Camouflage Make-Up, Simulators, And Flying Pieces Of Tile

On January 7, hundreds of secondary school students turned up in the Lovarda Cultural and Conference Centre in Debrecen. The young people had an opportunity to get acquainted with the Zrínyi Miklós University of National Defence (Zrínyi Miklós Nemzetvédelmi Egyetem, ZMNE) at the recruitment roadshow organized by the institution.

The secondary school students were greeted by one of the ‘best known soldiers’ in Hungary, retired Major Zoltán ‘Topi’ Szabó, the former fighter pilot who, as the narrator of the event, said: the students are allowed to ask anything and try everything today. For the professors and students of the national defence university have come to Debrecen to answer the questions of young people interested in the institution.

While the garrison band of the HDF 5th ‘István Bocskai’ Infantry Brigade was entertaining the guests of the roadshow with popular military music, Lieutenant Colonel (eng.) Zoltán Nagy, the commander of the 2nd Recruitment and Interest Representation Center of the HDF Eastern Hungarian Augmentation Ccommand told honvedelem.hu: they invited 67 vocational schools from Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties, and 28 of them have sent groups to the Lovarda. The organizers also announced a school competition: those who brought the most young visitors received valuable prizes. The university students staged a free tombola for the young guests; the lucky winner and his/her companion can go to the traditional survival camp of ZMNE in the summer. But the drawing continued with more prizes.

The official program started with the opening address of Colonel Prof. Dr. Klára Kecskeméthy Siposné. The deputy rector of ZMNE said: the university is just like any other university in the country, but they have additional responsibilities, such as national defence tasks and fields of research. The institution has military and civil faculties as well, and the latter are more and more popular among secondary school students who want to continue their studies. The deputy rector also underlined that at Zrínyi Miklós University of National Defence students are treated as partners and professors do everything for a successful cooperation. The colonel also mentioned that they welcome every visitor to the open day of the university on January 15.

Following that Mariann Gömör, the second-year student of Bolyai János Faculty of Military Engineering, and Gergely András, the first-year student of Kossuth Lajos Faculty of Military Science told the guests about the special qualities of life as a citizen of the university, the traditional events of the institution, and the accomodation and educational facilities waiting for young people who have been admitted to the university.

During the performances on the stage the visitors could see a photo exhibition entitled ’I have been on a mission’ and visit the ’stands’ of several corps. The troops of the following corps showed the students their equipments and weapons: the HDF 5th ’István Bocskai’ Infantry Brigade of Debrecen, the HDF 25th ’György Klapka’ Infantry Brigade of Tata, the HDF 37th ’Ferenc Rákóczi II’ Engineering Battalion of Szentes, the HDF 25th/88th Light Mixed Battalion of Szolnok, the HDF Hazardous Material Supply Centre in Pusztavacs, the HDF 59th ’Dezsõ Szentgyörgyi’ Aviation Base of Kecskemét, and the HDF Civilian-Military Cooperation and Psychological Operations Centre in Budapest. In front of the building there was a military technology demonstration and the recruitment bus of the MoD Zrínyi Non-profit Co. waiting for those who wanted to breathe some fresh air. So in spite of the cold weather and the heavy snowfall there were also a lot of people ’out in the open’.

It is difficult to decide which corps were the most successful among the secondary school student, since almost everybody held the small arms of the infantrymen, but plenty of students saw the technical equipments on display and asked the troops of the reconnaissance and the light mixed battalions for a special, camouflage ‘make-up’. Others tried the fighter plane simulator and the ejection seat at the ‘stand‘ of the Kecskemét corps. Major ‘Topi’ Szabó gave the ‘virtual’ pilots some good pieces of advice: how to take off, land, or how to make a few spectacular maneuvers in the air… We must also mention that on this day there were two fighter plane simulators present, because there is also one on the recruitment bus. But still, there were long queues at the simulators, since a lot of secondary school students wanted to try what it is like to ‘fly’ a MiG-29.

Then between two ‘takeoffs’ Topi invited two fighter pilots to join him on the stage, and talked about their experiences and the profession they chose. 2nd Lieutenant Gyula Ivanics and 2nd Lieutenant András Gottschall have recently completed the NATO Flying Training in Canada, the NFTC program, and today work as trained pilots at the Kecskemét military airport. The young officers had some basic aviation equipment with them on the stage, so a volunteer, Adrienn Bajusz could try what it feels like to wear a helmet and a G-suit. The eleventh-year student of the ‘György Rákóczi I’ Grammar School, Vocational School and Dormitory of Derecske said after the ‘fitting’: putting on the everyday wear of fighter pilots was an experience she will never forget.

But besides Adrienn, all the secondary school students had a good time at the recruitment roadshow. János Viszka, Péter Poloszkai and Csaba Szilágyi came to the Debrecen roadshow from the ‘István Széchenyi’ Agricultural Vocational School in Hajdúböszörmény. The eleventh-year guys said: they are very interested in the military, therefore this September, at the beginning of the school year all of them have chosen the subject called Basic Military Studies as an optional subject for the final examination. They said the event was very good, but what they liked the best was that they could take a close look at the weapons and hold them. All of them plan to continue their studies at Zrínyi Miklós University of National Defence after their final examination, but they do not know yet which faculty/major they will submit their application forms to.

Klaudia Deák, Ágnes Dombórvári, Nikoletta Tálas and Mónika Nagy came from Tiszavasvár, from the ’Pál Vasvári’ Secondary School. After some persuasion, Klaudia took her courage in both hands and asked for a face make-up with camouflage paint, then asked her friends to take a picture of the final result. The four classmates told us that they came to Debrecen with pleasure, and not only because this meant that they had a day off. All of them are interested in the military and if all goes according to their plans, in two years – after graduation – they will continue their studies at the national defence university. And what was it they liked the best about the recruitment roadshow? Boys in uniforms, of course – said the girls without delay, laughing, and a bit blushing, but almost at once…

In the meantime the close combat demonstrations have begun on the stage. First the troops of the 25th/88th Light Mixed Battalion of Szolnok showed the young visitors how to handle small arms and their bare hands professionally. Following that, the servicemen of the 5th/24th ‘Gergely Bornemissza’ Reconnaissance Battalion of the Debrecen Brigade entertained the audience with individual fights and breaking techniques. Pieces of broken roof tiles and laths were flying, but the production received a frenetic applause from the public.

Four students of the ’György Rákóczi I’ Grammar School, Vocational School and Dormitory of Derecske have also performed the drills together with the reconnaissance troops. The guys practice martial arts in ’civil life’ as well, moreover, they will also take their final exam in Basic Military Studies in a couple of years. And finally, the audience could see the armed drill of the students of Zrínyi Miklós University of National Defence.

The event held in Debrecen’s Lovarda closed with the concert of Tûzerõ (fire-power), the student band of the Szolnok campus of ZMNE. Perhaps we do not even have to say that the rock band also had a raving success.