Czech Defence News of the Week (10th May – 17th May 2019)

Author: https://www.facebook.com/ArmadaCeskerepubliky/|Caption: LOV IVECO MPRS II

Brigadier General Karel Řehka, Deputy Commander of the Multinational Division North East, has been awarded the 2019 Arnošt Lustig Award - From 14th to 16th May the second international meeting on electronic warfare project "Electronic Warfare Capability and Interoperability Program for Future Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance" took place in Prague - From 16th to 17th May the joint exercise Sector Basko 2019 examined the readiness of policemen, soldiers, customs officers, prison service and firefighters in coping with a large-scale migration wave across the Czech Republic - US Senator Rand Paul will try to block the sale of helicopters to the Czech Army.

• Brigadier General Karel Řehka, Deputy Commander of the Multinational Division North East, based in Elbląg, Poland, has been awarded the 2019 Arnošt Lustig Award in recognition of exceptional courage, bravery, humanity and justice. The award was founded in 2011  in honour of a renowned Czech Jewish author whose works have often involved the Holocaust. Brigadier General Řehka commanded the 601^st Special Forces Group (2010-2014), in 2014 he was named director of the Special Operation Forces Directorate of the Ministry of Defence. He served in Kosovo (KFOR) and in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom, ISAF).

See also: Czech Foreign Deployments – Reinforcements announced (2018-2019)

• From 14^th to 16^th May the second international meeting on electronic warfare project "Electronic Warfare Capability and Interoperability Program for Future Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance" (JISR) took place in Prague within the framework of the PESCO permanent structured cooperation of the European Union. The aim of the project is to create and subsequently develop the management of electronic warfare operations within the European Union and to unify approaches to joint action to support European Union missions. The key members of the project are Germany and the Czech Republic, which is also the leading country and coordinator of the project.

• From 16^th to 17^th May the joint exercise Sector Basko 2019 examined the readiness of policemen, soldiers, customs officers, prison service and firefighters in coping with a large-scale migration wave across the Czech Republic. The exercise took place in the Pilsen Region on the Czech-German border. The area covered a 201 km long segment of the state border, with 12 former border crossing points. 300 members of the Czech Police Force, more than 100 soldiers of the Czech Army, 25 members of the Czech Fire Brigade, 18 members of the Czech Customs Administration, 15 members of the Prison Service of the Czech Republic and 12 colleagues from the German Federal Police took part it the exercise.

See also: Czech Borders Protection to Face the Migrant Crisis

• A court in Pardubice is hearing the case of Erik Eštu accused of involvement in terrorist activities on the territory of Ukraine in 2015. Eštu allegedly visited Ukraine in summer 2015 and joined the armed separatists of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic. After he returend to the Czech Republic he joined the Czech Army. He claimed he was innocent of the accusations, saying that he had made up stories and bragged about his time in Ukraine to friends. He received a conditional three-year sentence with a delay of four years at the Pardubice court and loss of military rank. The judgment is not final.

• US Senator Rand Paul will try to block the sale of helicopters to the Czech Army, despite the sale having been approved by the US State Department. The Kentucky Republican Senator has put forward several resolutions in the upper house of Congress to prohibit the agreed sale of military equipment also to Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. It is unclear why the Czech Republic, a NATO member state, sides with these countries in Senator’s initiative. According to the Czech Embassy in Washington, Senator Paul’s chances of stopping or delaying the sale are slim.

See also: Military expert Jaroslav Macošek – Czech multipurpose helicopters acquisition project