The minister in Hódmezõvásárhely and Szentes

The minister was accompanied on this visit to the corps on July 29 by Maj.Gen. Zoltán Orosz, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, MoD, Maj.Gen. József Kovács, Commander, HDF Joint Forces Command, Brig.Gen. József Horváth, Deputy Director General, Military Security Office, and Gen. (ret.) Kálmán Lõrincz, the minister’s chief advisor. János Lázár, the mayor of Hódmezõvásárhely was also present.

Csaba Hende was received in the Zrínyi Miklós Barracks by Col. Imre Farkas, Deputy Commander, HDF 5th ’István Bocskai’ Infantry Brigade and commander of the garrison, and Lt.Col. József Kovács, Deputy Chief of Staff. Following the reception with military honours, the parade of the troops and the garrison band, the commander held a briefing, after which the minister was shown the technical service station where he met 35 troops who introduced 15 of their technical equipments to him, for instance the engineering corps’ armoured emergency vehicles, a Mercedes Unimog 4000, a Mercedes G-270 ambulance, a front end loader and universal earthmoving vehicle, and a BAT-2 caterpillar bulldozer.

During his visit, the minister was also shown the sports hall of the barracks, the library, the enlisted men’s hall, and greeted the troops at the meeting of the personnel.

The defence minister’s program continued in Szentes in the afternoon, where he was received by Col. (eng.) József Nyers, Commander, HDF 37th ’Ferenc Rákóczi II’ Engineering Regiment. The minister also held a meeting in Szentes, where he paid a visit to the museum of the corps and the diving base. In Szentes, the delegation was shown the diving equipment and tools used in the Hungarian Defence Forces and military divers also held a demonstration.

The ministerial visit continued with static and dynamic displays, the minister was shown the PMP ribbon bridge equipment of the corps, various types of motor boats used by the HDF, caterpillar vessels, engines, bridge construction equipments, as well as the water purification unit and drinking water packaging equipment. Finally the delegation went down to the bank of the Tisza, where they boarded a bridge ferry and a PTSZ-M amphibious vehicle.