The Safety of Our Troops Always Comes First

The transfer of authority process is in full swing at Camp Pannonia, the base of the HDF Provincial Reconstruction Team (HUN PRT). The experience and knowledge gained in recent months helps the just arrived soldiers to hand over the tasks more easily and quickly. The Military National Security Service (MNSS) was formed with the merge of the Military Intelligence Office and the Military Security Office on January 1. Having arrived in Camp Pannonia, Brig.-Gen. József Horváth, the Deputy Director-General of the MNSS informed us about the changing responsibilities and the new challenges.

What is the reason behind your visit to the camp in the transfer of authority period?

I would like to help coordinate the tasks of my colleagues serving in Afghanistan who had worked within the two former organizations. These two very important areas serve the safety of the Hungarian troops. So far they have performed their work autonomously – from now on they are going to join forces to achieve a common goal. Besides the HUN PRT, the same goes for the personnel stationed in Mazar-e Sharif and Khilagay Forward Operating Base. I have paid a visit to them too.

Have you been to Afghanistan before?

Yes, it was in the autumn of 2010 that I visited this country for the first time. During my present visit, I was pleased and happy to see how much progress has recently been made in the equipment of the motor vehicles and the armaments. There have been some spectacular changes in other fields too, because the soldiers’ working conditions and their force protection level have significantly improved. On our part, as professionals we intend to strengthen the “invisible" segment further, to make sure that no fatal events occur as long as Hungarian soldiers serve in Afghanistan.

Both on my first visit and on the present occasion, I met my Afghan partner in professional cooperation, the head of the National Directorate of Security. Apart from the serious topics of discussion, at the official meeting I told him some very good news. Through one of my colleagues, I forwarded to the family members a cheerful, lively message from twenty Afghan students on scholarship. These young men are very busy learning Hungarian and English in Hungary. Having completed the course, they will continue their studies in a Hungarian institution of higher education. I believe this is a real success story, because many Afghan students dream of having the opportunity to join a program like this.

(MoD Press Office; HUN PRT-12 PAO)