High-readiness force successfully passes CREVAL

The term Combat Readiness Evaluation of Land Headquarters and Units (CREVAL) denotes the validation and assessment of combat readiness of earmarked land force units declared for conducting allied operations under the NATO Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The CREVAL consists of two phases, an in-barracks phase and an in-field inspection. During the first phase, the evaluators reviewed documents, technical assets and materiel by fields of specialties, whereas in the dynamic phase, the attained capability level was tested in the military training area. The evaluation team tasked with examining the national readiness status was composed of officers from the HDF Joint Force Command. In addition, foreign military observers came from the NATO Allied Land Command (Izmir) to certify that the Hungarian evaluators conduct the CREVAL according to the relevant NATO directives.

The close to 200 members of the rifle company that successfully passed the CREVAL are drawn from personnel of the 3rd Bercsényi Miklós Infantry Battalion of the HDF 5th Bocskai István Infantry Brigade, but some special positions are manned by other military organizations. Upon the activation of the high-readiness force, the Hungarian company, as part of a multinational brigade, must assume the role of a close protection team as well, so one of the tasks at the exercise was to secure the headquarters and a forward command post.

The company started training for the CREVAL some months earlier by adopting a gradual approach from the basics and commencing with the individual preparation of soldiers. The training culminated with a multinational exercise Combined Resolve VIII held in Germany, where the company captured a lot of lessons for the subsequent CREVAL.

The successful validation is to be followed by the analysis of lessons identified, and of course, the unit must continuously maintain the now attained readiness level.

Photos by Kamilla Tordai and the author