Chief of Defence Visited Foreign Missions
Szöveg: General Staff | 2017. december 12. 9:00On a four-day visit to foreign missions, Chief of Defence Gen. Dr. Tibor Benkő received updates on the operational and service circumstances of the Hungarian troops deployed in theatres of operations, as well as the already completed and the planned tasks.
Gen. Dr. Tibor Benkő recently visited the Hungarian troops serving with EUFOR in Bosnia-Herzegovina and with UNFICYP in Cyprus. The delegation included Lt.-Col. Márton Szász, Deputy Chief, HDF Joint Force Command Operations Control Directorate, and CSM István Kriston, Command Senior Enlisted Leader of the Hungarian Defence Forces.
The Chief of Defence first paid a visit to the EUFOR in Sarajevo on 7 December. He held a closed-door discussion with COMEUFOR Maj.-Gen. Anton Waldner, and also with Commander NATO HQ Sarajevo (NHQSa) Brig.-Gen. Robert A. “Randy" Huston. In what followed, he received reports on the security situation of the region and the work and tasks of the Hungarian EUFOR Contingent. During the meetings, he emphasized that the Western Balkans theatre of operations is the top priority among the operational roles of the Hungarian Defence Forces. Accordingly, in the area of Bosnia-Herzegovina, both the EUFOR Chief of Staff and the NHQSa Chief of Staff positions are filled with Hungarian leaders. At present, together with its servicing elements, the infantry company – which is currently drawn from HDF 12th Arrabona SAM Regiment and is serving with the Austrian-led Multinational Maneuver Battalion (MNBN) – is the largest Hungarian unit deployed with EUFOR.
During an afternoon staff meeting, Gen. Dr. Tibor Benkő informed the personnel about the ongoing technological developments in the Hungarian Defence Forces, including the forthcoming procurement of fixed-wing transport aircraft, the replacement of utility uniforms and small arms, and the comprehensive renewal of the command and control (C2) system of the Hungarian Defence Forces. Besides, he also mentioned the salary increase that is due from 1st January 2018. At the end of the staff meeting, the soldiers received Christmas gift packages as a token of gratitude and esteem given by the Ministry of Defence and the Hungarian Defence Forces to those soldiers who have to spend the holiday season while serving their homeland far from their families.
Between 8–10 December, the Chief of Defence continued his visit at the Hungarian Contingent of UNFICYP in Cyprus. Serving as part of a multinational – Slovak–Hungarian–Serb–Ukrainian – peacekeeping battalion, the UNFICYP HUNCON is deployed in the eastern Sector 4 of the buffer zone dividing the island. During the visit, Gen. Dr. Tibor Benkő conducted a discussion with UNFICYP Sector 4 Commander Lt.-Col. Marko Jaroslav in Famagusta, and then with UNFICYP Force Commander Maj.-Gen. Mohammad Humayun Kabir in Nicosia on current issues in regional security and the assessment of the Hungarian contingent’s activities.
The Chief of Defence met the Hungarian soldiers posted at the UNFICYP HQ, and then travelled to Patrol Base 91 and to Camp Szent Istvan to personally hand over the Christmas gifts there to Hungarian peacekeepers serving with the mission. On the last day of the visit, while attending a staff meeting held in Camp General Stefanik, Famagusta, he talked with Hungarian troops serving with the UNFICYP mission about the development plans of the Hungarian Defence Forces, the Zrínyi 2026 National Defence and Armed Forces Development Program and other issues of interest to the soldiers.
Photo: General Staff
