Battalion At Full Speed

Nature rewarded the Szentes troops with a nice weather. Luckily, the organisers had chosen the warmest day we have had this year so far for their corps’ day. At eight o’clock there was already a long queue of visitors in the street leading to the barracks. Many schoolchildren came but the smaller ones from kindergarten did not want to miss the exciting event either. The hosts opened the gates at the planned time, half past eight. Children began to ’explore’ the barracks with great enthusiasm and curiosity.

The celebration started with a traditional military program. The units of the battalion lined up on the parade ground at at nine o’clock the series of events began with the cannon-shot of heritage 1848 artillerymen. The engineering corps received Lieutenant General Tibor Benkõ, the Commander of the Hungarian Defence Forces’ Joint Forces Command with military honours. Following the national anthem the JFC commander delivered the opening address and greeted the guests.

Lt.Col. Benkõ said that on the Day of Engineering Troops we also pay tribute to the soldiers of the 1848-49 revolution and freedom fight, those people who were the ancestors of today’s servicemen. For the leaders of the 1848 freedom fight had realised that the achiemevements of the revolution could be protected only by the army, with the soldiers’ weapons. Within the corps of the military the engineering corps were established and their task was to assist the advancing of troops. This is what happened the night/early morning of 25 April, 1849, when in the battle of Komárom engineering soldiers led by General Ignác Török built a bridge over the Danube. It consisted of arks, boats and the planks linking them and was constructed overnight. This bridge also contributed to the advancing of Hungarian troops by ensuring matériel supply for fighting units. The events of the First and the Second World War have also proven how much Hungarian engineering troops can achieve.

Besides times of war, it is also important – emphasised the general – that our engineering troops do a good job in time of peace, at home and abroad alike. They did an exemplary work in reconstruction after the Balkan wars and it was recognised by the allies and the world as well. At home, flood prevention has always been one of their main duties. Exercise Deployment Direction 2009 was another important assignment for engineering troops, whose performance was very good. The outcome of this work is the order signed by the defence minister on 26 April: the battalion has been reorganised into a regiment. General Benkõ pointed out that the Hungarian Defence Forces need this organisation, for their work is indispensable to combat corps.

Following that, police Brig.Gen. Dr. János Lukács, Commander, Csongrád county Police Headquarters greeted the guests. He said it was a very good feeling to see so many children and adults waiting for admission outside the barracks because the only way they can serve citizens is to cooperate with them in everything, all the time, therefore they always have to be in contact with people. This is why they launched a series of events two weeks ago to show citizens the daily life of the police. Brig.Gen. Lukács also underlined that whenever they had to cooperate with the military it has always been a successful cooperation. Finally he expressed his hope that the event would impress many children who will choose a career in the military or the police. Colonel (eng.) József Nyers, the commander of the corps said in his address that it is a great honour that the corps can continue their work as a unit, they will do their best to prove that they are reliable.

The event continued with the decoration orders. Titles of merit officer/non-commissioned officer/enlisted man/and civilian employee of the year were awarded, among others. Mr Imre Szirbik, the mayor of Szentes presented the certificate of merit ’For the Defence Forces and City’ to five soldiers of the battalion. The ceremony ended with the Szózat and the parade of the new regiment.

The parade was followed by various programs. Young and old visitors to the open day had plenty of things to see and to choose from. There was a majorette parade in the parade ground and adjacent sports field, where soldiers and the ’grand masters of close combat’ also gave a demonstration. In the meantime life was busy at the other exhibition stands as well. There were long queues at every military vehicle, everyone wanted to get into everything but unfortunately, there is room for only a few people in the cabins. Naturally, the Mi-8 helicopter and the T-72 tank were the most popular again. Just as the presenter had announced, at 11.15 a roaring MiG-29 fighter plane appeared above the barracks. It was difficult to maintain order at the entrance of the Diver Base as well, for there was a crowd of people waiting to be admitted. In the sports field the police introduced themselves. First they caught a criminal with the help of a dog, then after a spectacular car chase they smoked burglers out of a house.

There were contests all day – visitors could enter a bicycle skills competition, table tennis tournaments, futsal matches, and children were competing who could collect the most empty cartridges after the police demonstation. The Red Bull fight series was a difficult challenge where military, police, and firefighter teams compared their strength and skills.

The adventure park was also very popular with the kids, they were constantly climbing ropes and trees, but the cableway was the most successful among them, where they could glide several meters. A lot of people visited the makeshift ’vessel’ built from pontoon bridges and went on a lap of honour on the ’blonde river’.