Ready for the Mission

In his festive speech Lt-Gen. Zoltán Orosz thanked the members of the contingent for the hard work they had done during the mission rehearsal training (MRT), and stressing the weight of missions he underlined: “In addition to protecting our homeland, the other important duty of our soldiers is to participate in missions, for this is also one of the vital guarantees of the security of Hungary. Tensions in crisis zones of the world may threaten the security of our country as well; problems, concerns must be addressed most effectively in their place of origin. Our troops contribute to the peaceful, undisturbed development of our homeland by decreasing the external threats. On the mission you will represent the Hungarian Defence Forces, our country, Hungary, and you should keep that in mind during your tour of duty! May you perform your professional duties excellently, then return home safe and sound, with the joy of a job done with honor! We are looking forward to your safe return back home!"  Lt-Gen. Orosz said farewell to the contingent.

 Lt-Col. Szabolcs Kiss, the commander of the leaving troops told us that almost all of the personnel are drawn from the HDF 5th Bocskai István Infantry Brigade, expect for the chaplain, the lawyer, the security officer, and the staff of the finance section who came from other units. They began the MRT on February 28 with a two-week individual training, which included classroom sessions and the completion of the required live fire exercise (LFX). In the second phase, troops posted to signal, medical, and logistic military occupational specialty (MOS) positions finished their trade training, while infantrymen had a special target practice. In the third phase of the MRT they were practicing tasks they had learnt in theory. The nearly 150-strong contingent will be deployed to BosniaHerzegovina in the middle of July in three groups, their tour of duty will end on January 31, 2012.

 Photo: László Tóth