A survey carried out by army doctors has revealed that half of all Czech soldiers are overweight. The army leadership wants to combat excess weight among soldiers with low-calorie meals and appetite suppressants.
But the daily paper Lidové noviny (August 31) believes that drilling the troops is still the best method of losing weight: “The soldiers of a standing army like ours should live professionally and according to what one of our defence ministers said back in 1993, ‘A fat officer is a preposterous sight.’
“It speaks volumes that these words still hold 18 years later. Why does a professional army rely on wait-loss medication instead of keeping itself fit? Is that today’s professional ethic? Too bad the American, David Petraeus, isn’t the Czech chief of staff, a man with a strikingly good physique. He’d get our army back into shape. Just like Lieutenant Dub in Hašek’s novel, The Good Soldier Švejk, who threatened his troops: ‘I’m going to drill you till tears come to your eyes.’”
Eric Koch’s book, The Weimar Triangle, is available at Indigo-Chapters and in your local bookstore. 
Fat soldiers are a good thing. It means they aren’t fighting or thinking of fighting.
When did you become a Fabian?
Would it be reasonable to infer, therefore, that Czech soldiers do not do the “goose step”?
lol at fred.
tracy
An army should not be “standing” with too much Strudel and (the real) Budweisser Bier. They should prepare an exercise with purpose… Perhaps a march to Berlin? Brussels? Just not Vienna, the cake is far too delicious. (“Czech Soldiers unfit for duty after OD of Sacher Torte”) A rowing contest up the Danube? The competition could be a great charity raiser. They could merge this into a TV show combining “Biggest Loser: Czech”, “Bachelor: Czech Soldier”, and “Race the Golam!”.
Mike Sky
Fat Chance!
Please note that it is only the Czech soldiers, not Slovak — the former confreres in the Czechoslovak army. Slovaks drink more wine than beer when they are not drinking slivovitz and there are many more mountains to climb in Slovakia. I don’t have any statistics but I am sure they are not overweight!
).
Let’s go and find out!