Seventh Rotation Ready to Start

There are only a couple of days left before the first soldiers in the seventh rotation of the HDF KFOR Contingent (KFOR-7 HUNCON) arrive in Kosovo. Lt.-Col. István Kása, the commander of the contingent told us that the 180-strong Hungarian peacekeeping unit would travel to Pristina in several phases in August.

The six-month tour of duty abroad was preceded by a several-month pre-deployment training which started on March 26 and finished with a culmination exercise held in mid-June.

“The task system of the Hungarian contingent will not change. The soldiers will continue to serve in Kosovo as part of the joint Portuguese–Hungarian KFOR Tactical Reserve Maneuver Battalion (KTM), and their tasks cover the whole spectrum of peacekeeping activities", Lt.-Col. Kása said. The contingent commander added that the joint work with the Portuguese troops would not cause any problems, as during the training they have familiarized themselves with the procedures and systems of documentation used by the partner nation.

Most of the 180 soldiers in the seventh rotation are drawn from the personnel of the HDF 25th “Klapka György" Infantry Brigade of Tata. For instance, Lt.-Col. Kása is the commander of the 101st Field Artillery. In addition to the “Klapka" troops, regular and enlisted soldiers from 16 other military units and organizations have joined the contingent to fill the special positions.

The commander also informed us that after the deployment abroad, concurrent with the handover-takeover process of positions and material stocks, the maneuver company of the contingent will participate in a so-called validation exercise to be conducted by the Portuguese staff. Only after the successful completion of this exercise will they be able to start their missions as part of the joint Portuguese–Hungarian battalion.

The KFOR-7 HUNCON will reach full operational capability by the end of August, and their mandate runs until February 28, 2013.

Photo: László Tóth and archive