“Mission Impossible – Szentes”: at the Bank of the Tisza River

Should there be a gate to the riverside water training ground of HDF 37th ‘Ferenc Rákóczi II’ Engineering Battalion, located at Szentes, one could even come to the conclusion that they should hang a message board on it, with the words ’We’re full’. In the training ground there are two opeartor courses going on parallelly, with students performing their tasks, therefore course leaders have to pay attention not to disturb the work of the other.

However there is no pontoon training going on at the moment, 4 pontoon modules had to be floated, since the 80 ton pontoon ferry constructed from these modules, is essential to the training of the pusher vessel operator crew – I learn from Lieutenant Tibor Polónyi, the leader of the drill, while he is watching over the crew untying the pontoon ferry from the bank. The students ‘float’ the iron structure a bit further away from the concrete hatchway, then tie it up and practice the attachment of pusher vessels.

The staff in pusher BMK–130M are given the task of ‘re-tying’ the linked pontoons at the proper places, since in real life situations pontoon ferries are controlled by these vessels.

Under normal circumstances, for a trained operator this is a ‘routine job’, but now, when the Tisza is strong and flooding, the river makes even the ‘old foxes’ sweat, as they link the pusher vessel to the pontoon. For the new recruits the completion of this task is almost an ‘impossible mission’. But the trainers are not as demanding this time, they stop the drill after the recruits have tried to perform the same task several times.

“The training exercise has two purposes. The pusher operator crew trained earlier attend a 4-week course to prepare for a higher grade, and soldiers who are new recruits can get an operator’s licence" – says Lt. Polónyi. I also learn that the students, who are contracted soldiers, come not only from the Szentes Battalion, but from the Engineering Unit of the Debrecen Infantry Brigade, and the Bomb Disposal and Warship Battalions of Budapest, as well. Beyond navigation, they have to master the basic structural skills, minor repairs, daily maintenance routine, the rules of waterway transport, how to react to navigation signs, and various rescue methods alike. At the exam following the 4-week course they will be tested in all these subjects.

Meanwhile the robust diesel engines start to roar at the hatchway, and one of the tracked PTSZ–Ms sails off slowly, with dignity. An Uaz all-road vehicle has been fastened precisely on board the monstrous amphibian, and the task is to get the shipment across the river.

The task leader of the drill, which is a part of the PTSZ operator course, Sergeant Imre Haug watches over the staff in water from the bank of the river. The strength of the Tisza makes their job more difficult, but the tracked amphibian soon appears on the other side of the river.

The young warrant officer tells me that the training lasts for 6 weeks for PTSZ operators. While we are talking, he constantly keeps ‘one eye’ on the river, for the tracked vehicle carrying the Uaz is already on its way back. In the first two weeks, soldiers commanded to attend the training have mastered the theoretical knowledge and the most important technical skills. For the next week land driving drills are scheduled, and the last three weeks are about driving in water. According to Sgt. Haug, the latter requires more time to practice since the eqipment can be used for training in every garrison, but the only water training facility is the one owned by the Szentes Corps.

Every formation that either disposes of a PTSZ or will be commissioning the tracked amphibian combat vehicle in the near future, has sent soldiers to the 196-lesson operator training course. Luckily enough, they are not ‘fully booked’ yet, which means that each driver has a chance to drive at least 7–8 operating hours until the final exam. In the opinion of the task leader, this routine is enough for a new recruit-turned-operator to master the safe operation and basic emergency troubleshooting skills of the PTSZ.

Instead of the water training ground, the third operator training course takes place at the training base near the barracks, where Sergeant-Major Ferenc Korom, the task leader tells me, that soldiers are trained here to operate the TMM–3 type heavy bridge construction set. One set consists of four machines, by the help of which 40 meters of bridge can be built. Unfortunately, the bridgework set installed onto a truck chassis is capable of spanning 1.6–3 m wide ditches only. Currently there are 21 students attending the 4-week operator course, from Debrecen, Hódmezõvásárhely, Székesfehérvár, and the Szentes Battalion.