Common Cause, Common Task, Common Interest

‘Advent is the period of waiting for Christmas, the preparation for the most sacred ceremony in the Christian world’ – this was said in the grand hall of the Stefánia Cultural Centre before the concert organized by the MoD Defence Staff on the eve of Advent. Gen. Dr. Tibor Benkő, Chief, MoD Defence Staff welcomed the guest at the event and handed over a memento to former Defence Minister Dr. Lajos Für, the doyen of the evening who is going to celebrate his 80th birthday in the coming days. 19-year-old Mónika Kutasi, a student of military engineering at the Miklós Zrínyi National University, the youngest guest was given another memento.

In his opening speech Gen. Benkő said that ‘this evening program is for our guests because we, soldiers would like to express our thanks in this way for your encouraging words of appreciation, for your cooperation and support. We would like to say thanks for your efforts to support us in achieving that national defence may become a truly public cause.’

The Chief of Defence stressed he was convinced that the soldiers have several goals in common with the people supporting the Hungarian Defence Forces. These include the creation of a system of values grounded in true patriotism, loyalty and commitment to the homeland. This is a common cause, a common task and a common interest!

‘We are lucky because we can live in security, so we do not have to fear the horrors of war since we all know that our families and loved ones are safe. At the same time, I think Hungary’s citizens should know and feel that this security is not to be taken for granted, because it is a result of the work of many’, Gen. Tibor Benkő said, adding that this security must be credited to the soldiers as well as a great many citizens of Hungary.

Gen. Benkő went on pointing out that the Hungarian Defence Forces form an integral part of Hungarian society. The troops and the military organizations have strong ties with the counties and towns where their home stations are, and their work depends to a large extent on the efforts the leaders and citizens of these counties and towns are making to help and support the military.
‘I would like to thank the cooperating organizations for their support.

I would like to thank the teachers for educating young generations in patriotism and commitment. And I would like to thank the staffs of media organizations for the unselfish, fair, straightforward and sincere dialogue we can have, for the support they are giving to us in getting our messages and the military’s values across to the public’, Gen. Tibor Benkő said.

The 90+-minute ceremonial concert featured the HDF Central Orchestra, the male choir of the Honvéd Ensemble and the chorus of the ‘Károly Koós’ Advanced Level Musical Primary School. During the breaks the audience could see the display of church flags organized by the Catholic Field Chaplaincy and an exhibition of the works of the summer International Military Artists’ Camp in Mátraháza. The choirs got a several-minute standing ovation at the end of the concert. 

Speaking at a reception held after the concert, Defence Minister Dr. Csaba Hende addressed the guests, quoting St. John the Baptist’s admonition. ‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth’.

The Defence Minister noted that this admonition has been cited in churches time after time for several centuries, signaling that Advent is the time of preparation.

‘We had to cope with a lot of ‘potholes’ and crookedness. We set ourselves the task of renewing the whole system of national defence. Over the last six months we have come a long way. Our thanks go to you because you, the people present here have contributed in a great many fields to achieving this common goal. We can be proud of our achievements but a lot of work remains to be done next year too’, the Defence Minister noted and went on concluding his toast by saying that ‘My wish is that all of us should desire what we own. We should love our family, our nation and homeland. My wish is that after these very difficult yet wonderful six months we can return home for Christmas and take a rest in the company of our loved ones.’