Czech Defence News of the Week (17th May – 24th May 2019)

Author: www.facebook.com/bvvidet/|Caption: DANA SpH

27 / 05 / 2019, 09:45

Czech Army wants to recruit 2,200 new soldiers this year. The average age of new recruits is 26 years. - a traditional commemorative event was held at the National Cemetery in Terezín to commemorate the victims of Nazi persecution - the Office for the Protection of Competition (UOHS) imposed a fine of CZK 7.2 million (USD 312 thousand) on the Ministry of Defence for an error in the tender for supplier of ten types of hand grenades - the 100th anniversary of the founding of Military Archives was commemorated in Prague - the 15th International Defence and Security Fair IDET will take place at the Brno Exhibition Center from 29th to 31st May.

On Friday, 17^th May, a seminar entitled "Czech Army Purchasing and Supporting Domestic Producers" was held at the Chamber of Deputies, organized by the Defence and Security Industry Association (DSIA, AOBP). The event was held under the auspices of deputy Jan Řehounek, Member of the Acquisition Committee. The aim of the seminar was to evaluate the main risks and procedural or personnel problems in the purchasing system, especially within the so-called strategic orders of the Czech Army, and to address the issues related to the involvement of domestic industry in individual military contracts, or the Public Procurement Act and the transparency of their awarding.

Czech Army wants to recruit 2,200 new soldiers this year. The average age of new recruits is 26 years. According to Advisor to Chief of General Staff Brigadier General Lenka Šmerdová, the army would need younger adepts to allow for their career growth. Nearly 90 percent of the soldiers are men. According to gen. Šmerdová it is not easy to recruite more young women due to the professions the Army actually needs new soldiers for, unsuitable for women. The situation is not easy for the Army also due to the demographic development in the Czech Republic; since 2001, the number of young people of up to 30 years of age has dropped by half a million, the population is ageing. According to the Czech Statistical Office, the decline will continue for several years.

On Sunday, 19^th May, a traditional commemorative event was held at the National Cemetery in Terezín to commemorate the victims of Nazi persecution. Hundreds of people attended the rallies, including representatives of the Czech Government, deputies and senators, as well as direct witnesses of the atrocities. According to the Senate chairman Jaroslav Kubera “indifference, passivity and lack of interest in public affairs constitute the mycelium, from which initially authoritative, later totalitarian regimes are born.” The former prisoner of the Terezín ghetto, Toman Brod, also talked about the fact that young people should not forget the horrors of totalitarian regimes and Nazism. Between 1940 and 1945, more than 200,000 prisoners from a number of European countries were transferred to the Prague Gestapo Police Prison in the Small Fortress of Terezín, the Terezín Ghetto and the Litoměřice concentration camp.

The Office for the Protection of Competition (UOHS) imposed a fine of CZK 7.2 million (USD 312 thousand) on the Ministry of Defence for an error in the tender for supplier of ten types of training and live grenades. The competition was won by Česká zbrojovka. But the Ministry did not inform the other parties and signed a contract with the winner. Other companies did not have the opportunity to object to the results. According to the MoD’s spokeswoman Jana Zechmeister, the Ministry of Defence will file a remonstrance against the antimonopoly office's decision. The antimonopoly office dealt with the purchase of hand grenades in September 2018, and acknowledged that the contract with the contractor had been concluded before the expiry of the opposition period. At the same time, the Office ordered the Ministry to cancel the contract concluded with Česká zbrojovka.

On Thursday, 23^rd May, a ceremony was held under the auspices of Minister of Defence Lubomír Metnar at the occasion of the 100^th anniversary of the founding of Military Archives in the conference hall of the Prague Army House. The meeting was attended by the Deputy Minister of Defence Antonín Rada, Adviser to Chief of General Staff Brigadier General Lenka Šmerdová, Security Director of the MoD Vlastimil Dušátko, representatives of partner military archives from the V4 countries, archives of the Czech Republic and other important guests. “Military archives play a key role for the Ministry of Defence and the Czech Army as well as for other security authorities. They are an invaluable tool for historians and other researchers and, consequently, for the wider public, ” Antonín Rada said.

The 15^th International Defence and Security Fair IDET will take place at the Brno Exhibition Center from 29^th to 31^st May. This year, 400 companies will present their products, with nearly all members of the Defenc and Security Industry Associaton (DSIA), and the Ministry of Defence as the largest exhibitor. The exhibition of the Ministry of Defence and of the Czech Army will focus on the 20^th anniversary of the Czech Republic's accession to NATO, and will also commemorate 100 years of the General Staff of the Czech Army. The Ministry of Defence will exhibit in Hall P.