both Russia and the West.

Recently the defence department has been meeting lower and lower money sources that could finally bring about lower salaries, reduction in numbers of servicemen, dozens of military units are dissolved. One of such economic measures are plans for dismantling the last Military Secondary School (MSS ) in the Czech Republic. Backed by the assessment of expenses or inputs and outputs, stated in several tablets, the authoresses evaluate the abolition of MSS from a long-term view as rather ineffective, in spite of some short-time savings.

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

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

The article contributes to a more efficient use of the theoretical, technological and application base, especially to the improvement of decision-making processes at the strategic level. It offers a methodological framework for solving the armed forces capability optimization problem by implementing modeling, simulation and operations research tools and theories.

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

No military operation is conceivable without logistics. It is widely known, however, the origin of the term logistics is not unambiguously stated in publications and sometimes refers to ancient Greek. There is no doubt that the term "logistique" was first used by the general of Napoleonic army Antoine-Henri Jomini and Lieutenant Colonel George C. Thorpe, U. S. Marines, anglicized Jomini's term to "logistics". Among many distinguished authors that paved the way to the current theory of military logistics cannot be omitted Rear Admiral Henry Eccles. It is also worth to mention Austrian-American economist Oskar Morgenstern and his attempt to outline a consistent language between military and business logistics and to formulate a general theory of logistics.

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

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

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

The aim of this article is to provide comparison of the main indicators of military power among the individual EU countries, between the EU in total and the U.S., and the comparison of the world's biggest military powers. Current evolvement of changes in military power indicates the shift of the centre of gravity aiming prevailingly eastward towards raising and growing economical powers. Due to the differences of various input data, multiple information sources used for comparison are significantly different. In addition, it is difficult to get them for some isolated countries, the results of which are sometimes only estimated. The study also includes information on the main importers and exporters of the military equipment, as well as the estimation of future trends.

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

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

The US military presence in Afghanistan has been the subject of retrospective analyzes that facilitated the identification and learning of important lessons for future military actions. This article analyses, through the case study method, the way defense resources were managed from a sustainable development perspective, focusing on the durable effects of the main projects aimed at ensuring this country's initial steps towards a sustainable development destination. As a result, this study points to the positive potential that the military instrument could have in a country's efforts to achieve sustainable development goals, highlighting the way that unsustainable management practices can compromise or even nullify the progress in this area. Consequently, the main product of this research is a model of unsustainable use of defense resources that decision makers should know and avoid in the future, to obtain long-term beneficial results.

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

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

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

The 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.

Current War in Ukraine represents conventional conflict of high intensity unparallel in contemporary European history. Using a qualitative method, authors present character of the war and identify its key specifics through multi-domain optics. A preliminary set of recommendations is derived from these results for the national defense capability of Czech Republic. Authors conclude that both State and the Armed Forces must increase their readiness for the large-scale conflict.

The article follows the author's comparative analysis of American and Russian nuclear doctrines and armaments from the fall of 2021. It presents the current nuclear strategy of the United States of America based on a content analysis of three specific areas of the updated version of the Nuclear Posture Review. Applying interpretive analysis and a rich secondary sources apparatus, the author also reflects on his 2021-formulated assumptions and expectations about the further development of American nuclear strategy under President Joe Biden. The author analyzes the influence of the presidential administration's ideological and political ambitions together with the decisive geopolitical events of 2022 and concludes that mainly due to the second factor, the current shape of American nuclear strategy has not undergone any revolutionary changes and continues to maintain a long-standing continuity and consensus about its basic principles.

This study presents the perspective of Czechoslovak diplomacy on the events of the Yom Kippur War (1973) in the context Czechoslovak foreign policy towards the Arab-Israeli conflict in early 1970s. The research is based on so far rather underexplored archival sources. Despite Czechoslovakia's declared unequivocal support for the Arab side of the conflict, Czechoslovak Middle Eastern policy since the mid-1950s was not entirely unconditional in relation to the Arab countries. Internal documents of Czechoslovak government occasionally revealed criticisms of Arab representatives. The Yom Kippur War represented a significant moment in this regard, as it was a military confrontation initiated not by Israel but by the Arab coalition, posing a challenge for Czechoslovak propaganda. Simultaneously, this armed conflict presented an opportunity for Communist Czechoslovakia to further deepen its relations with its Arab allies.

The paper deals with recent recodification of private law (background and sources of inspiration, general part of Civil Code, family and inheritance law) and particularly the special regulation related to the members of the armed forces (so-called military private law): 1) marriage under exceptional circumstances (§ 667 CC), and 2) military testament (§ 1545 CC). They reflected illustratively the ideological background of the recent recodification - links to national and European legal tradition, discontinuity with the previous regulation and the pursuit of complexity, and also indirectly the current relationship to the armed forces - respect, appreciation of their importance and taking account of their specifics.

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

Defence strategies of smaller NATO states represent interesting source of information about defence policies of this pool of countries. Definition of what constitutes "small state" is discussed in first step. In second step, this study compares 10 selected NATO countries Defence Strategies in terms of identified risks and threats, future military capabilities to counter threats, processes of drafting defence papers, level of details and approving authorities. Outlining these indicators and characteristics provide useful overview for future draft of National defence strategies within countries of similar size.

This paper aims to explain the tension between the phenomenon of whistle-blowing and military values, embodied in core martial virtues of loyalty and courage, which are integral in all armies. By defining these virtues in the military context, the author demonstrates how expressing dissent in the military is not necessarily opposed to loyalty and courage, but rather that it is necessary if conflict of different loyalties is properly managed and if courage is properly understood. Only by ensuring that armed forces are led by those who truly understand military values and martial virtues, and that whistle-blowing can be both patriotic and heroic, can we strive for a lasting peace. By courageously expressing loyalty to his nation, institution and profession, a soldier may act heroically by blowing the proverbial whistle.

The text deals with current and future trends in the development and application of robotic systems suitable for military engineering. The first chapter deals with contemporary requirements for application of robotics into military engineering and furthermore it assesses current state of application of engineer robotic systems into military practice. The second chapter is dedicated to future possibilities of application of robotic systems into military engineering and mentions trends in development of robotic technologies with an emphasis on engineer robotic systems. The chapter also aims at forecast of development and application of these systems into Czech army corps of engineers. The last part of the text summarizes identified discrepancies between current