Czech Defence News of the Week (26th July – 2nd August 2019)

Author: NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup Lithuania (fb)|Caption: Pandur II CZ leaving Lithuania

Filip Říha appointed Deputy Minister of Armaments and Acquisitions of the Ministry of Defence. - After a year of service, the Czech Company Task Force finished its deployment in Lithuania where it served within the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup. - On 1st August 2019 be planned personnel changes at the General Staff of the Army of the Czech Republic came into effect.

• As of 1^st August 1 2019 the State Secretary in the Ministry of Defence Petr Vančura, in agreement with the Minister of Defence Lubomír Metnar, appointed Deputy Minister of Armaments and Acquisitions of the Ministry of Defence Filip Říha. The new deputy came from a selektion process, in which five candidates applied. “Filip Říha has been managing the section as acting Deputy Minister since January this year and has demonstrated both professional and managerial skills. The Ministry of Defence has several important acquisition projects ahead of it, and Filip Říha has already participated in the preparation of these projects and I believe that he will successfully complete them, ”Minister Lubomír Metnar said.

See also: Modernization Projects of the Czech Army

• After a year of service, the Czech Company Task Force finished its deployment in Lithuania. The unit was built on the basis of a mechanized company from the 41^st Mechanized Battalion with the total number of 230 people. It served in the Battlegroup Lithuania with seven other nations under the leadership of Germany in the framework of the NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP). In total, more than 450 Czech soldiers served in Lithuania during two rotations. The mechanized infantry company with wheeld infantry fighting vehicles Pandur II CZ was reinforced by an engineer platoon, logistic unit and medical element. The soldiers were deployed at the main base of the Battlegroup, which is located in the Rukla training area of ​​the Lithuanian army, located about 70 km northwest of Vilnius.

See also: Czech Mechanized Infantry joins the NATO Force Integration Unit Lithuania

• On 1^st August 2019 be planned personnel changes at the General Staff of the Army of the Czech Republic came into effect. Brigadier General Ladislav Jung became Deputy Commander of the Land Forces of the Czech Army. For the past three years he was Chief of Staff of the NATO Joint Forces Training Center (JFTC) in Bydgoszcz, Poland. The newly appointed Chief of Staff of the Land Forces Colonel of the General Staff Ladislav Švejda served as the Chief Liaison Officer of the National Representation of the Czech Army at the US headquarters Center (USCENTCOM) in Tampa for the past three years. He replaces Colonel of the General Staff Antonín Genser, who was appointed commander of the Territory Headquarters in Tábor on 1^st July 2019. The Deputy Director of the Ministry of Defence's Support Section is Colonel of General Staff Stanislav Hudecek, who was commander of the 14^th Logistic Support Regiment of the Combat Assistance Forces. He replaces Brigadier General Jaroslav Schön, who will act as Commander of the Joint Logistic Support Group (JLSG) in Brunssum, Netherlands.