They Stand their Ground in Afghanistan

The group of twelve – consisting of flight crew members, aviation technicians and logisticians – participate in the training of the attack helicopter forces of the Afghan Air Force, co-operating with other nations.

The aviation technicians’ day-to-day life is mainly occupied with the maintenance and repair of helicopters, while the flight crew members take part in the preparatory trainings for the various flight missions, and their implementation. Besides the regular overhaul of helicopters and repair of damages, the tasks executed by the Contingent so far include among others providing air cover for special important events and the protection of transport helicopters as well.

The Hungarian Contingent attaches special importance to building good relationships with the specialists of the Afghan Air Force, because it is impossible to lead successful training in the absence of this. This was not different at the time of the earlier rotations, so the long-standing good, almost friendly relations make the work of the Hungarian group particularly fruitful and valuable. This fact is also acknowledged by other nations participating in the training of the Afghan Air Force.

The attack helicopter specialists of the HDF 86th Szolnok Helicopter Base – thanks to the excellent professional training and the basics acquired at home – stand their ground in every respect in the area of operations (AO) in Afghanistan, which cannot be called an easy matter.

(Text: Major Béla Lázár)