Author: Jana Deckerová, army.cz|Caption: Awarded soldiers, National Monument in Vítkov
Three Czech soldies killed Afghanistan on 5th August, were buried with military honours in their hometowns - At the beginning of September Czech reinforcements will join the missions held by NATO in Afghanistan, more troops will also be sent to Iraq and Mali - Czech Air Force marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of its predecessor, the Czechoslovak Air Force - according to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš the Czech unmanned aircraft might be deployed in the Mediterranean to support the Italian and Maltese borders protection - 117 Czech soldiers were awarded for their service during foreign missions on 17th August at the National Monument in Vítkov, Prague.
Chief Warrant Officers (OR-9) Martin Marcin, Kamil Beneš and Patrik Štěpánek killed in a suicide attack in Charikar, Afghanistan on 5th August, were buried with military honours in their hometowns: Chomutov, Hluboká nad Vltavou and Plzeň. Minister of Defence Lubomír Metnar, and the Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Aleš Opata were among hundreds who attended the funeral services.
See also: Foreign deployments: Czech casualties since 1991
At the beginning of September Czech reinforcements will join the missions held by NATO in Afghanistan, where three soldiers of the 10th ACR Guard Company BAF from the 42nd Mechanized Battalion were killed on 5th August. More troops will also be sent to Iraq and Mali: 806 served abroad at the beginning of 2018, they will be strenghtened to 1081 this year and to 1191 in 2019.
See also: Czech Foreign Deployments – Reinforcements announced (2018-2019)
On 14th August 2018 the Czech Air Force marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of its predecessor, the Czechoslovak Air Force (30th October 1918). A commemorative ceremony was held at the Winged Lion Memorial in Prague. It was on 14th August 1945 that most of the Czechoslovak soldiers who served with the Royal Air Force during WW2 returned back home. The ceremony was dedicated also to the creation of the Royal Air Force (founded on 1st April 1918).
See also: Czech Air Force – Centenary of the founding (1918–2018)
Prime Minister Andrej Babiš visited the Primoco UAV company, a manufacturer of unmanned aircraft, in Prague on 14th August. According to the Prime Minister the Czech unmanned aircraft might be deployed in the Mediterranean to support the Italian and Maltese borders protection and help to fight the illegal migrant traffickers. He plans to offer this idea to the Italian and Maltese Prime Ministers, Giuseppe Conte and Joseph Muscat, at the end of August.
See also: The unmanned aerial vehicles producer Primoco UAV considers to enter the Prague Stock Exchange
On 17th August 117 Czech soldiers were awarded for their service during foreign missions: Afghanistan (Resolute Support), Iraq (Inherent Resolve), Kosovo (KFOR), Golan Heights (UNDOF), Mali (MINUSMA), EU NAVFOR SOMALIA and EU NAVFOR MED. The ceremony took place at the National Monument in Vítkov, Prague. The awards were handed over by the Deputy Minister of Defence Jakub Landovský, the Deputy Chief of the General Staff - Director of the Joint Operations Centre Major General Jiří Verner, Chairwoman of the Committee on Defence Jana Černochová.
See also: Current Foreign Deployments of the Czech Army