The Soldiers of Fourteen Countries in Szolnok

Szöveg: Ilona Kelemen | 2019. április 1. 18:39

Soldiers and policemen came from fourteen countries to the 37th International Military Observer Course (IMOC) in the last week of March. The students were welcomed in the HDF Peace Support Training Centre by Colonel László Drót, the Commander of the unit.

Twenty people of the twenty-eight participants of the three-week course came from abroad: Albania, Egypt, Belorussia, Gambia, Georgia, Jordan, Lithuania, Morocco, Germany, Nigeria, Pakistan, Slovakia and Turkey delegated students, while from among the Hungarian students one policeman and seven soldiers attended the IMOC. The members of the international instructors’ group arrived from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Finland, Germany, Switzerland and Serbia, while the Hungarian instructors’ group is composed of active senior officers and officers, having lots of experience in military missions.

In the first week of the course, the training audience primarily attended theoretical lessons, among others on patrolling, investigation of reports and information gathering, which provided a solid basis for the successful conduct of subsequent practical tasks. Among other things, the students learned about the basics of UN-peace-keeping activity, the process of establishing missions and the task systems of different organisations participating in peacekeeping operations, and also, they refreshed their medical knowledge.

As the military observers are unarmed, special attention is paid to negotiation techniques and the use of language assistants and cultural awareness. The practical exercises include voice procedures in English for radio communication, observation duty, mine awareness session, complex patrol activity, and air recce by helicopter. At the end of the training, the students take part in a final exercise to demonstrate their knowledge gained.

Following the completion of the course, the participants will have the opportunity, to perform tours of duty abroad in military observer missions led by the United Nations Organisation, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the EU and other international organisations, or in the framework of other peace support operations.