Forty-nine Hungarian Peacekeepers Arrive in Cyprus
Szöveg: T.T. and L.J. | 2012. október 13. 6:02The September rotation in Cyprus has taken place. Between September 19–26, the 32nd UNFICYP Hungarian contingent arrived in the divided island, and its 49 soldiers started their tours of duty in three garrisons.
The command group of the Hungarian contingent mainly serves at the Sector 4 HQ in Famagusta, whereas the executing subunit, the 1st platoon – which is based in Athienou – has the responsibilities of maintaining the status quo between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots and executing the tasks of the UNFICYP mission to full extent.
In the first phase of the September rotation, the key leaders were deployed to the area of operations, among them Lt.-Col. Tamás Terék, the new commander of the Hungarian contingent who took over the command of the contingent from Lt.-Col. Péter Lukács. During the handover-takeover process, in addition to getting to know the task system and the area of operations, there was opportunity for contacting the leaders of the UNFICYP mission.
The closing event of the rotation procedure was a ceremonial parade. The ambassadors of the nations serving in Sector 4 – the Slovaks, the Hungarians, the Serbs and the Croats – as well as the political and military leaders of UNFICYP honored this ceremony with their presence.
After the rotation, besides performing the peacekeeping duties, the training for the newcomer soldiers began immediately. Together with the liaison officers from the sectors which are the responsibility of the British and the Argentine contingents, the Hungarian military observer and liaison officers (MOLOs) participated in the MOLO course run by the Nicosia HQ to review and broaden the knowledge needed to fill their positions.
Besides, the Train the Trainers program started with a six-week training. By the end of this training course, every soldier who is a newcomer to the island is supposed to acquire all the required skills. To achieve this goal, they are going to learn flight safety rules and acquire signaling, map-reading, medical and firefighting skills.
Concurrent with that, the patrols are to learn the drivers’ code – the traffic rules and regulations in Cyprus, and are introduced to the buffer zone and the positions of the opposing forces.
Photo: UNFICYP Hungarian contingent
