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✇Euromaidan Press
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Russia’s war against Ukraine prompts Czechia to train teenagers in combat skills to strengthen national defense

Par :Vira Kravchuk

Czech military launches first voluntary training program for high school students to strengthen national defense capabilities.

Czechia began its inaugural voluntary military training program for high school students, with 718 participants beginning four weeks of intensive instruction at eight military bases across the country in the first program of its kind.

The initiative represents part of a broader defense strategy aimed at strengthening national security capabilities while providing youth development opportunities.

The program was initiated in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Czech military leaders have explicitly cited the need to increase the number of recruits and strengthen national resilience in response to the deteriorating security situation in Europe.

According to the Ministry of Defense, the program attracted nearly 750 applicants aged 18 to 22 years, with five candidates failing entrance medical examinations and others withdrawing for personal reasons. Female students comprise approximately 20% of the participant cohort, all of whom must be enrolled in secondary education to qualify.

Czechia trains 718 teenagers in combat tactics during four-week voluntary military program that aims to expand national reserves while introducing young people to military service. Photo: Czech Ministry of Defense

Army General Karel Řehka, Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces, stated that the program seeks to “actively reach out to the young generation and introduce them to military service” while “expanding our reserves” through increased societal resilience.

Participants will receive comprehensive military instruction including:

  • tactical fundamentals
  • small arms training
  • grenade handling
  • topographical navigation
  • engineering preparation
  • first aid certification.

The curriculum also incorporates physical conditioning through morning exercises and field maneuvers, culminating in a two-day field exercise under natural conditions.

Can teenagers handle this intensity? The military thinks so. Students who complete the program take a ceremonial oath in their garrison town and receive 40,498 Czech crowns—roughly $1,900—before taxes.

Photos: Czech Ministry of Defense

But the money isn’t the real incentive here. The Czech Ministry of Defense frames this as preparation for “crisis situations” while strengthening “the state’s defense capabilities.” 

The initiative coincides with the Czech military’s Reserve Resources 2025 mobilization exercises conducted in June, which focused on emergency and wartime conscription procedures, according to previous ministry announcements.

Since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, Czechia has provided Ukraine with extensive military aid focused heavily on artillery ammunition and heavy weapons. In 2024 alone, the Czech-led ammunition initiative supplied Ukraine with 1.5 million rounds of artillery shells, including 500,000 large-caliber 155mm and 152mm shells. Czechia also delivered 89 tanks, 226 infantry fighting vehicles and other armored vehicles, and 38 self-propelled howitzers, alongside air assets such as combat helicopters.  The country helps to train Ukrainian soldiers, particularly pilots of F-16 and L-39 aircraft.
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