Every Soldier Must Know How To Shoot A Gun

The seven students participating in the NFTC scheme are preparing for the sharpshooting practice when we arrive to Szentendre. The young men, who ’do not have a rank’ yet, that is they are privates, enlisted in MH KKB a week and a half ago to complete the ’compressed’ basic military training, which is a shortened, 3-week session in their case. Since then, they have been following a strict routine every day: wake up call at 5.30, morning exercise, wash, breakfast, then training until late in the afternoon, or sometimes even until the evening.

Drills, physical education, terrain studies, strategic studies, chemical protection, engineering and logistics studies, shooting practice  the key chapters of the boot training of NFTC students. The main purpose of the training is to make the students familiar with core military tasks, the regulations concerning them, and be capable of using their personal weapons, that is AK–63D, Kalashnikov submachine guns, and PCR-9, Parabellum pistols  as we have learned from 1st Lieutenant Szilárd Szabó, the officer responsible for the training of troops participating in the NFTC programme. The 1st lieutenant also added: every soldier must know how to shoot a gun…

The first shooting practice is a memorable event for every ’rookie’. Obviously, the current group of seven, namely Zoltán Kárász, Dániel Oláh, Marcell Hegyvári, András Oláh, István Petõ, Barna Kollár, and Zoltán Osváth, feel the same way. We cannot say that they are daunted, still they line up a bit excitedly when the command word ’review!’ is uttered. They are given three bullets each to ’warm up’ their weapons, and in the next round the trainers evaluate the basic shooting practice with machine guns for ’real’. Fortunately enough, everyone is ’eligible’ on the basis of their shots, thus there is no need to repeat the task. They can move on to the following exercise, pistols.

The 3-week basic training of soldiers participating in the NFTC scheme ends with a difficult theoretical and practical exam. Following that, the students are to move to Szolnok on 28 August, where the first stage of the Hungarian part of their pilot training will commence with a 2-week parachuting training right at the start, in the course of which they have to complete a total of 13 jumps.

The next ’big task’ is the theoretical training, in the scope of which they will learn the basics of aerodynamics, meteorology, structural studies, engine and radio studies, orientation in the air, air law, and master the rules of radio correspondence. The theoretical training ends with an intensive English course. Following the language course, there is a proficiency test and the best students can start their practical training next March. While in Hungary, they fly 45 hours on the Jak–52 propeller-driven training aircraft. This amount of training is only enough to make themselves familiar with basic aircraft flying techniques and navigation. In addition to that, they will master the basics of aerobatics as well. The latter is necessary since it is the only way of testing if a student tolerates overload, that is if he or she really is an eligible fighter pilot.

The other half of the group will fly an aircraft for the first time in May, following another English course. By that time the others will be in Canada to continue with the preparations.