The army is supposed to grow by a thousand soldiers a year, but recruits only half

Chief of the General Staff Karel Řehka admitted for the first time that the situation was dire. “We need to recruit and increase a thousand soldiers per year net. That’s why I say frankly, if something doesn’t change, if we don’t move forward, it won’t happen,” Řehka told the MPs of the Defense Committee some time ago.

He added that he still believes that it is possible because they are preparing many programs to change laws and attract young people to serve in the army.

The Ministry of Public Works and Defense has been working on various recruitment campaigns for some time to improve conditions. A virtual recruitment center has helped, thanks to which interested parties can complete all formalities remotely and physically and see the army doctor. Army also introduced scholarships for military school students.

But so far it helps only partially. “In May, 250 applicants came to the training center in Vysko, which means a third less recruits than the general staff expected,” army spokeswoman Magdalena Dvorakova told Novincom.

Last year, examinees managed to clear only 85 per cent of the programme. Due to the large number of departures, the net increase in soldiers was only 617 new recruits, of which there were less than two hundred students. It was even worse the year before, when the army had only changed by 219 men.

Řehka believes that recruitment rules can be set so that newcomers face minimal resistance. “We are trying to simplify and speed up the recruitment process, we want to change the health mandate to increase the ban on clinical trials,” said Řehka.

The gist of the change was to relax strict health criteria and allow people with certain health conditions, such as glasses or allergies, to enter certain military occupations.

Defense Minister Jana Chernochova (ODS) said last week after the visit of the general staff that she is preparing to amend the law on soldiers, for example to increase the stabilization allowance or the housing allowance, especially in areas where the army has failed to recruit new soldiers. Confirmation allowance varies from 7 to 12 thousand per month. The housing allowance is now three thousand crowns per month. The average salary of a professional soldier was 44,982 kroner last year.

Recruiters mainly have trouble finding new recruits in the Czech Republic, on the other hand, the situation is better in Moravia. For example, the rapid deployment brigade unit in Žatec is having difficulty replenishing the unit. “50 percent of the base is there,” Černochová said.

Řehko also mentioned the anti-aircraft missile squadron at Strakonis. “We have an unsatisfactory level of completion there, and at the same time we’re getting new resources to train quality people,” he said. The Stragonian division was to replace the old Soviet KUB rocket launchers with the Israeli Spider missile system.

According to sociologist Martin Pustick, the military is not in an easy position because it is highly uncompetitive in the labor market and the declining population curve is stacked against it. “Today’s twenties are a very vulnerable age demographic. Low unemployment doesn’t help the military either, and young people have a wide choice in what they can do,” Bustic told Novincom. He added that today’s generation does not need to look for a specific career offered by the army or police.