US embassy cable - 05BRATISLAVA356

C O N F I D E N T I A L  BRATISLAVA 000356 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/27/2015 
TAGS: MARR, PREL, LO, NATO 
SUBJECT: SLOVAK DEFENSE REFORM UPDATE 
 
REF: DAO BRATISLAVA 021320ZMAY05 
 
Classified By: CDA Scott N. Thayer for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) 
 
Soldiers to Deploy Overseas on Orders, Not As Volunteers 
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1. (U) The draft law on the state service of professional 
soldiers requires Slovak soldiers to deploy where they are 
ordered.  Currently, conscripts cannot be sent abroad and 
only professional soldiers who volunteer may be sent out of 
country.  Financial, career, and personal incentives continue 
to draw more volunteers for these deployed positions than are 
available.  Nevertheless, the law brings Slovak military 
operations into line with NATO standards and prepares for the 
all-volunteer force, expected by the end of 2005. 
 
Pay Reform for Military Personnel 
--------------------------------- 
2. (U) The military pay reform draft law introduces a new 
system for remuneration of soldiers according to rank and 
number of years served.  Approximately 95 percent of a salary 
will be tied to rank with the remainder consisting of 
personal bonuses.  Bonuses will reflect night shifts, work on 
weekends and holidays, overtime, and service readiness. 
Bonuses currently form 45-50 percent of a salary.  The law 
would also raise soldiers' salaries by 4.1 percent on average 
and provide 67 percent higher foreign service allowances for 
those engaged in peacekeeping operations abroad. 
Rank-and-file soldiers should receive slightly over 15,000 
crowns (500 USD) monthly, and officers will start at 25,000 
crowns (820 USD) monthly.  The salary of a general may reach 
more than 80,000 crowns (2600 USD) monthly.  The average 
monthly income in Slovakia is 15,825 crowns (520 USD). 
 
3. (C) Defense Minister Juraj Liska said pilots in active 
service, paratroopers, and soldiers working in special or 
difficult conditions or an environment harmful to health, and 
medical personnel will be entitled to premiums.  Pilots have 
spoken out publicly against the reform, arguing the shift 
work and danger associated with their duties deserves more 
than the small premium they will be afforded.  Privately, all 
15 pilots have submitted their resignations; nine of the 15 
are currently pursuing commercial pilot licenses (reftel) at 
the same time as the Slovak demand for commercial pilots is 
rising.  Liska has voiced publicly a willingness to 
reevaluate the pilots' compensation issue. 
 
Military Police/Civil-Military Cooperation 
------------------------------------------ 
4. (C) Parliament approved new legislation that would remove 
the Military Police (MP) from the General Staff and make them 
responsible only to the Minister of Defense.  The legislation 
would remove MPs from the command and control structure of 
the military, prevent them from supporting combat operations, 
and move them further away from offering Slovak MPs to NATO 
as a niche capability.  The Director of the MPs, a military 
lawyer, made this proposal directly to the Parliamentary 
Security and Defense Committee, bypassing the civilian and 
military chain of command.  The legislation passed all three 
readings quickly and under the radar screen of most 
observers. 
 
5. (C) Chief of the General Staff Bulik encouraged President 
Gasparovic to veto the legislation (a request we quietly 
seconded), which he did.  Security and Defense Committee 
Chairman Robert Kalinak (Smer) told Charge that parliament 
would not seek to overturn Gasparovic's veto but would craft 
new legislation that addressed the military's concerns. 
 
6. (C) Foreign Policy Advisor to MOD State Secretary Fedor, 
Mario Nicolini, told poloff that Fedor strongly opposed the 
legislation.  Nicolini offered that the legislation was a 
threat to the defense reform and circumvented the chain of 
command.  He confirmed mission's impression that the military 
police are reluctant to incorporate combat duties into their 
areas of responsibility.  Nicolini also confirmed Defense 
Minister Liska (SDKU) refused to take up the issue, because 
he wanted to avoid any potential political controversy. 
 
Czech-Slovak Brigade Command Split in Kosovo 
-------------------------------------------- 
7. (C) MOD representatives have voiced dissatisfaction with 
the level of decision-making authority the Czechs allow them 
in the combined KFOR brigade.  Consequently, both countries 
will increase their commitments to KFOR in order to operate 
independently.  The Czech and Slovak companies may remain 
united for political cover but will operate only loosely 
together on the ground.  The Czechs will increase their 
contingent from 400 to 600.  The Slovaks will provide the 
added number of personnel required to provide for their own 
logistics that the Czechs previously provided.  The Slovak 
company will likely contract out some of the logistical needs 
of the company. 
 
Special Operations Forces 
------------------------- 
8. (C) The special operations forces previously offered to 
NATO as a niche capability are currently working on police 
support for counter-terrorism operations.  Nicolini said this 
was their secondary mission with their primary task still 
preparing for when they will have enough financial resources 
to be offered to the Alliance. Their goal is to be deployable 
and sustainable for six months. 
THAYER 
 
 
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