Libava, North Moravia, March 8 (CTK) – Czech active military reserves are training the protection of the state border and important buildings in their largest exercise at the military grounds Libava in the Olomouc vicinity and chief-of-staff Josef Becvar praised their effort yesterday.
The soldiers are training up to ten hours a day coping with a harsh climate and a big physical load.
A total of 1100 soldiers from across the country will be taking their turns in nine-day periods until April 22.
The preparation for the “Hradba 2016” (Barrier 2016) exercise took five months.
The reserves are comprised of people of all kind of professions, including teachers and miners.
Becvar praised them, saying “the difference between you and professional soldiers is indistinguishable.”
The active reserves have about 1250 members. Becvar said yesterday the military should have a total of 24,000 soldiers by the end of 2025 and 5000 active reservists who will be fulfilling tasks commonly done by professionals.
“If there were any threat, the reserves could be deployed to protect important buildings and facilities, but they could also complete professional units in case of losses. The reservists should get more money for their operation and their employers will be compensated if the reserves are deployed or sent to training.
The reserve members are 18 to 57 years of age and they sign contracts for three years. Yesterday, the active reserves train 21 days a year. As from July, the training will be one week longer in accordance with new legislation.
Officially, the active reserves were established in reaction to the armed forces’ needs as from January 2, 2004. However, reserves were trained in “voluntary military exercises” from 1999 already.
