Mutually Fruitful Cooperation

Maj.-Gen. Deborah A. Ashenhurst recently arrived in Hungary for an official visit. After a
discussion with Minister of Defence Csaba Hende, the Adjutant General of the Ohio National
Guard (ONG) said she considered the partnership between the Hungarian Defence Forces and
the ONG very valuable in terms of teamwork and joint training as well as cultural aspects.
She added that for instance, the ways of cooperation in disaster relief and management
operations teach both partners a very important lesson, since similar situations involve several
nations and countries cooperating in this region. The same kind of cooperation characterizes
a number of states in the United States of America, so we can mutually learn a lot from each
other, the major-general pointed out.

Talking about the partnership in Afghanistan, Deborah A. Ashenhurst said that in her
opinion it would not be possible to pick a single milestone from the history of this teamwork.
She said the most important thing is joint action, the ability to participate in joint training
programs, to prepare for executing various tasks and to cooperate efficiently under pressure.
As she noted, we have learnt how to co-deploy to conduct joint operations, which is very
important. She added that currently one cannot tell what the future holds for Afghanistan, so
after the withdrawal of combat troops, the changing challenges must be met in a changing
environment.

Talking about Hungarian troops, the major-general pointed out that the Hungarian Defence
Forces have proven their professionalism, so Hungarian soldiers are best characterized by the
successes which are also shown in NATO-led missions.

Photo: Mária Krasznai-Nehrebeczky