Reaching Full Operational Capability

Szöveg: 1st Lt. Ferenc Szabó | 2014. március 25. 9:00

Immediately after arriving in the area of operations, the infantry company of the fourteenth rotation of the HDF EUFOR Contingent started preparing for the Full Operational Capability Exercise.

By the end of the training, the infantry company was ready to participate in the FOC exercise

During the training period, the soldiers practiced, among others, Crowd and Riot Control (CRC) tasks, and participated in various hands-on training programs in platoon- and company-level force. By the end of the preparation, the infantry company was ready to take part in the FOC exercise to prove its Full Operational Capability.

On the “proxy" (validation) exercise sponsored by Austrian Lt.-Col. Harald Scharf, the commander of the EUFOR Multinational Battalion (MNBN), the planners created a situation which resembles those that are likely to arise in the area of operations. By the superior’s order, the Hungarian soldiers had to evacuate captured allied troops and observers from a Liaison and Observer Team (LOT) house, and while the evacuation was in progress, they had to face a crowd of aggressive civilian protesters too, so they carried out CRC tasks as well.

The Hungarian peacekeepers had to face aggressive protesters as well

During the exercise, the soldiers of the Turkish company serving in Camp Butmir, Sarajevo were assigned the role of “bad boys" as the opposing force (OPFOR). They were busy playing tricks on the Hungarian peacekeepers. The Hungarians had a difficult job during the CRC task because the members of the OPFOR kept trying to halt or delay the advance of the maneuver company and prevent it from securing the site.

Under the scenario of the simulation, a Hungarian soldier suffered burns from a Molotov cocktail, so the medical staff had was tasked with treating him. After making a Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) request, the Hungarian soldiers secured the landing zone for an Austrian ambulance helicopter, which transported “the injured one" from the scene.

The protesters erected roadblocks and set them on fire

The organizers of the exercise and the commanders of the participating forces held a post-exercise evaluation conference to discuss the events of the operation and analyze the lessons learned so they can further develop the operational capabilities of the units.

The Hungarian infantry company has successfully overcome the first obstacle of its mission, so, if the COMEUFOR gives orders, it will be ready to deploy anytime and anywhere in the area of Bosnia-Herzegovina.