Czech students join up for month-long lesson in life as army boosts numbers
As instructors shout commands, dozens of students taking part in a pilot Czech army programme aimed at boosting fledgling enlistment numbers crawl through forest scrub and learn weapons skills.
Like most former Soviet satellite states now in Nato, the Czech Republic has missed recruitment targets for years and is struggling to maintain troop levels.
Some 14,700 soldiers currently serve in the Czech army, but this number has left units understaffed and unable to reach combat readiness.
Around 80 Czech high school students have decided to spend part of their summer learning about army life at the four-week training programme held in a closed military zone 94km (58 miles) west of Prague's capital.
Czech army instructor Michal Baka said: "This is important, just because we are a little bit short of soldiers right now, as with any other modern military.
"We would like to be closer to the younger generation and show them what it means to be a soldier in the Czech military."
In 2021, the Czechs reached 56% of their recruiting goal, rising to 85% in 2022, according to the most recent army data.
Countries across Eastern Europe have struggled to sign up new soldiers and keep experienced ones in a region where Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia all share a border with Ukraine.
In Poland, government and military officials say they are hitting recruiting targets and planning to increase the recruitment limits. Still, critics question whether the goal to build an army comprising 300,000 soldiers is realistic.
With unemployment rates low across Eastern Europe, a major challenge is convincing young people to enlist for less money than they can earn in the private sector.
Eastern Europe's biggest country is also seeking to boost defence spending to nearly 5% of GDP and recently launched a recruitment campaign dubbed 'Holidays With the Army', which provides basic military training over 28 days for citizens aged 18 to 35.
But defence ministry data shows while the number of recruits rose in the latest available figures, a record 9,000 professional soldiers left the service in 2023.
Polish army Platoon Commander, Second Lieutenant Wiktor Margas, said financial factors are among the reasons young people join the army but he also added many join to fulfill their patriotic duty.
Back in the Czech Republic, the youngsters on the four-week army course explain why they got involved.
"I would prefer to take an active part if needed, to defend my loved ones and our country," said 21-year-old student Krystian Dlubisz, a final year economics student who participated in the army training.
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