Author: kapitán Gerrit Hohmann, major Jakub Šimíček, army.cz|Caption: Brigadier General František Ridzák, EUTM Commander, greets a Malian soldier during a training inspection.
At the beginning of May, the Government approved proposal for the use of forces and resources of the Ministry of Defense in foreign operations in 2021 and 2022 with a view to 2023. The current mandate approved by the Czech Parliament for 2019-20 expires on 31st December 2020. The new mandate has already been supported by the Committee of Defense of the Chamber of Deputies.
The proposal prepared together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is based on the priorities of the Czech Republic in the areas of security and foreign policy and also reflects the allied commitments of our country within international organizations. The material also takes into account the current Covid-19 pandemic, which may lead to a deterioration of the security situation in some areas.
See also: Current Foreign Deployments of the Czech Army
"In the next two years, we want to operate in the same countries as before, but there will be a partial reduction in total numbers. The goal of foreign missions is to stabilize troubled areas, where our soldiers contribute to the protection of the Czech Republic against terrorism and illegal migration. At the same time, our involvement has long confirmed the reputation of a reliable partner within NATO, the EU and the UN," Minister of Defense Lubomír Metnar said. "The proposed deployment will not reduce or limit the ability of the Czech Army to contribute to the resolution of possible crisis situations in our territory."
According to the proposal, the already ongoing operations should be extended to a total of up to 851 troops in 2021 and 946 troops in 2022. This is therefore less than this year's mandate, which allows the deployment of up to 1,096 troops.
"Apart from Afghanistan and Iraq, NATO-led operations remain our priority for the eFP mission in the Baltics, which aims to strengthen collective defense. In addition to the eFP, we want to guard the airspace of the Baltic allies for the fourth time in six months in 2022. From EU-UN missions, we want to continue to operate, especially in Mali. With the CASA aircraft, we intend to continue the MFO operation in Sinai," Minister Metnar concluded.
Of the main areas of operation of Czech soldiers for the years 2021-22, the proposed maximum mandate for deployment is the following:
- in Afghanistan (Resolute Support mission) 205 soldiers, now 390;
- in Iraq (Global Coalition against Daesh and NATO training mission) 80 soldiers, now 110;
- 290 soldiers in the eFP mission in the Baltics, now also 290;
- in Mali (EU training mission and UN mission MINUSMA) 135 soldiers, now 150;
- in the MFO operation in Sinai, 20 soldiers with a CASA C-295M aircraft, now 25;
- Air Policing in the Baltics in 2022 - up to 95 soldiers with five Jas-39 Gripen jets.
The service of a small number of members of the Czech Army will also continue in NATO, EU and UN operations in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Golan Heights and Operation EUNAVFOR MED in the Mediterranean. The embassy in Kabul will continue to be protected by the Military Police unit of up to 20 soldiers.
See also: Foreign deployments: Czech casualties since 1991
The planned financial costs for foreign deployment are lower than in the previous mandate. The expected maximum amount spent on operations in foreign operations is CZK 1.73 billion next year and CZK 1.8 billion in 2022 (CZK 2.4 billion and CZK 2.34 billion were planned for 2019 and 2020, respectively).
Source: army.cz