UNFICYP Military Skills Competition – Respectable Hungarian Performance
Szöveg: Maj. Róbert Fekete | 2014. június 2. 10:13A Hungarian soldier was among the members of the winning team, whereas the Sector 4 Bravo Team – mainly composed of Hungarian peacekeepers – was placed fifth in the final ranking at the UNFICYP Military Skills Competition.
The blindfolded competitors had to drive a vehicle on the driving course under guidance, whilst reversing, which made the task more difficult
This spring, Hungarians joined the ranks of the best in the competition held on May 21 with the participation of 10 teams in total and consisting of eight complex challenges (7-kilometer endurance run with carrying all equipment, command tasks, map reading and navigation, driving skills, shooting and assembling weapons, incident reaction, knowledge of foreign militaries and an assault course). Hungarian soldiers were also competing in the teams of the winning Mobile Reserve Force (MRF), the Force Military Police Unit (FMPU) and the Sector 4 Bravo Team.
The Sector 4 Bravo Team finished first in two events (command tasks, map reading and navigation). The competition drew a lot of attention, because everybody expected the Hungarian team to give a successful performance, and the team members had been training for weeks to be able to enter this traditionally most prestigious competition. The daylong series of challenges started at 5 a.m. in the morning with registering, and then the teams immediately went on to compete during the 7-kilometer endurance run.
During the command tasks, the blindfolded team members had to rescue a comrade of theirs from a mock minefield, which was controlled by the commander of the subunit from the outside
By the final results of the teams, the MRF Team finished first, the Sector-1 Alpha Team second, and the HQ Team the third. The Sector-4 Alpha (Slovak) and Bravo (Hungarian–Serb) teams tied for the 4th-5th places. All in all, we can say that the eight-person Hungarian–Serb team (six Hungarians and two Serbs) has shown its high training standards and cohesion both in individual and team rankings. The support received from all members of the Hungarian contingent has greatly contributed to this success, as this result has not only been achieved by the eight competitors, but also by those who supported the team all along the preparation and the competition. We hope that this result and the lessons learned during the competition will provide a solid basis for the next one, which is to be held in November this year.
Finally, here is our hall of fame: MFR – Cpl. Ádám Kővári; FMPU – SFC Tamás Kolonics; Sector-4 Bravo Team – Maj. Zsolt Süle, CW2 Gábor Palkovics, WO Gábor Molnár, WO Attila Makula, SFC Dejan Paunovic, PFC Tamás Turcsics, PFC Gergő Bagi, PFC Aritonovic Sasa. The team manager was Capt. Mónika Patrics.
The Hungarian–Serb team, with the umpire delegated to the team in the middle
