Beyond the „Halfway Point”

The HDF Logistic Mentor Team (HDF LMT) is the fifth section operating within the German
Armed Forces Technical Advisory Group (GAFTAG). The LMT consists of three Croatian
and four Hungarian soldiers, and there is also a Hungarian operations officer and a Hungarian
logistician NCO to support its work. The Hungarian service members have arrived from
multiple garrisons.

After the handover-takeover process, the team commenced executing its tasks on December
10, 2012. Due to the character of the mission, it was not possible to fill the positions with
personnel from a single unit, since its small strength notwithstanding, the contingent must
have the capabilities of carrying out logistic mentor tasks and force protection duties. So the
participation of seasoned officers and NCOs from different units proved to be a necessity.
During the intensive pre-deployment training the personnel showed their aptitude for the
work, and most of them participated in a Combat Life Saver (CLS) course as well.

The LMT performs a very complex key mission in the everyday life of the Combat Service
Support (CSS) School and the Basic Logistic Training School. They have the mission of
mentoring the basic logistic trade training for the enlisted men of the Afghan National Army
(ANA), and of providing the military leaders with personal advice.

The LMT is also responsible for preparing the annual training calendars and putting forward
proposals for training-related innovation and development in cooperation with other elements.

The contingent commander mentors the commander of the BLT School. (The institution was
redesignated in March – previously it was named “Advanced Individual Logistics Training
(AILT) School). Each course is to run for nine weeks. The successful exams taken by a total
of 520 students – from the start of the team’s deployment to the 1392nd Afghan year which
began in late March – is a sign of successful work.

The LMT has three high-powered, up-armored Toyota land rovers available for their work,
as well as a number of special items of equipment such as NVGs, GPS, radios and VSAT
phones. One can clearly see the extent of the mission on considering that over the last
four months, the Hungarian soldiers left the camp on more than 80 occasions and covered
close to 1500 kilometers in the northern region of Kabul, often under especially difficult
circumstances…

The Hungarians serving with the LMT take care of their own force protection. The security
situation is changing, being influenced by many external factors. The routes they use are
dangerous, so the ISAF convoys traveling on them must face serious threats almost every day.
The open-door site of work is another danger area.

In addition to the mentoring tasks, mention must also be made of the LMT’s increasing
CIMIC activity. On some occasions they present the Afghan soldiers with blankets,

kitchenware and various useful household utensils, thereby strengthening the ties between
mentors and their mentees.

In early March the Croatians ended their role in the mission and withdrew from the battle
space of Kabul. They have been succeeded by three Hungarian soldiers. After integration and
the handover-takeover process, the Hungarians are now working at full stretch, helping the
everyday life of the small contingent.

Camp Warehouse, the base of the contingent is a French-led multinational NATO camp.
Good English-language communication skills are an essential prerequisite for the LMT’s
work. The contingent maintains good relationship with the Germans and soldiers of other
nations too. The Hungarian ambassador to Kabul is also pleased to pay visits to the camp.

As the camp will be wound down in the near future, the LMT is now facing further
challenges. Moving camp is not a simple task anywhere, and is all the more difficult in
a country where soldiers are exposed to danger day after day, whenever they leave their
relatively safe and familiar camp.

Photo: illustration