This article examines why readiness has not been accepted as a critical element of defence governance by defence institutions in Central and Eastern Europe. Thomas-Durell Young presents a survey of known instances of readiness under-performance, based on an analysis of publicly available information, to create a macro view of the problem, grouped by services across the region to facilitate comparability. He highlights cases of success and identifies the factors which contributed to such outcomes to learn lessons which can be replicated elsewhere. Finally, in order to provide a degree of continuity and context, the Slovenian armed forces are examined in each category.

BANNER IMAGE: The Slovenian Navy's Triglav, July 2010. Courtesy of Marko Pišlar/MORS