The Most Important Resource Of The Defence Forces Is The Soldier

The document was signed by the head of the Ministry of Defence, Defence Minister Imre Szekeres, Mr László Breuer, Secretary of the Union of Military Employees, Mr Géza Mészáros, President of Honvéd Union, and Mr Géza Sipos, President of the National Alliance of Fraternal Associations.

Pursuant to the agreement, from January 1, the defence portfolio provides a monthly extra payment for the entire personnel. As regards professional and contracted soldiers, volunteer reservists, civil servants, and the students of military educational institutions, their respective remunerations will exceed the basic amount of the remuneration for civil servants laid down in the Budget Act.

Moreover, the ministry will continue to guarantee the minimum wages stipulated in the act for its civil servants, and will provide income supplement for them – in line with the practice of the previous years. In the agreement the ministry has also undertaken to supply the employees with food vouchers for prepared meals for 6 000 forints, just like it has done before, and raise the amount of voluntary employer contributions to health funds to 4 000 forints, and back-to-school subsidy to 21 450 forints, while it will maintain the 2008 annual level of employer contributions to pension funds.

Imre Szekeres said in his update before the review and tasking meeting: this year’s meeting is special not only because it is held in a garrison in the countryside, but also because the government of the Republic of Hungary has recently elaborated the national military stategy, a document the Hungarian state and the Hungarian Defence Forces have not had since the change of the political system. This strategy will define the tasks and duties of the Hungarian Defence Forces and other armed services, and the related activities for long years. (The military strategy can be downloaded from the site of honvedelem.hu as well.)

The defence minister said: the national military strategy has been formulated in a social debate. It is the result of the joint work of civilians and servicemen. The first draft of the strategy was publicized, and made available by the ministry on its website for debate. 5 475 comments have arrived, parts of which have been taken into consideration when developing the strategy.

– I believe it is important that before the government debated and adopted the strategy, the draft had also been debated by the National Defence and Law Enforcement, as well as the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly. The suggestions raised there have also been incorporated in the document, thus the government could adopt the military strategy, which is truly based on national consensus – emphasized Imre Szekeres, who then spoke about the content of the national military strategy in details.

He underlined: it includes the military tasks necessary for the establishment of the external and internal security of Hungary. Not only the tasks of the Hungarian Defence Forces, but also the tasks of all state bodies with a role in national defence. In addition, it includes the tasks to be carried out in times of peace and in other periods. The strategy identifies the challenges to which some form of military response has to be given.

– The national military strategy assumes that in the foreseeable future, no traditional military threats will imperil the Republic of Hungary – said the defence minister, adding: there are, however, other dangers and risks which are beyond the traditional perception. Such threats can be migration, economic impoverishment, the problems of the emergence of energy dependency, for which the national military strategy provides the right answers.

The other starting point of the strategy was that national defence is a national issue – highlighted Imre Szekeres. He said: the foundation of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Hungary is self-reliance, in other words, the Hungarian Defence Forces and the allied system. These two pillars define the entire set of tasks of the Hungarian Defence Forces, since the tasks that have to be implemented originate from the strategy.

– We are aware that being a part of an allied system, our task is not only to guarantee our security, but we also play a part and a role in NATO and the EU guaranteeing their own security fully – emphasized Imre Szekeres. The defence minister stressed: the basic function of the Hungarian Defence Forces is the armed defence of the Republic of Hungary. But the Hungarian Defence Forces are also ready for and capable of performing other tasks. Facing security risks resulting from terrorism. Accomplishing tasks that give greater security to Hungary in the framework of military and civil cooperation.

– I firmly believe that the most valuable resource of the Hungarian Defence Forces is the Hungarian soldier. They complete their tasks fully. Our duty is to provide them with the necessary conditions – highlighted Imre Szekeres, adding: the government has made a significant and important decision when it has undertaken to increase the subsidies of the defence budget until 2013.

General (Eng.) László Tömböl, Chief of the MoD Defence Staff said: the tasks of the Hungarian Defence Forces are laid down in the national military strategy. He underlined: the expectations and requirements set for the Hungarian Defence Forces are high, and these can and must be fulfilled by relying on all the resources in the country.

With the available technical equipment, the capabilities and trained personnel of the military organizations, the Hungarian Defence Forces seek to become a reliable pillar of the defence strategy guaranteeing the security of the country – said László Tömböl, adding: many criteria have to be met in order to achieve this. First and foremost, it is necessary to have the trust and support of society, and to word the requirements and expectations set for the Hungarian Defence Forces in the most precise format. Moreover, it is essential to understand the place, role, and tasks of the organizations that cooperate with the defence forces in order to defend the country.

– In the two decades that have passed since the change of the system, as a result of frequently changing priorities, certain basic tasks have moved to the background imperceptibly. This has had an effect on the organizational structure of the military, the training system, and the definition of development priorities alike. These expectations have become unambiguous by today. In the national military structure, the armed forces envisaged for the future have been given a uniform interpretation – said the chief of the defence staff.

General Tömböl added: the national military strategy provides a proper framework for the construction of a deployable military that can be sustained economically and can utilize their full combat potential if necessary.

– The peace organization of the Defence Forces is task-oriented. This means that with their staff numbers in peace, the military adjust to the tasks emerging in times of peace in the first place. The defence forces fulfil the requirements set in the country in times of peace. In the scope of allied cooperation, the armed forces protect the sovereignty of the national airspace, and perform safeguarding tasks. They are present when disasters are prevented and consequences are eliminated. They assist the population, and they are present at social events. Furthermore they have also undertaken a considerable role as regards international commitments – said General (Eng.) László Tömböl.