Jaroslav Tvrdik knows the military. He was an officer for Czechoslovak peacekeeping forces in the Balkans. He held the rank of lieutenant colonel. He is married to an Army captain.

But only now, as a civilian politician, is he facing his most formidable battle.

Prime Minister Milos Zeman has given the newly appointed defense minister three months to forge a plan that would transform the aging, Soviet-influenced Czech military into a NATO-level force.

It is a demanding order, and the earnest 32-year-old Tvrdik knows it.

"Despite the great successes of the Czech Army over the last 10 years, it still has, unfortunately, too many of the features of a socialist army," he said in an interview with The Prague Post.

Tvrdik's approach to changing all that is striking by contrast to his predecessors. He supports the creation of a professional army. He wants Czech soldiers to focus on peacekeeping duties. In a sense, he seeks to rewrite the Army's mission statement.

"In the opinion of NATO's leadership, the main problem is that our system of defense planning is not functioning," he said. "We don't need an army that would be able to defend the country from all directions anymore."

For decades, communist Czechoslovakia was a key Warsaw Pact state, foreseen as a staging area for Soviet-bloc troops in the event of a ground war against NATO forces.

Now, Tvrdik must look the other way -- literally. He must please his own government as well as NATO, which is headquartered in Brussels.

A career officer with a decade-long pedigree, Tvrdik replaced Vladimir Vetchy in May. For most of his tenure, Vetchy had been assailed for failing to modernize a force that has been part of NATO since 1999.

Tvrdik didn't get off to an easy start.

As the first post-1989 Czech defense minister to emerge from Army ranks, he was hounded by opposition politicians. Some had bad memories of old regime links between the government and the military.

Michael Zantovsky, the shadow defense minister of the center-right Quad Coalition, insisted Tvrdik was too "fresh from military service." His appointment violated "the principle of civilian control of the military."

The Tvrdik file Jaroslav Tvrdik Born: Sept. 11, 1968, Prague Education: 1986-1990 Military College of Ground Forces, studied Armed Forces Economics Career: 1990-92 Comptroller and economics officer with Defense Ministry 1992-93 Comptroller of Czechoslovak Contingent, UN Peace Forces, Yugoslavia 1993-2000 Various high-level postings in economics division of Defense Ministry December 2000-May 2001 Deputy defense minister for economics May 4 Appointed defense minister Family: Married to Captain Jana Tvrdikova; daughter, Jana, born in December 2000

But Tvrdik remains undaunted.

Ninety days, he believes, is sufficient to construct a basic plan for military reform -- as long as it's built on professional soldiers who are paid for their expertise.

"The Army's priority must be to build units designed for rescue operations and humanitarian and peacekeeping missions abroad," he said. "Only fully professional units are capable of such engagements."

Critics are not so sure of the government's commitment. Some of them suggest that Tvrdik is helping Zeman's ruling Social Democratic Party (CSSD) with a campaign ploy. National elections are set for 2002.

"It looks like a joke from the prime minister," said Petr Necas, the shadow defense minister for the opposition Civic Democratic Party (ODS). "Only two or three months ago, [Zeman] was strongly against the idea of a professional army."

For years, right-wing parties have pressed for military reform -- including the creation of a professional army. They say the CSSD has co-opted their plans to curry favor with voters ahead of the national ballot.

"They've suddenly changed their position, right before elections," Necas said. "They probably hope it will be popular with voters and create public support for their new defense minister."

But Tvrdik hardly seems like a political figure.

A trained financial analyst, he remains convinced that a professional army could be introduced within four to six years. Only about 50 percent of the Army's current force of 54,000 are career soldiers. The remainder are youthful draftees serving a mandatory 12-month military stint.

Claiming poor health is one way around the draft, and Tvrdik considers this a serious problem. The "worsening medical condition of the recruits," he said, means that in many parts of the country, only 35 percent of eligible youth serve in the military.

Others volunteer to work in hospitals, schools or other institutions. "As part of the democratization of society brought about by the changes in 1989, we have an exaggerated democracy applied to our armed forces," he said.

For Tvrdik, an army should be composed of those who wish to join it. To make service more attractive, he said he would invest in "human resources." A career soldier now makes about 20,000 Kc ($500) a month, about 30 percent higher than the average national wage, but still a modest sum.

Once the personnel problem is solved, Tvrdik believes the Army can get on with improving its hardware to meet NATO's stated demands for a "smaller, lighter and more mobile army."

As it stands, the country's ground forces are dominated by a fleet of T-72 battle tanks -- hardly small or light.

Tvrdik also has doubts about recent purchases, including L-159 subsonic fighter planes, which the military began receiving this year. The L-159s, designed to support ground forces, do little to help the country patrol its borders, he said.

The government recently asked for bids on the purchase of up to 34 new supersonic fighter jets to replace its 1960s MiG-21s, but only one company, Anglo-Swedish BAE Systems, participated in the $101 billion Kc tender.

Tvrdik said the fate of the purchase hinges on the fate of the overall reform plan.

Money, of course, will play a key role.

The government has pledged to maintain Army funding at 2.2 percent of the gross domestic product -- about 50 billion Kc -- but few expect the cash-strapped state will pay more.

And Tvrdik admits that even a smaller, professional army won't save much money, because career soldiers will cost more.

Ridding the Army of surplus properties it acquired during the communist regime could cover the difference.

As deputy minister, Tvrdik implemented an ambitious plan that saw the Army start unloading vast quantities of surplus properties and buildings. Fewer buildings means fewer structures the Army must guard and pay for.

According to Tvrdik, NATO's initial reaction has been positive. Vetchy was dismissed after NATO Secretary General George Robertson expressed concerns over Army modernization while on a visit.

But Tvrdik's opposition critics remain dubious that he can deliver a comprehensive plan by July 31, the three-month deadline. "It's simply not possible to create a serious and credible plan to create a professional army in three months. It would take at least one year to do so," Necas said.

Zantovsky also is pessimistic. "I believe that [Tvrdik] will have some kind of plan [by July 31], but it will be rather vague," he said.

The pressure on Tvrdik isn't expected to let up, especially with NATO considering extending invitations to more former Eastern bloc nations at its summit in Prague next year.

"The leadership of NATO has expressed its wish that the reform of the Czech Army be used as a demonstrating model for the reforms in other Eastern armies," Tvrdik said. "As you can see from my words, a lot is expected from our work."


-- Vojtech Saman contributed to this report.


Michael Mainville's e-mail address is mmainville@praguepost.cz