The Last Days in the Area of Operations

Szöveg: László Szűcs | 2012. január 22. 6:07

The mandate of the ninth rotation of the HDF EUFOR Contingent (EUFOR-9 HUNCON) is going to expire at the end of January, so the Hungarian peacekeepers will return home after their half-year tour of duty in Bosnia-Herzegovina. We interviewed Lt.-Col. Szabolcs Kiss, the commander of the contingent about the lessons learnt on the six-month mission, which is nearing completion.

The transfer of authority process between the 9th and 10th rotations of the HDF EUFOR Contingent is in full swing at Camp Butmir, Sarajevo. Commenting on the events of the past six months, Lt.-Col. Szabolcs Kiss, the commander of the ninth rotation told us that the Hungarian troops had proven their maximum readiness to carry out their peacekeeping duties in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Over the past six months, the other part of the EUFOR contingent, the support subunit has efficiently supported the maneuver company and the Hungarian soldiers posted to individual positions in the area of operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lt.-Col Szabolcs Kiss said. He told us that currently the number one task of the ninth rotation is to manage the TOA process. The key leader officers of the incoming contingent and the property book NCOs have already been in Sarajevo for more than a week, and the two commanders are to sign the handover-takeover records on January 24, a day on which Lt.-Col. Tamás Papp will take command of the contingent.

The last troops of the ninth rotation are going to arrive in Hungary on January 26 – we learnt this from Lt.-Col. Kiss, who added that in the last six months the entire contingent has executed its tasks in the area of operations by the highest standards. The MNBN commander and the commander of EUFOR and his deputy – Brig. Gen. Zoltán Gulyás, the Hungarian Senior National Representative – all concur with this assessment.