Hungarians Train Somali Troops in Uganda

The three Hungarian mentors perform their duties at Bihanga, which is situated by the western border of Uganda, some kilometers from the Congolese border. These days the EU and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) operate a joint military training camp in the area. The EUTM Headquarters is in Kampala, where the fourth Hungarian soldier, Lt. Dr. Levente Tóth has been doing his tour of duty for three months.

At the training base, Lt. Péter Csatlós, WO Tibor Maczó and SFC Antal István, the members of a joint Hungarian–German team, are tasked with training the Somali troops. The international training team includes Irish, French, Belgian, Swedish, Finnish, Maltese and Italian mentors who are working with Kenyan interpreters, Ugandan soldiers and Somali observers.

The US forces transported the training audience from Somalia to Uganda. After the ID checks and medical screenings, the trainees received their basic military equipment. At the November 21 opening, Lt.-Col. Mariano Alves, the commander of the training camp delivered a speech to welcome the enlisted men, which marked the start of the six-month program. The training program uses a US model focusing on FIBUA practice besides the basic military and tactical skills. One goal of the mission is to let the troops acquire only the most up-to-date knowledge, so the invited trainers coming from Europe, the USA and Africa have a large variety of background experience. They bear a heavy responsibility, as they teach military knowledge and assess the trainee’s leadership skills as well, in order to be able to select from among them some 260 troops who can become NCOs and those 40 ones who may continue their training as officer cadets.