Home Defence Is a National Cause

The event was organized by the Security Policy and National Security sections of the Hungarian Association of Military Science (HAMS) and the Association of Army Scouts. The session was chaired by Deputy Rector for MZNDU Strategy and Institutional Development Col. (Eng.) Prof. Dr. József Padányi, the acting dean of the János Bolyai Military Technical Faculty. HAMS Chairman of the Board Dr. László Nagy delivered a welcome speech at the event.

MoD Parliamentary State Secretary Dr. István Simicskó held a lecture on the government’s plans and the Hungarian Defence Forces’ vision for the future and the possible directions of their development. In his introduction the State Secretary underlined that home defence is a national cause, and the Hungarian Defence Forces are the most important instrument in this field. Dr. Simicskó talked about the foundations of the national defence policy, the National Security Strategy and the National Military Strategy as well as the national values and interests. He elaborated on the results of the defence reform carried out over the recent years. These include a reduction in manpower and capabilities and the absence of certain arms in the HDF.

Dr. István Simicskó did not rule out the possibility of a small-scale increase in numbers and a future expansion and generation of military capabilities that are deemed important by the MoD leadership. Speaking about the future role of the volunteer reserve system, the State Secretary reiterated that according to plans around 8,000 well-trained reservists would have entered the system by the end of the current term. During the first phase the HDF are planning to target those who are currently performing guard and security duties, but they also count on the 700 to 750 signed-on and career soldiers that leave the forces each year and the experts working in areas closely related to the HDF and national defence. To achieve this goal, the HDF must reach agreements with the employers and the employees alike. The State Secretary called the volunteer reserve system a new opportunity for cooperation between the HDF and the society, a step that may change the public attitude to national defence.

Dr. István Simicskó said that the Hungarian Defence Forces must offer realistic and credible career paths as well as training programs to officers and NCOs in compliance with NATO standards and their own requirements. Accordingly, the whole system of training and doctrine, re-training and further education should be reconsidered together with the possibility of ‘reviving’ the system of military high school education.

After the lecture, in answering the questions from the audience on the topic the State Secretary reasserted that all the necessary resources would be available for the above-mentioned transformation and developments. The defence budget will provide for the introduction of the planned changes in 2011. A new incentive scheme is going to be worked out in the coming months to stimulate employees and employers and to support reservists. The options for the future include a type of remuneration for standby duty, and the decision-makers must make sure that the jobs are safeguarded and employers are neither disadvantaged nor burdened with extra expenses. All this requires consultation and setting positive examples.

Answering a question about the service personnel’s guard duties in the garrisons, the State Secretary said the Hungarian public was expecting the troops to guard their own barracks, which is something they are training for because they may deploy to perform this type of duty in several missions around the world. The State Secretary only gave his personal opinion as to which HDF arms and special units would be upgraded and reinforced during the next period, saying he would like to see the system of Hungary’s air defence being developed first and would welcome an increase in the number of helicopters that may be used for civil purposes in emergencies as well. He hastened to add that to achieve these goals the budget must provide for considerable military expenditure.

Following the State Secretary’s lecture the scientific conference continued under the title ‘Information Support to Peace Support Operations’. The program included presentations with the following titles: Today’s challenges in the light of NATO’s current strategy and the related EU concepts; The ongoing PSOs of the Hungarian Defence Forces and the role of intelligence and reconnaissance in them; Lessons learned by US forces in modern-day PSOs while providing ISTAR support in Afghanistan.

The daylong conference concluded with presentations of supplementary papers.

Text: Z. T.
Photo: Mária Krasznai-Nehrebeczky