Czech Television reports that the Czech Army is currently at its largest, since mandatory military service ended in 2004. The army currently comprises of about 25,000 men and women but is still short of 2200 people, which it plans to recruit in 2019.
About 300 new recruits joined the army in January, with hundreds more expected to join in the coming months. Separately, the national police force is also short of about 2700 people, which it will attempt to recruit this year.
Given the extremely low unemployment level in the country, it has relaxed some of the rules, including the recruitment of candidates without high school diplomas.
