Řehka: Defence of state matter for whole society not just army

The head of the Czech Army, Major General Karel Řehka, says defending the state is not a matter for the armed forces but for the whole of society. Speaking at Masaryk University in Brno on Wednesday, the chief of the General Staff said that security wasn’t discussed sufficiently openly in Czechia in past years; this created a sense that there were no dangers and that the army, or NATO, could take care of everything.

Major General Řehka said earlier this year that a selective mobilization would be necessary in Czechia if there were a war between NATO and Russia on the alliance’s eastern flank. He said on Wednesday that it was bizarre that anybody questioned this idea.