The Czech ground forces headquarters will move from the General Staff seat in Prague to Olomouc (Moravia), in July 2020 within organisational structure changes of the Defence Ministry and military, their representatives have told the lower house defence committee.
The air forces headquarters will move to Prague-Ruzyne. In January, battalions of unmanned aircraft systems and of support for deployable forces will start operating.
Defence Minister Lubomir Metnar (for ANO) said the changes were related to the deteriorating security environment and concerned the whole Defence Ministry.
Metnar said the Finance Ministry had demanded that the number of the Defence Ministry staff be cut by 359, but that it was finally negotiated it would be cut by 80 and this would concern only civilians. On the contrary, the number of civilian employees of the military will go up by 100, he said.
Defence Ministry state secretary Petr Vancura said the ministry's supervision and control section would be cancelled and replaced by an internal audit and inspection section directly controlled by the minister.
The ministry's armament section deputy head Filip Riha said the section would be divided in three parts, the first dealing with everyday financial affairs, the second with armament projects for ground forces and IT, and the third with projects for air force and logistics.
At the General Staff, a new section of intelligence security and the section of support will be divided in three sections that will focus on logistics, communication and information systems, and military health care.
As of next year, the Czech military will shift from the two-level to a standard three-level structure. An operational command level will be established. The new operational headquarters will command units deployed in operations.
Major General Jaromir Alan recently said the two-level structure had been introduced for austerity reasons during the economic crisis.
