Three Days, Three Countries, Five Air Forces – Reporting from Afghanistan

The travel that started on Friday morning and finished in early Sunday afternoon commenced with a flight aboard a Mi-17 helicopter with tail number 704. The characteristic black PX cases and rucksacks were loaded into the aircraft early in the morning. At 08:00 the commander of the helicopter base, Brig.-Gen. Imre Lamos said farewell to the small team, asking its members to do their best while executing their tasks in the Afghan theatre of war, so they can earn good reputation and recognition for the Hungarian soldiers.

They need to continue on the path trodden by the previous three rotations, and the general expressed hope that the team deploying for four months would have plenty of opportunity to fly. “Take care of yourself and each other", added Imre Lamos – and it is the close-knit community of Szolnok airmen that will take care of the family members left in Hungary.

The Mi-17 with tail number 704 took off from the well-known area of Szolnok a couple of minutes before 08:30 and after an hour it landed at the HDF Pápa Air Base. The team needed a bigger “iron" for the next leap: the German Luftwaffe made a long-range transport aircraft available for the soldiers, which did not stop until reaching Termez Airport in Uzbekistan, where it landed in darkness after a six-hour flight crossing multiple time zones. From here, the members of the rotation took a short 30-minute flight to Mazar-e Sharif where they met the soldiers of the National Support Element who saw them to their accommodation area. After a short rest, besides the equipment (bulletproof vest, Kevlar helmet, medical kit) they were given their weapons, ammunition and magazine pouches as well.

In the morning of the next day, the last, cross-country “flying day" began. The complete AAT-3 contingent was waving to welcome the long-awaited rotation in Shindand, where the friendly hugs and teasing suggested that the eight Hungarian soldiers working here for four months can return home soon. Sunday afternoon, at the Newcomers’ Briefing which is compulsory for all new arrivals, the aircrews and the AVUM specialists of the AAT-3 shared the key pieces of information. Although next week will be taken up by the handover-takeover process and the related tasks, it is good if the newcomers receive the most important items of information (which are often very practical indeed) on the day of their arrival.

After dinner the conversation continued in an informal atmosphere, although due to the last three days and the several thousand kilometers covered, most team members soon chose the sleeping mattresses of the bunk beds.

Photo: Veronika Dévényi