The Czech Army Will No Longer Train Recruits Only in Vyškov

Over the next two years, the Czech army will begin providing basic training for recruits and reservists not only in Vyškov in South Moravia, but in at least several other towns across the country, Deputy Chief of the General Staff General Pavel Lipka has announced.

Training to be moved to the regions

"Within two years we should be able to run these training courses in full at a minimum of four locations. I expect we will be able to gradually decentralize this activity down to territorial defense battalions as well as ground and air force units," Lipka confirmed. This concerns introductory courses for active reserve soldiers and for those who want to take part in one-off voluntary military exercises. The basic training course for professional soldiers, as well as specialized courses for all service members, will for now remain in Vyškov.

According to the general, besides Line and Přerov, the possible new sites being considered for reservist courses include Hodonín, Tábor, Bechyně, and likely somewhere in the Zlín Region. He recalled that until 2004, before mandatory military service was abolished, basic training was carried out simultaneously at several garrisons across the country, and the army is now returning to that earlier practice.

Experience from summer camps for students

The military has already tested the possibility of running basic training outside Vyškov over the past three years, when it held voluntary summer military camps for high school students in various parts of the country: students who had reached the age of majority completed an accelerated basic training course and could then choose to continue serving in the army or the active reserve. "A standard basic course doesn't require special infrastructure — you need a training ground, a garrison parade square where blank training ammunition can be used, accommodation, instructors, and a shooting range within reach," Lipka listed.

Reserve to grow by nearly 10,000 people

Having a single location for initial training is a legacy of the period after mandatory military service was abolished, when the army became fully professional and shrank considerably. But in recent months recruitment into the army has again been going well, and the General Staff is drawing up ambitious plans for troop numbers. The new Chief of the General Staff, Miroslav Hlaváč, expects that by 2030 the army will have around 32,000 professional soldiers and 15,000 active reservists — compared with earlier plans of 30,000 and 10,000, respectively. The army currently has around 28,000 personnel, with just over five thousand in the active reserve.

The biggest growth, by nearly 10,000 people, is expected specifically among active reservists — most of whom will serve in territorial defense battalions, which are gradually being set up in every region of Czechia and are meant to play a key role in the event of a security threat. If Russia were to threaten an attack on Europe, both brigades that make up the bulk of the Czech army would be deployed wherever the Supreme Allied Command Europe directs them, while protecting critical infrastructure and supporting allied units passing through Czechia would fall to territorial defense reservists.

According to Lipka, the chance to serve in a territorial defense battalion close to home should boost people's interest in the active reserve — much like the chance to complete basic training near home instead of having to travel to Vyškov, as is currently the case.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz