„Your Country Needs You!”

Szöveg: hm.gov.hu | 2010. szeptember 7. 14:40

On September 6 family members and relatives attended a Welcome Home Ceremony to receive the 2nd troop rotation of the KFOR Hungarian contingent (HUNCON) that has returned home from Kosovo. Defence Minister Dr. Csaba Hende delivered a speech during the event held at the HDF “2nd Lt. Ittebei Kiss József” Helicopter Base, Szolnok.

Having completed a six-month tour of duty in KFOR MNBG-W, Pec/Peje, Western Kosovo, the servicemembers of the 2nd rotation of the KFOR HUNCON returned to Hungary in the last days of August. In the presence of family members and relatives, the troops were received at a Welcome Home Ceremony in the afternoon of September 6 in the Szolnok barracks. The reason for the choice of venue for the event was that most of the rotating personnel are serving with the HDF 25/88 Light Infantry Battalion which is stationed in Szolnok garrison. It was no accident either that the contingent answered Defence Minister Dr. Csaba Hende’s greeting “Good day, soldiers!" with the words “Ready to deploy!", since this saluting phrase is in use only with the 25/88 Szolnok outfit in the Hungarian Defence Forces.

Defence Minister Dr. Csaba Hende, LTG Tibor Benkõ, Chief, MoD Defence Staff and Brig-Gen. János Huszár, Land Forces Chief, HDF Joint Force Command handed over awards and mementos at the event where a medal parade was also held to honor each KFOR HUNCON member with a “For Peacekeeping" Service Medal.

„Welcome home! We’d like to thank you for having returned home safe and sound and for having taken care of each other. Of course, I am also grateful for your having protected me in early summer when I paid a visit to Kosovo in company with the US Ambassador to Budapest. On that occasion, I was already impressed with a number of things. For instance, it was uplifting to hear you singing the national anthem while you were lined up in close formation on the parade ground of Camp Villaggio Italia, Peje. I told the HUNCON Commander that we should introduce this, so collective singing is going to be compulsory everywhere as of October 1. Everyone must be grateful to you for this innovation", this was how the Defence Minister started his ceremonial speech.

Dr. Csaba Hende went on saying „Hungarian troops have done their tour of duty over the recent period in a war-torn country longing for peace. The two nations of that country had been living side by side for centuries but recently turned against each other, so our troops deployed there to help them in taking the first very difficult steps on the road to peace.

„These two nations are our close neighbors, so we have a stake in their peaceful coexistence. We all know how difficult it is to achieve. But we also know there is a strong need for excellent men and women who undertake to work towards this goal. You have successfully completed your mission in this huge enterprise, often going to great lengths beyond your preset duties", Dr. Csaba Hende added, noting that the KFOR MNBG-W commander was speaking very highly about the Hungarian troops’ performance and service.

„You have done a very good job which is worthy of Hungarian soldiers", the Defence Minister stated in his

ceremonial speech, stressing that our nation can take pride in the KFOR HUNCON servicemembers’ professional military skills and humanity because they have won recognition as well as friends for the Hungarian flag.

„For you, the red-white-green tricolor symbolized the community of the contingent you were serving in. Your lives have become intertwined with your comrades’. You have learnt that you can always count on each other and that everyone else can count on you as well", Dr. Csaba Hende said.

Doing tours of duty in missions abroad ranks among the most difficult and dangerous commitments of the Hungarian Defence Forces today, so that only the best troops are picked out after they have undergone a long and thorough training, the Minister said, adding „There was much at stake in the real-life situations that you encountered during your mission so that no one with a desk job could ever learn the lessons you’ve learned".

„You have an important job to do here in Hungary too, since after the change of government we have embarked on a large-scale transformation project to renew the Hungarian Defence Forces. We are determined to transform the entire system of national defence as a result of which it will be able to execute the task laid down in the constitution, which is the armed defence of the homeland. I expect you, soldiers, to join these efforts, either through your continuing engagement as signed-on or career servicemembers or, on returning to civilian life, by applying for the Reserve which is going to be reorganized in the near future with a view to ensuring worthy conditions of service. We need your expertise and dedication. The community of the Hungarian Defence Forces needs you! Your country needs you!", this was how Dr. Csaba Hende concluded his speech.

The Welcome Home Ceremony of the KFOR HUNCON 2nd troop rotation finished with the Szózat (second national anthem) and a march past.