Organizational Corrections In The JFC

The HDF Joint Forces Command celebrated the third anniversary of its establishment at the beginning of January. However, some structural changes have been brought into effect on the first day of February 2010. What made it necessary to introduce these changes?

We all know that in 2007 we established the Joint Forces Command in a form that was unprecedented both in Hungary and abroad. The organization, responsibilities, and structure of the JFC was a novelty in Hungary and in the NATO as well. And since we did not have an example to follow, to gain operational experiences from, when we established the command we said we had set up an organization and done our best, and we would see in practice, in everyday life, how efficient this was. We anticipated that the ’childhood diseases’ of the organization would appear in the course of work. And this is what happened. Then in recent years, having taken into consideration the experiences of exercises Deployment Direction, and exercise Check 2008, ordered by the chief of the defence staff in 2008 – which was meant to test the tasks in an unpeaceful period at the JFC – we could already see what sort of changes would be necessary. I would like to emphasize that the command has operated efficiently, but it does not mean that we have not found units where some changes have to be made in order to have an even better organization.

What are these specific changes that have been put into effect?

One of the most important things is the change in the title of deputy commanders. Two-star generals serving in the JFC were called deputy chiefs of the land forces, the air force, and logistics. Based on our experiences, this title is not appropriate. It has caused problems mostly in our foreign relations because the Joint Forces Command is an organization that liaises with the land and air forces and logistics organizations of other countries. On these meetings the partners were always looking for the land or air force commanders of the Hungarian Defence Forces, for all they could hear every time was that they were negotiating with the deputy. They did not know that the position of a Hungarian JFC deputy commander corresponds to the position of their active land or air force commanders. In other words: it was not clear to them that behind the title ’deputy land commander’, there is the number one professional of the land forces of the Hungarian Defence Forces. Therefore it was necessary to make a change, and instead of the title ’deputy commander’, as of February 1, we have a chief of land forces, chief of air force, and a chief of logistics. There was a minor change in the responsibilities as well, which is mainly due to the modified titles.

Speaking of this, were there any changes in the title and responsibilities of the chief of staff, the fourth position filled by a major general?

No, this position is still called chief of staff, and the responsibilities are the same. In addition to commanding and directing the staff, he has to substitute for the commander if he is unable to attend – as stipulated in the code of conduct.

If I am correct, some structural changes have also been introduced in February.

Yes, it is true. The reviews conducted at the JFC have shown that in recent years, as a result of the transformation processes, there has been a drop in the numer of positions at the services. What is more, these service professionals were distributed here at the JFC by us. There were people who were working in operations, while others were working in the trainning department. Only two, maximum three experts represented each service at the command. This was especially problematic in operations, therefore we have decided that these professionals should work at the same place in the future. In order to achieve this, we have turned the former operational and training command, a joint forces organization, into a branch – in other words, we have established a land operational and training command, and an air force operational and training command. Of course, it does not mean that we have found the best solution, all it means is that this is how we can continue our work in the most efficient way, and this is what our possibilities allow. There was not a need for such changes in logistics because we have had units for every specific field from the beginning.

After the division of the land and the air force components, is it still a joint force organization?

Naturally, even though we needed someone to coordinate the activities between the two branches. Therefore we asked our commanding officer to create a position for an independent deputy chief of staff at the command. This person is also responsible for exercise planning and implementation, and assists the chief of staff, who is responsible for fifteen organizations of the general staff. I believe everyone agrees that the management of fifteen organizations, moreover acting as a substitute for the commander if necessary, is a lot of work for one person. With the activation of the deputy chief of staff, the responsibility and the tasks are shared between two individuals.

Coming back to changes, what other structural modifications have been made at the command?

We have changed the name of the commands. From now on, the areas directly subordinated to the commander – to be more specific, legal, personnel, supervision, and finance – are called departments. The organizations of the general staff are called directorates, and in addition to that, we have established two new directorates. One of them is the analysis/assessment directorate, which has a reason for its existence, as the experiences of the previous years have proven. There had been an analysis/assessment section before with a staff of four. But let us confess, it was a bit disproportionate that while 75 per cent of the Hungarian Defence Forces are subordinated to the JFC, the very important tasks of analysis, evaluation, proposal elaboration, and decision preparation were carried out by no more than four people. This is why we have decided on a modification. The other new organizational unit is the peace operations command. Until now, there was a section in operations which was responsible for the planning and organization of peace operations. However, we thought that today, when the tasks of peace operations are the second most important thing after national defence, it would be useful to set up an separate command.

Have the staff numbers of the JFC increased with the changes in the organization?

This is a very important question, therefore I would like to emphasize that the changes effective as of February 1 have not led to any increase in staff numbers. The Joint Forces Command still works with 525 employees. We have filled the positions of the new commands by redeploying employees internally, and we have also managed to fund the post of the deputy chief of staff.

Will there be more corrections in the organization of the JFC?

We are not planning further changes for the time being. But it is absolutely natural that if we want to operate an organization successfully, after a certain period of time we have to make various corrections. We also try to keep up with the times and adapt to the challenges. Therefore if there are new ideas that would also increase our efficiency, then there might be more adjustments in the organization.

Organizational corrections usually entail changes in the staff. Just like in the case of the JFC, because at the beginning of February, two generals arrived to the command. Have you met them before?

Major General (eng.) László Frigyer took over the job of Lieutenant General Károly Hazuga, who has been appointed as the Deputy Chief of the MoD Defence Staff. I am familiar with the professional activities of the major general, therefore I received him in good conscience and I am certain that he will cope with this tasks. Prior to his appointment as the chief of logistics at the JFC, the general led the Department for Defence Planning of the Ministry of Defence, which means that he knows what strategic thinking is and is aware of the rules of implementation on strategic level. Therefore it will be a challenge for him that from now on, the demands and requirements will have to be articulated from the user’s side, in other words, the consumer’s side. But I am sure that it will not be a problem for him. I already knew Brigadier General László Domján, our new deputy chief of staff from the HDF Operations Centre, where he was the deputy commander. The two organizations have always been working together in close cooperation, and during our working relationship I found him conscientious and hard-working. I fully count on his diligence and capabilities, even though I am aware that he is in a difficult situation now because he has to make himself familiar with the responsibilities of the Joint Forces Command.