Steely Strength 2012 – HDF EUFOR-12 Contingent on Culmination Exercise

The three-phase pre-deployment training for the soldiers started in September with setting up the contingent on the base of the Győr unit. In the first phase the soldiers received a wide-ranging individual training which included, among others, basic infantry training, as well as instruction in CBRN defence, mapping, medical and engineering skills, and great emphasis was laid on the development of physical skills, close quarter combat and the awareness of cultural and social circumstances in the Balkans too.

After the first phase came the trade training, during which the soldiers acquired and brushed up on the professional knowledge and skills related to their concrete positions. During the last phase of the training they conducted force-level training which mainly comprised cohesion practices and live fire tactical training (LFTT).

This intensive three-month training period was closed with a culmination exercise (CULEX) “Steely Strength", conducted between November 20–22 2012. On this exercise, the participants demonstrated the operational capabilities of the contingent in complex and realistic situations. Accordingly, the soldiers’ taskings included crisis management and peacekeeping activities such as crowd riot control (CRC), the use of negotiating techniques, search, investigation, arrest, weapons collection, protection of properties with designated special status, area security, operation of checkpoints and observation posts, patrolling, cordoning off and controlling areas, convoy and VIP escort as well as medical cover and evacuation. Of the 200 volunteers participating in the training, fewer than 150 were nominated for the contingent, so the soldiers had a stake in it during these three days.

Of course, beyond the training of the contingent, the Győr unit was also responsible for the conduct of the CULEX, but other units of the Hungarian Defence Forces also contributed to the execution of this complex task. The HDF Bakony Combat Training Centre provided a mobile training-mentor team and an opposing force (OPFOR) for the incidents to be acted out by the role-players, whereas the HDF 25th Klapka György Infantry Brigade allowed the use of its range for the target practices performed with assault rifles and special weapons.

The operational readiness and the success of the tactical exercise will finally be assessed by a team of umpires made up of seasoned soldiers with mission-specific experience. A further task for them will be to judge the extent to which the lessons learned earlier in the Balkans Joint Operational Area (JOA) have been successfully incorporated and used in the training. In this regard, the unit has quite recent experience, because the 10th rotation of the EUFOR Contingent was also mainly drawn from the regiment, and the troop contribution by the unit to the current 11th rotation – which is currently placed on stand-by service – is also significant.

Photos: Sgt. Attila Gulyás