Humvees Make Hungarian Soldiers More Confident

From Budapest, the Hungarian delegation flew to Abu Dhabi first, and
travelled to Mazari Sharif on the transport aircraft of the Italian Air
Force stationing there. From Mazari Sharif, they went to Puli Khumri in
a convoy escorted by American Humvee all-terrain vehicles recently
received by the Hungarian troops.

These six-ton armoured
all-terrain vehicles are the most preferred military vehicles for a
reason: the robust body, wide track gauge, structural simplicity, and
large capacity of Humvees earned a recognition among the users. When
speaking about these vehicles, their Hungarian users have also noted
that they are much more confident when they are driving Humvees and
they do not feel endangered that much when they have to go on patrol.
The fact that the doors of the ATV weigh approximately 300 kilograms
respectively tells a lot in itself, and it is also an interesting
feature that the thick bulletproof glass in the doors can even be wound
down.

After nine hours spent in the air and three hours travelling in a
convoy, the Hungarian flag at the entrance of Camp Pannonia was a
joyful sight. This camp is a miniature Hungary, where containers bear
the name of Hungarian towns and signs indicate how many kilometres for
instance Tata or Szolnok is from here… More than four thousand…

Defence Minister Imre Szekeres was reported to on the security
situation, then he toured the camp and met the soldiers at the
personnel assembly.

The minister told the journalists that the security of Baghlan
province will greatly increase next April, when an Afghan battalion
will also be deployed here: Hungarian and American troops wil prepare
the unit. The minister had agreed earlier with the government of
Afghanistan and the high command of the Afghanistani army that some700
troops of an infantry battalion of the 209th army stationing in the
northern part of the country would be deployed in the province. The
base of this battalion will be roughly 20 kilometres away from the
Hungarian base, in the site of former Soviet barracks.

In the
opinion of Imre Szekeres, the presence of Afghan troops in the province
will improve the security situation in the area for the Afghan society
highly esteems the soldiers of the country. At the same time, this will
increase the security of Hungarian troops as well – he added.

The training and preparation of the infantry battalion will be the
task of Hungarian and American soldiers. This will be the first
assignment of the so-called operational liaisoning and consultancy
team. The members of the team will arrive to Kabul in January and start
to prepare the personnel of the Afghan battalion in the city.

The minister also announced that in the second half of next year, the
Provincial Reconstruction Team of the Hungarian Defence Forces will be
using unmanned aerial vehicles as well in Afghanistan – the training
and preparation of the crew will begin in January in Israel. In total,
three sets will be purchased, with remote control equipments which can
even be mounted on all-terrain vehicles. These devices will
significantly improve the reconnaissance capabilities of Hungarian
troops and at the same time, strengthen their security as well.

Imre Szekeres also noted that he had been to Afghanistan for the
fifth time and development is apparent. Between Mazari Sharif and Puli
Khumri a public road of European standard had been built, and two years
ago the construction of high-voltage electric network started. Based on
the report received from the commander of the Provincial Reconstruction
Team, the politician said that the stability of the province is still
strong; Afghans support the Hungarian soldiers. As an Afghan officer
has put it, the people are fed up with the war, they do not want to
send their children out to the streets knowing that they could be
exploded in an attempt.

Reporter Vujity Tvrtko also accompanied the
Hungarian delegation to hold a presentation for the Hungarian soldiers
about his experiences, and to hand over the ’Weekday Hero’ award
founded by him. This year, this award has gone to the ’Soldier serving
in Afghanistan’. Due to the kind contribution of Alexandra publishing
house, the reporter donated a 200-piece book collection to the library
of the PRT.

PRT Commander Colonel Zsolt Sándor noted in his speech that the
province can be called safe, but this is the state of ’neither peace
nor war’. Various reconstruction projects are implemented after
consultations with the locals, and they listen to the opinion of each
local leader.

In the evening, the delegation returned to Mazari
Sharif where they also met the Hungarian soldiers serving there, and
they headed off to Kabul the next morning. After landing, the first
thing that meets the eye is the main building and the sign on the
front: ‘Welcome to Kabul’ – in front of that, the flags of the nations
serving there are fluttering. The Hungarian flag is in central
position, since for six months, the international airport is led by
Hungarian troops. Since October, 65 Hungarian soldiers have been
serving here, their task is to operate the airport. According to
Lieutenant General László Tömböl, the future Chief of Staff of the
Hungarian Defence Forces the Kabul international airport is a facility
of key importance for both Afghanistan and the NATO, and the Hungarian
troops implement a very serious assignment here for six months.

Colonel Csaba Varga, the commander of the troops serving here said
that the activity of the soldiers is complex, since we are talking
about the Afhanistani airport with the most considerable passenger and
cargo turnover.

NATO has been operating the one-runway airport –
which is located at an altitude of 2,000 metres above sea-level – since
2004. Member states carry out this assignment in six-month rotations,
after the Hungarians, it will be the turn of Polish, and later Spanish
troops. In addition to Belgian and Dutch fighter planes, the transport
corps of the Afghanistani air force revived with international support
are also stationing here.

Beyond the commanding position, in logistics, security,
signalling, aerial operations and air traffic control, EOD service,
meteorological service, and also in the leading positions of personnel
affairs Hungarian soldiers work in the airport. Several Hungarian
troops had served here before in individual positions.

Captain
Attila Herczeg, who is working in the control tower, told us that they
are assisting the takeoff and landing of 400-450 airplanes and
helicopters a day. Of this, usually there are 60-70 civilian airplanes
and the rest are military aircraft. Attila Herczeg also told us that
they are preparing for Christmas at the Kabul base, where they will
cook Hungarian dishes – the ingredients and spices are supplied by
their comrades returning from holiday. The delegation visiting the
airport also had the chance to look into the work of EOD experts. They
were annihilating the explosive devices found in the airport, exploding
the devices in a remote zone of the base.

When speaking about the tasks of the Provincial Reconstruction
Team, László Tömböl highlighted that the preparations for the elections
will start next year in Afghanistan, which may mean an extra risk in
Baghlan province as well, since there are people who frown upon that.
He assessed the security situation as ‘not improving’ in Baghlan
province, but they will do everything for the security of Hungarian
soldiers.