English Anotation

 The Preparations for the Admission of the Czech Republic to NATO in a Branch of Military Administration by Col. Ing. Zdeněk Brousil. This year, at a government level, state officials have made the analysis of our preparation to enter NATO. As a result, military administration was ordered to take control over a number of important measures. Firstly it is the preparation of legislature and state defence acts. The army is to follow interoperability goals, planning defence sources and infrastructure. Further it is joining NATO security investment programme and restructuring Czech defence industry. The Czech Republic took up commitment to establish a permanent agency with NATO and share an adequate part in collective defence planning, incl. joining planning cycles of the Alliance. We are preparing to work actively in NATO agencies. Last but not least, we are going to introduce security of information measures. It is also necessary to sign several, nine actually, international agreements concerning cooperation and activities within the Alliance, the list of which is added to this article.

The Process of NATO Inner Adaptation to Changed Conditions in the World (CJTF Command Concept) by Lt.Col. GSO by Ing. Jiří Halaška. The concept of Combined Joint Task Forces Command introduces rather new problems of command and control. Those were verified during common multinational exercises or during NATO forces deployment (IFOR, SFOR). The significance of this CJTF concept for the present-day AČR is - according to the author - at the two levels. At the level of practical cooperation we see what sorts of staff members we shall need, their necessary qualifications and skills. We know how they ought to be trained for activity in CJTF staffs. At the theoretical level we may see the division of authority in NATO organizational structures. This process is based on experiences of CJTF exercises and deployments. The concept makes use of territorial army experiences, because deployment missions are very similar.

 SFOR Operations on the Territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Preparation of Follow-up Peace Mission by Lt.Col. Dr. Lubomír Žumár. This article is actually a report about activities of ACR units deployed in Bosnia-Herzegovina territory from June 1st to December 1997. We hope that the year 1998 will bring a final solution to this conflict. But peace can be reached only under international supervision. We also share this responsibility, as the Czech contingent is a part of SFOR forces. NATO superiors very often appreciate professional behaviour of Czech servicemen. Such experiences have increased our interoperability with NATO countries, language word power of army personnel and last but not least we have gained a lot of practical knowledge in conducting operations under NATO standards, which is very important especially this year, when we are going to be approved to be a full member of this defence organization.

 The Security System of the CR and Crisis Management - II by Maj. Ing. Lubomír Spáčil, CSc. The author in his article tries to sum up hitherto existing information and its assessments, namely those concerning preparation and realization of multinational and interagency exercise Hexagrant 97 v in 1997, relief effort during the floods in Moravia region in July 1997, and interagency workshop on crisis management problems under the auspice of Minister of Defence in September 1997. Introduced data and conclusions are at present reflected in many government documents. They are intended to be the main basis for working up new Crisis Management Bill and consecutive manuals, which are prepared under the direction and coordination of the Czech Ministry of Interior (Home Office).

 Don°t Be Afraid of Programme Structure! by Col. Ing. Václav Svoboda. This time the author concentrates on one of many problems of PPBS (Planning, Programming and Budgeting System) exploitation. This system goes through many problems now, i.e. in February 1998. Among others it is especially lengthy implementation "Defence Sector Concept" and permanent structural instability. A certain role is probably played also by insufficient publicity of PPB system. We need deep insight into its inner logic, which is the main theme the author tries to underline. His attention is paid to the problems of forming programmes, broader aspects programme behaviour and its development. He hopes that this essay will open a discussion about the proper use of PPBS in our army and in this way he wants to arouse interest in PPBS procedures. All sorts of response to his article are welcomed.

 MILITARY ART

Possible Trends of Development in Armed Forces and Military Arts by Lt.Col. Ing. Miroslav Štangl, CSc. From various points, at various professional levels, many authors try to estimate future international progress, so that they could set down prospective objectives for armed forces in the first decades of coming century. This article comes out namely from requirements of future forces and perceived pace of their development, which depends on major scientific and technological changes, new military technologies and methods of combat. In a sense, the main conclusions of this summarizing article are generally coincident with the conclusions of various studies in the field of military art published in military magazines and reviews of NATO member countries, as well as some other states.

 US Army Operations and New Field Manual 100-5 by Lt.Co. Ing. Milan Hanousek. The theory of conducting operations in NATO armies is the field which we, in the Army of the CR must carefully watch. This year we shall see new American field manual FM 100-5 "Operations", which represents evolutional turning point in the theory of operational arts (major tactics). And therefore it deserves our close attention. The author reacts to this newly prepared publication. He explains its position and the purposes for its creation. The stress is put on new directions in American "operational art" development, how it works on strategical and tactical levels. Finally he tries to analyze some new ideas concerning field engagement both U.S. Army and armies of other nations.

Something More to the Role of the Army of the Czech Republic by Col. GSO Ing. Milan Kubeša, CSc. The reorganization of the Czech Ministry of Defence (MoD) is underway. Are all measures right? Col. Kubeša argues that it is not proper to subordinate General Staff administratively under the MoD. According to him, those two bodies must be separated, as the MoD is not a Ministry of War. He also does not understand why the Institute of Defence Studies was abolished. Anyway, we need an institution for military art development. Operational manual of field forces "Všeob-P-6" can°t be used under present circumstances. We are missing interagency body for crisis management. The territorial defence forces are underestimated. At the end he draws his idea of land defence forces, consisting of brigades.

 Military Trends at the Turn of the Next Century and their Influence upon ACR Buildup by Lt.Col. Ing. René Nastoupil, CSc. Except for several conception teams (e.g. at the Defence Policy and Strategy Section, MoD, and several departments of Military Academy Brno) we have no places where the future concepts can be discussed. It is necessary to open broad discussion in our Army about problems connected with coming information age. The starting points for our discussion ought to be geostrategical analysis, the so-called revolution in military affairs, and conception analysis of armed forces of NATO countries, namely USA. The key words are as follows: information war, digitalization, tactical Internet and Army Vision 2010.

 OPINIONS, CONTROVERSY

Must We Follow our Capacities, or Needs? by Col. (ret.). František Němec. This article is a reaction to the article by Doc. L. Hodboď "Once Again to PPBS - II", VR 3/97, in which Mr. Hodboď was involved in problems of the size and armament of the ACR. Mr. Němec argues that it is high time to realize that there are no chances to calculate our military budget according to supposed "needs", as Doc. Hodboď outlined. Firstly we must change our minds. There is an overall trend in western world to build small armies, supported with highly advanced technologies. Conscript system (national service) doesn°t pay. The future lies in all-volunteer, professional forces, backed by very small regular reserves. But our Czech army, contrary to those trends, is going to train large strategical reserves, which do not match our real needs.

 How to Continue in ACR Land Forces Development? by Lt.Col. Doc. Ing. Luděk Hodboď, CSc. In 1997, there was worked out and finally approved by the Czech government a document called "A Concept Scheme of the Land Forces of the ACR". Some of the problems broadly discussed and emphasized by the Press are commented by Senior Lecturer form Military Academy Brno, Doc. L. Hodboď. What sort of organizational structure of the ACR must be developed, what kind of military and non-military risks we must solve, how to build an overall system of state defence and how to determine the "most unfavourable situation", those are the questions the author tries to answer. He believes that it is our duty to discuss such problems, namely inside the army. He himself has several objections to contemporary concept. And so is also the purpose of this article, to present ideas for further developing of the concept.

21st Century Europe (subliminal anxiety about a conflict) by František Roček. Many sober people feel even today a fear for prospective military conflicts that can°t be avoided. The same feeling used to have people in the thirties, when Hitlerite fenomenon was born. Today the same position holds islamic fundamentalism or increasing influence of People°s China. In 2010 we expect new division of spheres of influence. As the armed conflicts will took place probably mostly outside Europe, the Czech Republic will not be affected by them. Nothing but cruise missiles can reach our territory, therefore we must pay attention firstly to air defence, then to possible groups of terrorist or waves of immigrants. Our army, blamed now as money consumption machine, will be again appreciated as a tool of public security. But there are only twelve years to re-arm ...