Hungarian Paratroops on the Top of the World
2011. március 24. 9:57On the Paratroops’ Day (March 22), Minister of Defence Dr. Csaba Hende presented the parachute team of the Hungarian Defence Forces with memorial plaquettes in appreciation of their outstanding training results and excellent sports performance. The event was held in a meeting room on the sixth floor of the Ministry of Defence.
Also present were Parliamentary State Secretary Dr. István Simicskó, Gen. Dr. Tibor Benkő, Chief, MoD Defence Staff, Head of Cabinet Office Dr. Gábor Szarka, Péter Siklósi, MoD Deputy State Secretary for Defence Policy and Planning, as well as the paratroopers’ superiors – Maj-Gen. József Kovács, Commanding General, HDF Joint Force Command and Brig-Gen. Imre Lamos, Commander, HDF 86th Szolnok Helicopter Base, whose “sons" won the individual and team competitions of the 2010 Parachute World Cup Series (PARAWCS 2010).
Last September Hungarians were extremely successful at the accuracy landing competition PARAWCS in Locarno, Switzerland. Retired WO István Asztalos won the individual overall competition, the Hungarian team the overall contest of teams. The junior category also had outstanding results: enlisted Lance-Sergeant Roland Olenyik was placed 1st in the last round of the series, and also won a silver medal in the overall classification.
The Defence Minister pointed to this outstanding performance in his speech when he said that Hungarian paratroops had reached the “top of the world". He called it praiseworthy that despite their difficult circumstances and limited financial possibilities, Hungarian parachutists had demonstrated their outstanding skills to the world. In what followed, the Defence Minister presented the paratroopers with memorial plaquettes.
The 13 Hungarian military athletes with outstanding performance are Captains Tamás Bánszki, Miklós Naszradi and Attila Róbert Réczi, First Lieutenant Gábor Kollár, retired Senior Warrant Officer László Dér, retired Warrant Officer István Asztalos, Warrant Officers Zsolt Tibor Bozóki, Gábor Hirschler and Tamás Varga, Sergeants First Class László Becs and László Orsy, and enlisted Lance-Sergeants Szabolcs Gál and Roland Olenyik.
The ceremony ended with a reception where guests could take a look at the World Cup and learn about the tools and devices used in accuracy landing.
Tamás Zilahy
Photo: Mária Krasznai-Nehrebeczky
