New National Capability in NATO

Szöveg: Gábor Kálmánfi | 2011. október 23. 9:14

At the Washington Summit, NATO’s Heads of States launched a Defence Capabilities Initiative to respond to the challenges of our age. In line with this, the 1st and 2nd NATO Signal Battalions were constituted to provide communications and information systems (CIS) services to meet the new operational requirements. In 2010, the 3rd NATO Signal Battalion was formed. Its assigned groupings include the Deployable CIS Module (DCM), a company-sized Hungarian CIS unit.

Talking about the new Hungarian unit, Maj. László Dózsa, DCM Officer Commanding (OC) told us that the DCM is tasked with providing permanent NATO CIS services in the areas of operation (AO) (or on NATO exercises) for the deploying NATO command posts (brigade- or higher-level echelons). Depending on the scale of a given task, the DCM may operate in a multinational environment by being deployed as part of a larger force or it may deploy its individual subunits. The DCM may also deploy to execute national tasks with the prior consent of the Alliance.

Drawn from the personnel of the HDF 43rd ‘Nagysándor József’ Signal and Command Support Regiment, the DCM was formed in December 2008, and from March 2009 on the TOE positions were filled with the personnel of the Regiment too. The basic requirements include language proficiency in English as well as the possession of military skills and high-level professionalism in the given military occupational specialty (MOS). Even the sergeants are expected to have a STANAG 6001 2.2.2.2 (intermediate) language proficiency in English. The personnel of the DCM are required to pass the top-level (T4) physical fitness test (PFT).

The mission-specific training started in Hungary in February 2011 (primarily at the regimental subunits, the ‘Zrínyi Miklós’ National Defence University and the HDF ‘Kinizsi Pál’ NCO Vocational School), and also in abroad (at the NATO Communications and Information Systems School in Latina, Italy). According to schedule, by January 1, 2012 the national DCM should finish its training and be ready to receive the state-of-the-art CIS equipment to be delivered by NATO.

NATO provides the DCM with the required items of technical equipment. Having attained full strength, the TOE of the unit will be augmented with HF and UHF radios, radio relay stations, satellite communications (SATCOM) antennas and the necessary transport vehicles, servers, workstations and other pieces of terminal equipment.

The DCM will be tasked with operating state-of-the-art CIS equipment, and the Alliance is planning to gradually involve it in a number of international exercises as of 2012. The DCM is going to receive a complex communications and information system called Limited Interim NRF CIS Capability-Enhanced (LINC-E). This equipment may be transported by plane, helicopter or by road to the given area of operations. In August, part of the DCM’s personnel was already introduced to the LINC-E, and since mid-October two soldiers have been participating in the exercise Steadfast Juncture during which they can put into practice the theoretical knowledge they have acquired so far.