Preparing for the Balkans Joint Operational Area

The officers and NCOs to be posted in individual positions in the Balkans Joint Operational Area (JOA) are taking their pre-deployment training in Szolnok. Their theatre-specific training started on March 26 and ended on March 30. Lt.-Col. Zoltán Apáti, the commandant of the HDF Peace Support Training Center in charge of the pre-deployment training program told us that the members of the group received mission-specific training which included presentations with assessment of military geography, geopolitical situation analysis and background information about the conflicts in the region. Religious and cultural awareness training has been an important part of the program too, just like the preparation for emergencies in the area of operations.

Target practice No. 2. was more complex: after the challenge and a warning shot, the peacekeepers fired three aimed and three flying shots, then, having changed magazines and firing positions, they fired at another target. They used the remaining ammo to neutralize a ringleader in a group of four innocent persons.

Ten soldiers achieved excellent results with assault rifles and seven ones with pistols during target practice No. 1, while 12 of them did the same with assault rifles and 14 with pistols on target practice No.2.

On March 29, the officers and NCOs to deploy with the missions in the Balkans continued their mission-specific training for the concrete positions. Within that, they met their colleagues who recently returned home from the region, after serving in the same positions. These colleagues informed them of their upcoming tasks and updated them on the latest situation in the theatre. At the end of the training, they attended presentations on customs and financial matters as well as those on protection and the media. The five-day training closed with a test of proficiency level, but it has not ended with that, because a psychological training is organized for the entire personnel in the first week of April. During this special phase, they master stress management techniques that they may need during their tour of duty abroad to handle conflicts.