On Thursday 25th July the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tomáš Petříček arrived to the Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) in Kabul, and within his official visit of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan he also visited Czech soldiers at the Resolute Support Mission Headquarters (HQ RS), and at the Bagram Base.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs was welcomed at the Airbus A-319 by the HKIA base commander Brigade General Husan Huseyin Kanbur, the Czech Ambassador in Afghanistan Petr Štěpánek, and the Commander of the 19th Task Force, Lieutenant Colonel Roman Smolka.

Picture: Minister of Foreign Affairs Tomáš Petříček visited soldiers in Afghanistan | archive of the 19th Task Group of the ACR Resolute Support Mission

Minister Petříček received information on the security situation in the country and on fulfilling the operation task of the Guardian Angels protection unit, and of the whole Task Group. This was followed by a short discussion attended also by the Ambassador, Commander of the 19th Task Group, members of the Headquarters of the 19th Task Group, and members of the Protection Unit.

The Minister was interested in how many foreign operations did the soldiers participated in within their career life, what do they regard as benefits, whether they are supported by their families, and how do their families and close friends cope with this uneasy situation. Responses to the first question were different, some soldiers are participating in a foreign mission for the fourth time, whereas some of them for the first time. The second question was answered by Sergeant First Class D. S.: “Each mission is a great experience from the perspective of the uneasy preparation before leaving the country, and from the perspective of the family at the same time.” Members of the 19th Task Group agreed on the fact that the support of the family is very important in this respect. Participation in a foreign operation is regarded as an important part of their career, and the activity of a soldier within a foreign operation itself may be influenced by the situation at home. Therefore it is important to prepare the family for such situation.

Picture: Minister of Foreign Affairs Tomáš Petříček visited soldiers in Afghanistan | archive of the 19th Task Group of the ACR Resolute Support Mission

Within further agenda the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Ambassador met high representatives of Afghanistan and NATO representatives. Finally the Minister of Foreign Affairs had dinner with the Czech members of the Resolute Support Headquarters.

In the morning of the following day a meeting took place at Bagram Base, where the Minister of Foreign Affairs met the Commander of the base, and deployed combat equipment was shown to him. Minister of Foreign Affairs did not fail to greet the members of the 12th BAF Guard Company, and the Commander of the 2nd Unit of Support and Influence, and its representatives.