Libava, North Moravia, March 2 (CTK) – The biggest exercise of Czech active reserve troops ever will begin in the Libava military training grounds on Thursday.
The exercise of more than 1100 reserve troops will last seven weeks, until April 22. Two or three units will always train together in Libava for nine days.
It took five months to prepare the exercise, its main organiser Jaroslav Hrabec, from the Ostrava regional military command, said.
The readiness of active reserve troops to be deployed in missions is one of the priorities of the Czech army, Hrabec said.
“The form and contents of the exercise will be similar to the real deployment of military units that meet their tasks in the Czech territory,” Chief-of-Staff Josef Becvar said previously.
Becvar will present the exercise to journalists on March 8.
The reserve troops will train long-term patrolling of compounds, joint action with police teams and protection of parts of the state border, among others.
The exercise will deal with a potential terrorist threat posed by the radicalisation of groups operating in the Czech Republic or terrorists entering the country disguised as migrants.
The exercise will deal with all kinds of capabilities, such as shooting, chemical protection, topographic and medical skills and tactics.
There are about 1250 active reserve troops in the country. The Czech military commanders want to increase their number up to 5000 in the next ten years, also thanks to new laws that make it more attractive for people to join the reserve forces.
In case of an emergency situation, the reserve troops might protect key buildings and facilities, such as power plants, and they might replace fallen regular soldiers.
