State Secretary Visits Afghanistan

The delegation arrived in the morning hours, on Wednesday, December 11 at Camp Marmal. During the day, in the company of Colonel József Mogyorósi, the Commander of the National Support Element (NSE-8), they inspected the camp, acquainted themselves with the living and working circumstances of the NSE Contingent. They took a tour on an AWACS aircraft, and in the spirit of commemoration, they lit candles at the Heroes’ Wall, in memory of the Hungarian soldiers who were killed in the theatre of Afghanistan.

At the staff meeting held at the end of the day, Tamás Vargha said, that the Hungarian role in Afghanistan will continue from 2015 along the advisory tasks as a priority, with a great emphasis on the training missions and the protection of the forces. Parallel with this he confirmed what the portfolio has already disclosed, that the role-taking in the Balkans could be extended in the near future. He underlined that the tour of duty abroad gives strength, sets an example to the nation, and he acknowledged the perseverance and professional performance of the Hungarian soldiers.

On the second day of the visit, the delegation travelled by armoured fighting vehicles – with a MAXXPro convoy -, to Camp Mike Spam, to the base of the Operational Advisory Team (OAT-2) where the Commander of the OAT Contingent Colonel Zoltán Bárány welcomed and guided the guests.

In the afternoon hours they visited the ROLE-3 hospital of the camp, then in an official meeting Major General Jörg Vollmer, ISAF Regional Commander North evaluated the performance of the Hungarian soldiers, serving both in the Contingents and in the private positions.

The NSE Personnel organised an informal dinner as the closing event of the visit, where the Hungarian soldiers serving in Camp Marmal and the guests got a taste of the Eastern delicacies, cooked on free fire.

Photos by 1st Lt. Renáta Révész and 1st Lt. Dr. Judit Bazsala