Deputy Minister Landovský commended soldiers for high professionalism and preparedness at the National Memorial

4.2.2019

Deputy Minister Landovský commended soldiers for high professionalism and preparedness at the National Memorial

The ceremonial hall of the National Memorial at Vítkov was the venue to the decoration ceremony of the servicemembers of the Czech Armed Forces after their return from Latvia. Upon successful mission accomplishment, the soldiers were saluted by Deputy Minister for Defence Policy and Strategy Jakub Landovský, Deputy Chief of General Staff – Director of the MoD Joint Operations Centre Major General Jiří Verner, and other distinguished guests.

Those included the Chairwoman of the Senate Committee for Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security Renata Chmelová, and the Chairwoman of the Committee for Defence of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament Jana Černochová.
“I am proud of the job you have done in Latvia under Canadian leadership. The enhanced Forward presence is presently the NATO’s most successful initiative and I very much appreciate that our gathering here today includes the parliamentarians, who had the opportunity to see you at work in your area of deployment in Latvia, where you have proven your high professionalism and specialist preparedness,” said Deputy Minister Jakub Landovský addressing soldiers lined up for the ceremony.

Clicked with NATO forces

Major General Jiří Verner highly valued that the soldiers seamlessly fit into the machinery of NATO forces in Latvia and contributed to the good reputation the Czech Armed Forces enjoys among Allies.

“In this operation, you have proven your preparedness for a common performance of missions together with other NATO nations’ forces and the ability to cooperate with them on the highest standards level,” Major General Verner appraised the soldiers’ performance in the operation.

The Medal of the Minister of Defence for Service Abroad was bestowed on 55 personnel comprising the mortar platoon in Battle Group led by Canada in the territory of Canada as part of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence (eFP). The core of the unit was formed by soldiers of the 71st Mechanised Battalion home-based at Hranice under the command of Captain Michal Bogdan.

Cross of Merit of the Minister of Defence and the Badge of Honour of the Czech Armed Forces

Deputy Minister Landovský decorated the unit commander with the Cross of Merit of the Minister of Defence and Major General Jiří Verner bestowed the Czech Armed Forces Badge of Honour on Lieutenant Jaroslav Bělaška.

During their six-month tour in Latvia, the unit completed the NAMEJS certification exercise. That involved roughly ten thousand NATO service personnel and the Czechs stood the test with very well. They proved to be an effective component of NATO forces and an excellently trained and reliable unit.

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  • The NATO enhanced Forward Presence is one of the key outcomes of the 2016 Warsaw NATO Summit. The effort resulted in the formation of four battle groups, each equivalent to a reinforced battalion, which are stationed in Poland under U.S. leadership, in Lithuania under German command, in Latvia with Canada in the lead and in Estonia under the leadership of the United Kingdom.
  • The Czech Armed Forces 1st Task Force eFP performed its missions from Camp Adazi located about 45 km northeast of Riga, where 1,400 service personnel are stationed, including their national support elements.
  • The Czech Armed Forces 2nd Task Force eFP has been stationed in the territory of Latvia since January 2019. Its core comprises a 55-strong mortar platoon of the 71st Mechanised Battalion home-based at Hranice.

February 4, 2019