AMT Ends Its Mission

Team (Mi–35 AMT), Tamás Vargha addressed the homecoming soldiers, saying that “both

our allies and the hosts speak very highly of their work".

“Considerateness has no place in evaluating performance in the area of operation. The success

and effectiveness of the mission and the soldiers’ security may hinge on a single mistake

or inadvertence. Their professional competence is undisputable on an international level,

the soldiers of other nations are pleased to cooperate with them" – the Parliamentary State

Secretary stated.

In his speech, Tamás Vargha noted that the members of the just returned rotation had “given a

tremendous momentum" to the vocational training of the Afghan Air Force.

“As mentors, they contributed to the conduct of successful operations like Close Combat

Attack, reconnaissance/surveillance and troop transport. As mentors, they had opportunity

to learn unique lessons, for example operational sorties in multinational combat formations,

which would have taken them decades to master in peacetime training here in Hungary",

Tamás Vargha said.

In connection with the Peacekeepers’ Day, the State Secretary stressed that Hungarian

peacekeepers are currently serving with several NATO- and EU-led missions, “gathering the

experience offered by a multinational environment, sharing their knowledge and contributing

to building international confidence and security". He added that posterity is obliged and

expected to respect the soldiers who shed their blood for their country, and to continue

holding them in this respect with special care.

Answering our question, Maj. Péter Simon, the Chief of the Flight Engineer Branch of the

th

HDF 86

Szolnok Helicopter Base and the commander of the rotation, who just completed his

tour of duty in Afghanistan said that mentoring the Afghan pilots “had not been an easy task,

but everybody had done a very good job."

“I have directed a young and good team, and we also spent our free time together, which is

very important in a mission abroad. The Afghan colleagues accepted us, and we formed deep

friendships with them. When we, the last rotation said our farewell, even the men wiped a tear

from their eyes, the major said.

Maj. Zsolt Kovács, the aircraft maintenance instructor of the ninth rotation told us that like

it had been the case with the previous eight rotations, the Afghan colleagues viewed them as

“friends and colleagues" during this period too. The Afghan ground crews are experienced, so

we did not have to work together with complete novices – Maj. Zsolt Kovács told us, adding

that he benefited the most from the work done in the international environment.

At the ceremony, Tamás Vargha, Gen. Dr. Tibor Benkő, the Chief of the Defence Staff

and Maj.-Gen. László Domján, the commander of the HDF Joint Command handed over

commendations. On the occasion of the Day of Hungarian Peacekeepers, they laid a wreath

by the peacekeepers’ memorial, where the soldiers and civilians participating in the ceremony

paid their tribute.

The HDF Mi–35 AMT had the mission of providing academic and hands-on training for the

attack helicopter pilots of the Afghan Air Force, participating in the aviation unit maintenance

(AVUM) work of Afghan National Army Air Corps (ANAAC), as well as mentoring the

Afghan aircraft maintenance specialists.

Photos by the author