Minister: Higher financial rewards to help target recruits in regions

The Czech minister of defence, Jana Černochová, says that greater financial rewards will be offered to potential soldiers in regions of the country where the Czech Army is having trouble attracting new recruits. She made the comment after talks on Tuesday with the chief of the General Staff, Karel Řehka.

Ms. Černochová said, for instance, that the army’s 4th Rapid Deployment Brigade based near Žatec, Northwestern Bohemia, had been around 50 percent understaffed for some time.

She said hitherto recruitment drives had failed to attract enough new soldiers.

The army aims to increase troop numbers by a few thousand by the end of the decade, while at the same time more than doubling its active reserves.