Military of the Czech Republic
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{{Military | color=#8888dd | age=18 years of age | availability=2,414,728 (2005 est.) | service=1,996,631 (2005 est.) | reaching age=66,583 (2005 est.) | active= | amount= $2.17 billion (2004) | percent GDP= 1.81% (2005) }}
The Czech Armed Forces (Czech: Armáda České republiky) consists of Land and Air Forces and of specialized support units. Being a member of NATO since 1999, the Czech Republic completes a major overhaul of the extensive Czechoslovak armed forces which until 1989 formed one of the pillars of the Warsaw Pact military alliance. Czech forces have been gradually downsized from 200,000 to 35,000 and at the same time modernized and reoriented toward defensive posture. In year 2004 the army transformed into fully professional organization and compulsory military service has been ended.
Structure
The structure of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic is as follows:
- The Army
- Joint Forces
- Joint Forces Command
- Land Forces
- Air Force
- Joint Forces Support Units
- Support and Training Forces
- Joint Forces
- The Military Office of President of the Republic
- The Castle Guard
Recent operations
The Czech Republic is a member of the UN and OSCE and has contributed to numerous peacekeeping operations, including IFOR/SFOR in Bosnia, Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Iraq.
Current deployments (as of 2005):
- Kosovo: NATO Operation "Joint Enterprise" (KFOR) - 500 soldiers
- Iraq: Coalition Operation of Multinational Forces - 96 soldiers
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: European Union Operation (ALTHEA) - 65 soldiers
- Afghanistan: NATO Operation (ISAF) - 17 soldiers
External links
- Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic (English)
- Information Center about NATO (Czech)
- Czech Air Force-unofficial site (English)
| North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) | Image:Flag of NATO.svg |
|---|---|
| Belgium | Bulgaria | Canada | Czech Republic | Denmark | Estonia | France | Germany | Greece | Hungary | Iceland | Italy | Latvia | Lithuania | Luxembourg | The Netherlands | Norway | Poland | Portugal | Romania | Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain | Turkey | United Kingdom | United States of America | |
| Candidate Countries: Albania | Croatia | Republic of Macedonia | |
