EUFOR Chief of Staff Receives Polish Award in Sarajevo

On 19 September a change of command ceremony took place in the Polish EUFOR Contingent, where outgoing contingent commander Lt.-Col. Dariusz Huryn handed over responsibilities to the new commander of the contingent, Lt.-Col. Wojciech Luzak. Andrzej Krawcyk, the ambassador of Poland accredited to Bosnia-Herzegovina also honored the event with his presence.

During the ceremony, the Polish ambassador presented the award to József Szpisják. Since April 2017, the brigadier-general has been chief of staff EUFOR and the senior national representative of the Hungarian contingent.

EUFOR Operation Althea is currently made up of service personnel from 19 countries (14 EU member states and 5 partner nations). General Szpisják, the chief of this international staff told us that close to 20 Hungarian soldiers are serving in individual staff positions at the EUFOR Althea Headquarters, and that considering the size of its contingent stationed in Sarajevo, Hungary is the second largest troop contributing nation of the mission.

Speaking about the award, the general told us that this medal is not only for him, but also for all Hungarian service members who are serving in Bosnia-Herzegovina, far away from their home and families. “In such an international environment, establishing proper communication and working relations with soldiers of other nations is a token of effective, successful and smooth task execution. This award also shows that we are going in the right direction, and the traditionally good Polish–Hungarian friendship has not ceased to exist over the last decades", József Szpisják said.

Photo: HDF EUFOR Contingent