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Czech military to reduce officers to save money

08 August 2012 23:21 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA.The Czech military is to reduce the number of officers at its headquarters, including the General Staff, to slim down the commanding structure, Czech Deputy Defence Minister Jiri Sedivy said Wednesday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The number of employees is to decrease in the whole defence sector. There is also a plan of the Defence Ministry’s restructuring that will concern its civilian employees as well, Sedivy noted.

Within the Defence Ministry’s restructuring, separate agencies for personnel issues, property handling and logistics will be established. The national armament office should work independently.

The Defence Ministry was assigned to save further finances at the latest meeting of the National Security Council and it is to submit results of its effort to the government by the end of September, Sedivy said.

"The very first rule is that this must not afflict the executive sections of combat forces," said Sedivy.

However, Sedivy did not mention how many soldiers would be dismissed. According to data from 2010, the defence sector has some 23,000 professional soldiers and about 9,000 civilian employees.