Soldiers may not refuse going on foreign missions

Czech soldiers may not refuse serving in the army’s foreign missions, a spokesperson for the General Staff of the Army said on Saturday. Any such refusal would be considered a breach of their basic duties and might result in dismissals of the reluctant army officers. Several media outlets in the Czech Republic recently reported that Czech helicopter pilots were leaving the armed forces to avoid serving on missions in Afghanistan. An anonymous pilot told TV Nova on Thursday that he never thought he would be sent to what he described as “a regular war.” The Czech Army is currently taking part in international peace-keeping and reconstruction missions in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Afghanistan and Iraq.