Farewell to the 6th Rotation of the HDF KFOR Contingent

In addition to Lt.-Gen. Zoltán Orosz, also present at the event were Péter Siklósi, the MoD Deputy State Secretary for Defence Policy and Planning and Maj.-Gen. László Domján, the commander of the HDF Joint Force Command. First Lt.-Col. András Polyák, the commander of the 6th rotation reported to Lt.-Gen. Orosz that the contingent was ready to deploy with the mission in Kosovo.

In his speech, the Deputy Chief of Defence stressed that the rotation of troops deployed abroad is a recurrent task in the life of the Hungarian Defence Forces. It is recurrent, yet it is not a routine one, because there may be different duties and situations in the lives of each rotation. The mission in Kosovo is both important and dangerous, which is best shown by the fact that at their latest meeting the NATO Defence Ministers discussed the Kosovo situation as a priority issue. There are currently troops of 29 countries deployed with KFOR, based on a UN mandate. Because the situation in Kosovo continues to be serious, all troop contributing nations of the mission bear an extraordinary burden of responsibility.

“For this reason, we always go to any length in order to prepare, train and equip the personnel to deploy abroad!" – this was what the lieutenant-general said. The Deputy Chief of Defence asked the members of the contingent not to forget about the core values of teamwork and cohesion, so that they can represent the Hungarian Defence Forces and Hungary with honor and rectitude.

At the end of the ceremony Col. János Jákob, the bishop of the Protestant Field Chaplaincy and Col. Tibor Berta, the vicar-general of the Catholic Military Ordinariate blessed the troops to deploy in Kosovo.

Photo: Veronika Dévényi

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