The Winner Of The European Powerlifting Championship Has Become A Private

The name of the thousandth contractual soldier of Hajdú-Bihar county is Tibor Biás Jr. The young man signed his contract with all due ceremony in the Debrecen Recruitment Office. Besides his family, his future commanders were also present.

The personal interview with the new contractual soldier was conducted by Brigadier General Dr. Gábor Böröndi, the commander of HDF 5th ‘István Bocskai’ Infantry Brigade. The commander briefed the young man about the post he will take up after completing basic training by August in Szentendre’s HDF Central Training Base. Private Tibor Biás accepted the post and as of 5 May, he is officially the mechanic of the support platoon of 5/24th ‘Gergely Bornemissza’ Reconnaissance Battalion of the Debrecen Brigade. Major Sándor Nyíri, the acting commander of the Reconnaissance Battalion was also present on the personal interview and personally greeted his future subordinate.

Following the interview Lieutenant Colonel Mihály Rácz, the senior officer in charge of the personnel department read out the order according to which Private Biás has signed a five-year contract and he has become a contractual junior non-commissioned officer. From 5 May 2009 to 7 August, the young man will be stationed in Szentendre where he must complete the 14-week basic training. He can only take up service in Debrecen after the recruit training.

At the formal ceremony held to mark the occasion of the joining up of the thousandth contractual soldier the letter of the MoD Chief of the Defence Staff, greeting the private, was read out. General (Eng.) László Tömböl congratulated Tibor Biás on his patriotic decision and welcomed him to the large family of the Hungarian Defence Forces. The letter of welcome and the certificate of the Eastern Hungarian Augmentation/Recruitment Command were handed over to the young soldier by Colonel (Eng.) Gábor Bus, the commander of the Augmentation Command. The parents and siblings of Pvt. Biás were also given some presents. The new recruit received his temporary military ID card from Brig. Gen. Dr. Gábor Böröndi.

It was mentioned during the ceremony that Private Tibor Biás was born in Debrecen on 21th June, 1987. He attended elementary school in Kaba, his hometown. He took his school-leaving examinations in Brassai Sámuel Grammar School and Technical Vocational School in Debrecen in 2006, where he earned his car mechanic qualification two years later. Parallel to his studies in secondary school, in 2004, he received his category B driving licence, then in 2006, he earned his category C licence as well. After graduation, he was working as a driver. Tibor Biás has been pursuing sports competitively for years as a powerlifter. His outstanding results to date: silver and gold medal in the European Championships of 2007 and 2008, and World Cup winner in 2008.

The officer in charge of recruitment, Warrant Officer Imre Tóth, who had been following the application, the medical and physical tests of the young man as sort of a mentor, gave Pvt. Biás the documents required for travelling to the Szentendre training free of charge.

It was also mentioned that for more than half a century, the set of tasks and the structure of the augmentation commands had changed several times, but they had always completed their statutory tasks. They had proven their high standard of professional responsibility in fields such as the provision of personnel for the military, assistance to the defence forces and law enforcement organs with the required economic and financial services, supporting the activities of the organs of defence administration, protection of the social interests of conscripted troops and retired servicemen, and the provision of memorial services.

In the life of the Hungarian Defence Forces, 3 November 2004, when the voluntary and professional armed forces were introduced was a day of historical significance, which caused radical changes in the work of the recruitment personnel as well. Since the last conscripted troops had been discharged, in peacetime there are only volunteers serving in the armed forces, which has significantly increased the role and responsibility of military recruitment. The new system of recruitment was introduced on the first day of 2007, and it still covers the entire country, is customer-focused, operates efficiently and economically, and gives modern frameworks for the implementation of military tasks. The Hungarian armed forces have become a major factor in the labour market. In their role as an employer, they are more and more responsive to the dynamics of society and make every effort to give the right reactions to the changes in the labour market.

The Debrecen recruitment office was opened with all due ceremony more than seven years ago, on 12 November, 2001. For almost six years, the office had been operating within the organization of the Hajdú-Bihar county Augmentation Command. Following the closing of augmentation commands in the counties and the capital, as of 1 January, 2007, the 2nd Recruitment and Interest Protection Centre that also includes the Debrecen Recruitment Office has been operating as an organizational unit of the Eastern Hungarian Augmentation/Recruitment Command of Szolnok and has been managed by it. Since 2001, more than ten thousand people have contacted the customer service of the Debrecen office to enquire about military service or the forms of education in military institutions.

In the past seven years or so – including the joining up of recruits on 5 May – a total of 1,023 contracted troops have joined the corps from the county. 273 people submitted their application to Zrínyi Miklós University of National Defence and 361 to Kinizsi Pál Non-Commissioned Officers’ Training School. On 23 September, 2008, the office was named after Simonyi óbester.

After the ceremony Tibor Biás told honvedelem.hu that the reason he has signed up for military service as a contractual soldier was that he wanted to have a steady workplace and at the moment, the Hungarian Defence Forces are such an employer. He used to work in a cold store in Kaba as a driver but his contract was not extended therefore he lost his job. That was when he decided to be a contractual soldier. He did not hesitate but went to Debrecen on the following day and submitted his application to the Recruitment Office. He managed to complete the necessary tests in just a few weeks.

The contractual soldier added: as regards the three months to be spent in Szentendre he believes he will improve in sports, or more precisely in running, since as a powerlifter, he did not really focus on this type of exercise. In the coming five years, Tibor would like to have a good career in the Debrecen corps and, if possible, to serve abroad – even in Afghanistan or perhaps Kosovo.

– After seeing that I passed the physical tests, the recruitment officers contacted me and told me the good news that I am the thousandth contractual soldier in the county to join the service, therefore they are planning a small ceremony at the Recruitment Office on the occasion of signing the contract and my family is also invited. I am very happy for this since now joining the military will be a memory I will never forget – said Tibor Biás.

The father of the newly recruited contractual soldier, Tibor Sr. said that he was very proud when he found out that his son has chosen a career in the military. He was also a regular soldier and served the country for two years. Of course, he is also aware that behind Tibor’s decision, one of the reasons was that his former employer was liquidated and the young man wanted to find a job by all means. The father also hopes that during his military service, his eldest son will also be taught order and discipline, for – as he said – a man needs that.

The only ’parting piece of advice’ given by Lujza, Tibor’s mother, was that he should complete his tasks honourably at all times, and if he does so, there cannot be any problems during his work.