“The real work is yet to come”

On Friday, the garrison band played the national anthems of the two countries in the parade ground of Kossuth barracks in Debrecen, where the farewell ceremony for the troops of the fourth HDF OMLT rotation was held. City and county leaders, and the troops’ families were also invited to the formal farewell ceremony for the US-Hungarian contingent.

There are 58 soldiers in the fourth rotation of the OMLT; 30 Hungarian and 28 US servicemen will begin their six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan in June. The Americans are from the Ohio National Guard, while the majority of the Hungarian personnel are with the HDF 5th ‘István Bocskai’ Infantry Brigade and its subordinate organisational units. One of the soldiers in the contingent is from the Szolnok special operations battalion.

OMLTs are an important part of NATO and ISAF efforts aimed at the development of the Afghan National Army: they train and mentor the national military. They also liaise between the Afghan National Army and the ISAF, coordinate the planning of operations, and ensure that the soldiers of the ANA are given the support they need.

The Hungarian and the US troops began their preparations for the mission in January. They will depart for Afghanistan in the middle of June, and after one month of preparation in the theatre of operations, they will assume their duties following the transfer of authority.

“General, I report that the contingent has prepared for deployment in the theatre of operations!" – Lieutenant Colonel Róbert Rédei, the commander of the fourth OMLT rotation told Major General Zoltán Orosz, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, who also greeted the soldiers. He said based on the commander’s report we can say that the soldiers are prepared to carry out their task. Hungarian and US top military officers have had the opportunity to see this during the preparations, when they conducted various inspections.

Maj.Gen. Orosz emphasised that with the successful preparation, they have completed only the first phase of implementation. The real work is yet to come. This rotation will have a solid basis for their activities because the first, second and third OMLT rotation have done a successful job and laid a firm groundwork for those departing soon to carry on with their work.

– You, as members of the fourth rotation, will be providing further support to an Afghan battalion which is already trained on a certan level, in order that they can assume responsibility for creating the conditions of security in Afghanistan – said the deputy chief of defence staff, adding that with this mission, the US–Hungarian contingent will be a part of the new Afghanistan strategy announced by President Barack Obama, the implementation of which is led by General Stanley McChrystal.

Finally Maj.Gen. Orosz underlined: based on the soldiers’ training and preparation, they have all the necessary conditions to succeed in Afghanistan. The general wished the Hungarian and the US troops all the best for the coming six months, stressing that they are expected to return safe and sound.

Colonel Mike McHenry, Logistics Director, Ohio National Guard congratulated every member of the OMLT for their hard work and commitment during preparation. He pointed out that everyone in the contingent was given a very good training and they are members of a team the integrity of which will guarantee success in Afghanistan in the next six months.

– I would like to thank the Debrecen infantry brigade for the outstanding support and help our soldiers received from them. You have treated us like members of a family, and this relationship will develop further in the theatre of operations – said the colonel, also mentioning that there is a very special relationship between Ohio and Hungary, for our troops are in a fortunate situation that they can conduct joint exercises and trainings.

Col. McHenry also underlined that the preparation of the US and Hungarian soldiers was highly successful. As a result, the team spirit and team work we have seen in recent weeks will keep the soldiers of the two nations together in the coming months.

Following the speeches Lt.Col. Sándor Máté, the secretary of the Protestant Army Chaplaincy blessed the contingent in Hungarian and English, and the troops said goodbye to their superiors with a parade.

After the ceremony Maj.Gen. Zoltán Orosz told honvedelem.hu that one and a half years ago, it was the first OMLT rotation that started the training of the Afghan battalion. In recent months, Hungarian and US soldiers have managed to reach a level that today the Afghan unit is capable of carrying out operational tasks.

"They still need support, obviously, so the US and the Hungarian soldiers will be there with them. Therefore at some point in the future we will be able to say that this battalion is capable of planning and executing tasks alone. But we cannot predict the exact time it will happen" – said the deputy chief of defence staff.