FOC Evaluation Exercise at the End of the Training

The personnel of the company were assigned various tasks at the different sites of the training In Capljina, the practice included MEDEVAC request, securing of a helipad, patrol duties and setting up and manning checkpoints. In the military training area of Pazaric, the Hungarian soldiers mastered the basics of FIBUA, while the difficult terrain in Kalinovic put the drivers’ skills to the test. The soldiers executed their tasks in an intense heat, wearing full tactical gears; in addition, the platoons were tasked to react to incidents caused by the role-players as well.

The mission-tailored training of the company was evident from the performance it delivered during the FOC evaluation exercise, on which the soldiers had to evacuate the personnel of a LOT house and execute a crowd and riot control (CRC) task.

According to the scenario of the FOC evaluation exercise, on this hot Thursday in August hooligans flocked to a street in Rajlovac, demanding in Bosnian the immediate withdrawal of international forces. At first the protesters seemed peaceful, but they kept working up each other, and then set up road blocks and finally started throwing things at the deployed law enforcement personnel. The personnel of the Hungarian infantry company stationed in Sarajevo lined up at the end of the road section, wearing body armor, being ready for the expected clash. The incident started around the Turkish peacekeepers’ observation post, so they needed to be evacuated to ensure their physical safety.

When the rioters ignored the repeated warnings from the soldiers and became more and more aggressive towards them, the Hungarians started to disperse the crowd. The demonstrators left a suspicious object behind, which was destroyed by the Albanian EOD technicians.

Our soldiers executed their task in the sweltering heat, wearing body armors and riot shields. Working on the limits of physical strength and mental endurance is not an easy job, but they gave a good performance, standing their ground amidst the dust, smoke and fire. The angry mob acted out by the role-players gave the Hungarian company a really hard time. The Hungarians had to drive back the rioters through a “barrage" of flying tires, PET bottles and sticks, and after the mob was successfully dispersed, the responsible platoon was able to evacuate the personnel of the LOT house without any problems.

Speaking at the ENDEX, Brig.-Gen. Péter Ernő Siposs, EUFOR Chief of Staff, Senior National Representative said that the Hungarian soldiers on this exercise had demonstrated their readiness to execute their assigned tasks to the maximum.

Photo: Szilárd Koszticsák (MTI) and Capt. István Baranyai

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