Miloš Špitálský

* 1960

  • “No one told us anything. We didn’t know the thing was called Krkonoše. All of a sudden, we received a combat alert with threat of war, which was exceptional, we never had that before or after. We were issued a new kit, including buttons indicating radioactivity, new mask filters, etc. They gave us live ammunition. That never happened. During other exercises the live ammo was transported separately in Tatra lorries, it was issued to us directly at the firing range. But in this case we carried everything with us inside the BVPs [infantry fighting vehicles]. When I sat in the turret, I was surrounded by live cannon shells. We also had anti-tank shells and machine-gun rounds. The BVP was crammed full, we could hardly budge. I saw one boy who couldn’t move at all, he literally froze stiff, he had to be pulled out by the others, straight into an ambulance. It was freezing cold the whole way long, so they’d take out the engine partition panel, so that the carrier space in the back, where the soldiers sat, got at least some heat, because there wasn’t any heating there.”

  • “After all the training we underwent, we felt we were well trained. When our service was coming to an end, our company commander came up and said that our army was to arrange some mission to Sinai and that they were looking for a BVP-1 crew, so I signed up with a few others. But nothing came of it in the end. We were willing to go it with our company commander, he had a lot of authority and we stood by him.”

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    Hradec Králové, 17.11.2015

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We often practised urban combat after 1980

Miloš Špitálský, 1980
Miloš Špitálský, 1980
photo: Miloš Špitálský

Miloš Špitálský was born on 11 October 1960 in Liberec. In 1979 he trained as a mechanic, and in October he started his compulsory military service. In December 1980 he took part in the Krkonoše field exercise as a BVP-1 (infantry fighting vehicle) gunner-loader in the 1st Company 1st Battalion of the 79th Motor Rifle Regiment (VÚ 6175) in Benešov. In October 1981, after returning to civilian life, he found employment at an assembly firm, with which he travelled to various countries. After the Velvet Revolution he established his own private company Nerez HK (Stainless HK), and he continues to do business to this day.