Turkish Connection
Szöveg: Gábor Kálmánfi | 2014. szeptember 7. 6:02The international search and rescue tactical field training exercise Cooperative SAREX 2014 has started with an opening ceremony. The participants include two Slovenian observers, and Turkey is represented on the exercise with 34 personnel and technical equipment. Speaking at the opening ceremony held at the HDF Pápa Air Base on September 1, Exercise Director Col. Pál Szűcs, Air Force Operations and Training Chief, HDF Joint Force Command emphasized that both parties would gain a lot of very useful experience in the next two weeks.
With a manpower of over one million, the Turkish armed forces are the second largest in NATO after the US military and have very extensive combat experience, so it is evident that the Hungarian units participating in the exercise can learn a lot from the Turkish guests in the field of (combat) search and rescue as well.
Of course, as Col. Pál Szűcs noted in his opening speech, the converse is equally true.
“Most member countries are currently using more or less different methods in this special field, but the standardization of different procedures is very important in NATO", the director said to the personnel lined up inside a hangar.
Col. László Gangler, the commander of HDF Pápa Air Base – which is hosting the exercise and providing it with logistic support – said that “it is a great honor to host such an international exercise".
“Saving lives is not only a great challenge, but also a great responsibility", he said referring to the fact that the standardization of different procedures is also important because in real-life situations, it is often the case that every second matters. The commander told us that, among other things, the Air Base is providing flight services for the exercise.
Maj. Ayse Baskoca and Maj. Kenan Comart, the leaders of the Turkish service personnel told us that this was the first time they were in Hungary, and that they had great expectations about the exercise.
“I think we’ll be mutually able to learn a lot from each other. This exercise will test the interoperability of our procedures. That’s why we are here", Maj. Kenan Comart said.
Col. Pál Szűcs told us that they have good relations with the Turkish Air Force, which has a substantial amount of lessons learned in the field of personnel recovery (PR) as well, gained in the areas of operations. “That is the reason why we have invited them", he added.
“In the dynamic phase of the exercise, the training audience will help civilians and soldiers who are in distress in various imitated situations. The Turkish partners are using Casa CN–235 transport aircraft and Cougar helicopters", the colonel told us.
The first part of the exercise – which involves combat search and rescue (CSAR), combat rescue (CR) and search and rescue (SAR) – comprises academic training, whereas the second week will focus on task execution. The primary organizations of the Hungarian Defence Forces participating in Exercise Cooperative SAREX 2014 are the HDF Air Command and Control Centre, the HDF 86th Szolnok Helicopter Base, the HDF 59th Szentgyörgyi Dezső Air Base and the HDF 25/88 Airmobile Battalion. During the two weeks, the HDF 12th Arrabona Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Regiment will be assigned a role too. Apart from the HDF Pápa Air Base, the servicing and support tasks of the exercise are to be carried out by the HDF Bakony Combat Training Centre and the HDF 54th Veszprém Radar Regiment.
Photos by the author
