Preparation For Afghanistan In The Táborfalva Marsh

It was more than two months ago, on September 7, that the preparation of the eighth rotation of the HDF PRT officially began. The command of the Tata-based HDF 25th ’György Klapka’ Infantry Brigade has undertaken to organize the basic preparatory training preceding the mission for the entire contingent, therefore soldiers preparing to go to Afghanistan acquire the necessary theoretical knowledge and practical skills in the City of Waters.

The troops completed the second phase of preparation – the so-called specialized training – at their respective corps, and the personnel met again on November 2, when they began the final phase of the training, the so-called ’forging the team’ at the Táborfalva exercise and shooting range. The weather was not kind to the soldiers in the first few days of the joint training – told us Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Gábor Boldizsár, who, according to the plans, will be the commander of the eighth rotation of the PRT –, it was raining almost every day, and even the Táborfalva exercise range which is considered to be a good drainage area became a marsh. Nevertheless, the extreme weather conditions in Hungary help the personnel prepare for the extreme circumstances awaiting them in the Asian country – reckons Lt.Col. Boldizsár, who is the commander of the HDF Civilian–Military Cooperation and Psychological Operations Centre.

The troops of the sixth rotation, who finished their foreign service this September, also assist the preparation of the PRT–8, they share their experiences on a regular basis with the soldiers participating in the training, and for example the former commander, Colonel Ferenc Korom, and several other members of the contingent often visit the Táborfalva corps – told us Lt.Col. Boldizsár, who has recently been to Afghanistan on a survey with other senior officers of the contingent. They have assessed the conditions waiting for the Hungarian soldiers on the scene.

For the commander of the eighth rotation Camp Pannonia and its environs were not unknown, of course, since he spent six months in Pol-e Khumri as the deputy commander of the PRT–5. Like he said: during his current mission he also tries to make use of what he experienced back then.

The majority of the troops of eighth rotation of the Provincial Reconstruction Team are from the infantry battalion of the Tata brigade. The core of the personnel of the contingent serve in the battalion, and the soldiers of the executive divisions know each other well – most of them have been serving together and they have been on more than one mission. A large part of the special positions were filled by soldiers from other corps, and personnel from more than twenty military organizations make up the contingent – Lt.Col. Gábor Boldizsár told honvedelem.hu. He also told us that the Croatian and Montenegrin troops who belong to the personnel of the PRT–8 are preparing together with the Hungarians. The Croatians will have military police tasks in Afghanistan, just like in every rotation since the Hungarian Provincial Reconstruction Team was set up. The Montenegrin troops are preparing for their first foreign mission, they will be in charge of protecting and guarding the Hungarian camp in Pol-e Khumri. In addition to the guarding soldiers, a few staff officers have also arrived to Hungary from Montenegro, who will serve at the logistics division and the medical centre.

When we were there a part of the contingent had a situational fire exercise at the shooting range of the training centre, near Tatárszentgyörgy. The unceasing rain and the gales made it a lot more difficult to carry out the tasks. The other half of the contingent were practicing drills, in other words, they were practicing situations that may occur while they perform their tasks. For example what to do in case there is an attack, or if a soldier gets wounded in the convoy. It is necessary to repeat the drills several times because the personnel must know instinctively what they have to do if there is an unusual event. On these occasions there is usually very little time to think, and these drills help to prevent the ’wearing out’ of the reflexes of the personnel.

Lt.Col. Boldizsár also told us that the preparation in Táborfalva will end with the so-called closing exercise between November 24–26. But before that, there is another great challenge waiting for the soldiers. They will be tested for an entire week, 24 hours a day by their superiors, that is the inspectors of the HDF Joint Forces Command. It means that a signal, an attack, or an assignment may come any time, and the contingent has to respond immediately – similarly to a ’live’ situation in Afghanistan. The ’bad boys’ will be played by the troops of the opponent company of the Tata brigade and the HDF Bakony Combat Training Centre in Várpalota, who will try to cause the peacekeepers as much trouble as they can. Nobody knows what the incidents and tasks will be, not even the commander of the continent, because – like he said – together with the entire personnel of the contingent, he will also be tested this week.