AERO 115 První, stíhací, Zvolenský 1971-1980, 4.dí – Irra Miroslav (2024)

The spirit in which the next year will unfold was hinted at by a secret order from the regiment commander dated January 3, 1971: "The new Leninist leadership of the party has succeeded in bringing the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and the entire society out of a deep political crisis. Right-wing and anti-socialist forces have suffered a crushing defeat in all areas of social life. ... A significant success is that the correct international relationship with the USSR and other socialist countries has been restored. ... Ideological education work must keep all members of our units in a state of permanent political vigilance and combat readiness. We must not allow those who violate our airspace to go unpunished." And as we will see further, extremely harsh punishments indeed occurred. The regiment's task in the area of combat readiness was established as follows: the readiness forces were to engage the enemy from permanent airfields, positions, and posts immediately, the main forces of the regiment within 60 minutes, parts of the forces within 75 minutes, and the remainder within 90 minutes, all from the issuance of the relevant order. These standards remained in effect until the end of 1989. This section describes the activities of the regiment up to 1980, and the introductory words clearly indicate that especially in the first half of the 1970s, normalization had a significant impact on the life of the regiment. However, the main theme is the activities,…