Czech Defence News of the Week (3 – 10 August 2018)

Author: www.army.cz|Caption: Fallen soldiers' arrival

A Taliban suicide bomber killed three Czech soldiers in Charikar, province of Parwan, near the Bagram Air Base - Aero Vodochody intends to offer the F/A-259 Striker within the Light Attack Experiment program - The remains of the fallen soldiers were repatriated from Afghanistan - The Czech Embassy in Syria has negotiated the release of two workers of a German NGO.

• Only a few weeks after the 4th anniversary of the lethal attack against Czech troops in Afghanistan, during which five servicemen have been killed by a suicide bomber in Qalandar Khil, Afghanistan, another Taliban suicide bomber killed three Czech soldiers in Charikar, province of Parwan, near the Bagram Air Base. The attack took place on 5th August 2018. Staff sergeant (OR-4) Martin Marcin (born 1982), corporal (OR-2) Kamil Beneš (born 1990) and corporal (OR-2) Patrik Štěpánek (born 1993), all from the 42nd Mechanized Battalion of the 4th Rapid Deployment Brigade, were killed during a patrol. The attack was carried out by a lone bomber, wounding also one of the U.S. and two Afghan soldiers. Minister of Defence Lubomír Metnar promoted all three heroes to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer (OR-9) and decorated them with the highest military award, the State Defence Cross, for their service in fighting terrorism.

• An exhibition launched at the Old Town Hall in Prague at the occasion of the 50^th anniversary of the Warsaw pact invasion of Czechoslovakia led by the Soviets on 21^st August 1968. The exhibition presents nearly 200 photographs from private archives, many of them are shown in public for the first time.

• On the 6th August the United States Air Force shared a draft request for proposal for the Light Attack Aircraft. The final RFP release is expected in December 2018. In addition to Sierra Nevada/Embraer and Textron Aviation, Aero Vodochody also intends bid for the light attack procurement: with its F/A-259 Striker.

See also: L-159T2 – a new Light Attack and Trainer Jet made its successful first flight

• President of the Czech Republic, Supreme Commander of Armed Forces of the Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman, together with soldiers' family members, the highest political and military representatives and the public, attended a mournig ceremony after landing of Airbus A319, escorted by Gripens, at Václav Havel Airport, Prague, on Wednesday 8th August afternoon which transported the remains of the soldiers from Afghanistan. After a speech by colonel Jaroslav Knichal, the Czech Army’s Chief Chaplain, and the national anthem, the soldiers’ remains were placed aboard funeral cars which would take them to the Central Military Hospital. The route was lined with people wanting to pay their last respects. The soldiers will be buried with military honours.

See also: Foreign deployments: Czech casualties since 1991

• An audit by the Ministry of Finance at the General Inspection of Security Forces (GIBS) has revealed irregularities in financing. The ministry has filed a criminal complaint on the grounds of the findings.

• The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Damascus, Syria, has negotiated the release of two workers of a German humanitarian group, the Czech and German foreign ministries said on Thursday, 9^th August. The Czech Republic is the only country in Europe that maintains diplomatic relations in Syria. The Czechs provide consular services for E.U. citizens and act as intermediaries for other countries. According to media the two men were arrested several months ago near the Iraqi border on charges of entering the country without the necessary documents.