Everyone follows with concern the current COVID-19 outbreak situation and the CAF is not spared either. I read that almost one thousand soldiers are in quarantine. Is that number high, or low?
Foto: ČTK
Given the size of our army, I would say the number is high. If we do not take into account the number of soldiers on missions abroad and the number of soldiers meant to serve in alert units under our international obligations, the number is quite high. We sometimes forget the number of staff needed to complete tasks that we take for granted: guarding military compounds, continuous operation of military hospitals and first-aid posts, Czech airspace security and related air traffic control security, continuous command of the CAF through permanent services, assignment of crews to the Police of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Health… I believe that the CAF will manage these tasks well, but I would like us to remember these difficulties once the situation is over and look back to analyse it and see what the country truly needs at such times.