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SUMMARYSUMMARYExcerpt from an Interview with theMinister of Defence of the SlovakRepublic, Juraj LiškaA few weeks ago, the last recruitswent to the National Service in theSlovak Army. There were less recruitsin comparison with preceding yearsbut it is not linked to the demographictrend in Slovakia only.Sure, the professionalization of thearmed forces is one of the most discussedtopics not only in Slovakia but in numberof other European countries. The matteris in the trend which has been manifestedsince the fall of Berlin Wall in 1989.Slovakia made the decisive step towardsthe creation of the professional army by myministerial resolution which discontinuedthe recruitment for the performance ofthe National Service. Our committmentconfirmed by the Parliament was to buildup the professional army by the end of2006. I have an analysis made to find outwhether it is possible to accelerate thisprocess. The answer of my colleagues wasyes but under several conditions. First ofall, I had to duly solve the problem of whatto do with the activities performed by therank and file in the National Service. Thetalk is about cooking, tiding, guardingand other activities. Further on, we had tocomplete the relevant legislation becausethe transition to professional armed forcesis connected with drafting and amendinga number of acts and regulations. Thetrends in staffing the positions in the armyby military professionals are also of greatimportance. And, last but not least, wehad to find sufficient resources to fund thegiven process. The media and the publicmade a pressure on me by asking me fora prompt answer to whether it is possibleto have professional army earlier than inJanuary 2007. I understand pretty welltheir attention but it is a very sensitivetopic. We had to consider a lot of interlinkedquestions therefore the final resolution tooka little bit more time.Some citizens do not perceive theprofessionalization of the armyproperly. They talk about themercenaries who are too costly forthe State budget. Could you explainthe difference between the soldiersperforming their National Service andthe professionals?To say simply: the service in theprofessional armed forces is voluntary.As for the National Service many peoplehave performed it only by force. Theirattitude towards to the fulfilment ofduties have been corresponding to thisfact. The professionals are different. Forthem the service is work, challenge andmission. This is the basic difference. We arebuilding professional, well trained, armedand equipped army able to intervenewithin the entire range of military andnon-military threats. I have in mind notonly global conflicts but also new era‘schallenges such as terrorism, humanitarianand natural disasters, defence of strategicobjects, combat operations for the defenceof democracy in any place throughout theworld. This is only a small portion of the realtasks to be fulfilled by military professionals.They are ready to fulfill them thanks to themulti-facetted training - which starts bypreparing the staff for combat activitiesand ends by exercising for the assistance tothe population threatened by disaster.As for the resources, we want toachieve higher quality for the sameamount of money. At the very beginningmore significant investment is necessary.However, in the long term, the professionalarmy is more efficient. Just to give anexample: a soldier signs a contract forthree years. He will be trained as a driverof armoured vehicle. In the condition ofthe National Service six conscripts shouldbe trained in the same time which impliesmore costs and less quality.Excerpt from an Interview with StateSecretary at the Ministry of Defence ofthe Slovak Republic, Martin FedorIn what parts of the world and withinwhat operations do the troops of theSlovak Army perform their mission- I mean their activities in the threecontinents - Europe, Africa and Asia?We live in the era of global threats- represented namely by terrorism andthe weapons of mass destruction which,at present, easily cross the border andare beyond any limits. It is necessary tosolve the crises on the place where theyare generating and not to wait until theirconsequences pass to our territory. After weentered the NATO and the European Unionthe defence of Slovakia became inseparablefrom that of our allies. The armed forcesare being transformed into multiserviceones capable to cover much larger scopeof activities. In the past, the army was builtfor the defence of territory. Nowadays, weneed the army for defending our intereststhere where they are threatened - it meansabroad.At present, Slovakia has almost 600soldiers in fourteen operations abroad.They are active in the operations of crisismanagement mainly in the stability keepingoperations aimed at maintaining the peacein the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq. Largerpeacekeeping troops operate in Cyprus andthe Golan Heights.Until now the operations of our troopsabroad have been mostly focused onhumanitarian aspects. However, the futurewill require their mobilization for theentire range of operations within NATO.Also a nature of international mandatefor their intervention abroad may alter inparticular events. In 2008 we are to jointhe NATO Immediate Response Forces andin 2010 the EU combat group which is nowbeing built by common efforts of Poland,Germany, Lithuania and Latvia.The armed forces and the public must beduly prepared for our new ambitions andresponsibilities. Activities of our soldiersabroad contribute primarily to the solutionof dangerous situations. At the same timethey make the prestige of Slovakia and itstroops higher. Mobilizing the Slovak Armywith its allies also increases its ability tointeroperate and coordinate the efforts withthe best armies of today‘s world associatedin NATO. High benefit of the operationsabroad is the practical experience acquiredand the language skills improvement whichwill have their impact on the training of allthe armed forces.Is there a sufficient interest in theactivities abroad among the soldiers?Today we observe sufficient interest inoperating abroad. Staffing the ranks ofnon-commissioned officers and officercadets is without problems. Staffing theranks of officers is problematic, until nowwe have not succeeded to balance the ranksand professions required with the functionsin the missions abroad. The interestof soldiers in these missions positivelyresponded to the increase of bonus forservice abroad. For the future, the missionabroad will be an inseparable part ofa professional soldier‘s career. Pursuant tothe new Act on Civil Service of ProfessionalSoldiers, each professional performingthe civil service shall consent withits performance according tothe needs of the armed forces.These needs also comprise the85