Thirty-Six Hours Of ‘Mission’

The soft breeze arriving with the first rays of the rising sun quickly disperses the morning fog. The early spring landscape is bathing in the sparkling sunshine and soon the air is filled with birdsong. The scenery is almost idyllic. But an ever-lounder noise coming from the hills destroys the perfect peace. An Mi–17 transport helicopter is approaching, first it hovers over the treetops then it starts to descend, stirring up the dust. It hardly touches the ground when heavily armed soldiers with green-black-brown face paint start jumping out of the troop compartment and immediately stand in a circular formation.

The pilots of the rotary wing aircraft crank up the engines and the giant dragonfly rises to the air again then it disappears behind the hills on the horizon. For a few seconds, everything is silent, but the more courageous birds continue the interrupted birdsong concert…

The soldiers start to move slowly, carefully towards their target. They form a V-shape, then move away from the drop zone. A few seconds later, the 8-strong squad disappears among the trees of the nearby forest.

– We call this type of preparation differential training, it started last autumn at the battalion. The aim of the training is to ensure that every soldier in the unit is equally skilled, because several new contracted soldiers have joined the corps recently – says Lieutenant Colonel Romulusz Ruszin. We meet the commander of the Szolnok-based HDF 25/88th Light Mixed Battalion in the training ground and firing range called ’Winch house’ by the soldiers, in the military area in the vicinity of Bakonykúti, a tiny dead-end village in the heart of the Eastern Bakony. For this week, the ’sons’ of the battalion are conducting their squad-level live fire tactical training here.

Formation trainings began in February at the battalion, before that they were running so-called dismounted soldier trainings in the course of which the troops attended various tactical courses and firearms practices. Platoon and company-level trainings will begin after the team-building for the squads. The objective is to conduct a live fire tactical training for two, company-level task forces, and simultaneously, a command post exercise for the battalion. This will take place in late October-beginning of November at the Hungarian Defence Forces’ ‘zero-point’ training ground and firing range near Veszprém.

– For a corps like the 25/88th battalion, the tactics of small units is very important, for I am convinced that the prerequisite of successful implementation is that squads know exactly what their tasks are. If they can do it without any problem, then platoons, companies and the entire battalion can also carry out their tasks successfully – says the lieutenant colonel, from whom we learn that this training week, the selected squads of all three companies of the battalion will spend 36-36 hours in the field respectively, in rotations. Which means that as soon as a squad completes the tasks, another one arrives.

The one and a half-day ‘mission’ begins back in Szolnok with the briefing and the orders. It is followed by so-called strategic transport, when the units deploy to the operational area. Out of the four rapid response companies of the battalion, the first one has paratrooper capabilities as well, therefore the squads of this unit arrive to the target area by helicopter then they jump. The troops of the second and third companies deploy to the Pápa military airport by the AN–26 transport airplanes of the HDF 59th ’Dezsõ Szentgyörgyi’ Aviation Base. From here they approach the area of responsibility on foot, by vehicles, or helicopters – so-called tactical transport. Today the soldiers of the second company are transported by rotary wing aircraft to the plateau in the Bakony…

As if something was moving at the foot of a tree. First you think your eyes are deceiving you in the bright sunshine, but – just like in American war movies – a soldier slowly steps out of the shade of the pine. He is advancing carefully, without making a sound, holding his weapon in front of him. The others follow him slowly. Their helmets are covered with dry fallen leaves and grass, they almost fade into the grey background. They are nearly invisible, only those can spot the squadron who know where to look for them.

We hear the quiet commands, the squad commander is selecting the members of the attacking, assault, and leading units. The team disperses, everyone moves into position by the road that crosses the area. A long, nerve-wracking period of waiting begins, then suddenly three armed men appear on the road. The men are walking towards the ‘trap’ unsuspectingly, they do not even think that from among the shrubs, death is watching every step they take…

On the order of the commander, weapons are fired, muzzle fires are flashing among the bushes. The whole thing lasts only for a few seconds. The members of the squad carefully rise from among the shrubs, they do what they are supposed to do: cover the others or search the killed enemy soldiers. This is not humane at all – war is like that, either you kill, or you get killed! – but it is absolutely necessary. The aim of an ambush is not only to annihilate the enemy but also to gather information.

– The second important task of the tactical exercise is that squads ’dropped’ in this area have to conduct a so-called ambush. After choosing and scouting the ideal terrain, the ambush is triggered off, in other words, enemy forces entering the area are destroyed – Lt.Col. Ruszin tells us while the squad is preparing for another task. For it is very important that tasks become reflex actions for soldiers, meaning that in a possible live situation, everyone must know without thinking what his duty is.

Naturally, for a good ambush you need an ‘enemy’, or as the soldiers call it, an opposition force. This time the troops of the combat support company of the battalion have been assigned the thankless job of playing the bad guys. ‘Dying’ twice in just an hour cannot be pleasant, but they do not object to this role.

Those who are familiar with the ’military profession’ may ask: why do the Szolnok troops conduct an ambush in the daytime? The answer is very simple – says the battalion commander – we are on a training where the most important thing is to practice tasks on skill-level. During the 36-hour deployment, there will be enough time for more realistic night practice as well.

Hostile soldier at two hundred meters! And there is another armed group behind him, which means they have to fight. The squad commander organises the fire teams in a few seconds, then the order comes: destroy the enemy! It is good that mortar and antitank troops support the infantrymen, and there is even a combat helicopter in the air to help. The fight is decided… Fortunately, this time they only have to fight targets in the firing range. They hit most of the targets, it is evident that the firearms practice is conducted by one of the elite corps of the Hungarian Defence Forces. Silence is strange after the din of battle, and the typical stench of burnt gunpowder lingers on.

The battalion has always paid special attention to firearms training. But the soldiers of the squad have to feel that they are not alone, so for their sake, this time fire training receives concentrated fire support – says Lt.Col. Ruszin.

Which means that in addition to the rifles and machine guns of infantrymen, the mortar troops and soldiers with anti-armour weapons also fire. On the left flank of the firing range the troops use Fagott anti-armour rockets, the RPG teams are firing at the targets that are five hundred meters from them, and in the right sector the unit equipped with a 82 mm mortar is firing. In the air there are two Mi–24 combat helicopters to cover the troops.

The first ’act’ of the training is successful but owing to the specially situated firing range troops can fire their weapons only in certain periods, so the ’hold your fire!’ signal is sounded in order that the vehicles that have piled up on the main road between Várpalota and Tér can proceed. But the wind does not favour the soldiers – the hot projectiles set the dry undergrowth on fire and in a few minutes the hillside is in flames. The soldiers must put the fire out, everyone comes and with their military spades, shovels and spark arresters they try to prevent the flames spreading. By the time they finish, the next task begins…

The only reason why the silver AN–26 transport airplane can be noticed in the sky is that it turns up its landing lights. The plane is flying low and slowly above the drop zone, the back ramp is open and suddenly ’packages’ start to fly. Free fall is slowed down by parachutes, so the cargo lands safely. Water, food, and bandages have arrived. The soldiers hiding among the bushes approach the new supplies in an orderly manner, covering each other. They portion the supplies out rapidly, hide telltale traces, and go on. The airplane left the zone only two minutes ago…

– The last task of the 36-hour exercise is when personnel in the field receive supplies. By air, because they are deep behind the enemy lines. In the 100-kg cargo bags they will find what is the most necessary for them in order to continue the task – said the battalion commander, in the opinion of whom regular supplies are very important, for a soldier on deployment can take only a limited amount of equipment with himself.

The task has been completed, the soldiers can have some rest. In the last one and a half days they were constantly on the move. The formal evaluation will take place only when they return to the barracks, but the acting commander of the company, First Lieutenant Miklós Oláh tells us that on the whole, the corps have done a good job. There were deficiencies, of course, but trainings are meant to eliminate them.