11 Airmobile Brigade and the Defence Helicopter Command have demonstrated how good cooperation can lead to improved skills. These army and air force units practised stopping a suspect car by use of helicopters on 20 January. The training exercise, which was part of a series lasting several days, was held at the Oirschotse Heide near Eindhoven.
Defence Minister Davor Bozinovic visited on Tuesday, 18 January 2011, NATO Headquarters in Brussels where he met with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Dr. Csaba Hende, the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Hungary gave a reception on Thursday, January 13 for the military attachés accredited to Budapest and the leadership of the Ministry of Defence and the Hungarian Defence Forces. The event took place in the Stefánia Palace, Budapest, where the Minister made a toast to welcome his guests on the occasion of the New Year. In his speech Dr. Csaba Hende cited a Hungarian folk tale, with the moral that even though everyone of us has a special responsibility for his country, all of us are aware that the only way to achieve progress in the field of peace and security is to take joint action; in other words, cooperation is the key to doing the best service to our countries.
Kielce. The Training Centre For the Peacekeeping Needs in Kielce-Bukówka hosted the Under-Secretary of State for Defence Policy in the Ministry of National Defence Zbigniew Włosowicz on 14th January. The Minister was acquainted with the tasks performed by the Centre and the Central Civil-Military Cooperation Group.
President of the Republic Tarja Halonen visited the Finnish crisis management forces in Afghanistan on Tuesday and Wednesday, 18–19 January 2011. The President’s entourage also included the Commander of the Defence Forces, General Ari Puheloinen.
Newly arrived Pandur armoured personnel carriers, that reinforced Czech contribution to ISAF mission in Afghanistan, accomplished their first live fires at a range near Kabul.
On 18 January Dr. Csaba Hende, the Defence Minister of Hungary – which is currently holding the rotating EU Presidency – held talks with Norwegian Defence Minister Ms. Grete Faremo. The two-day visit of the Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Norway is primarily aimed at discussing the program of Hungary’s EU Presidency in 2011, the results of the Lisbon NATO Summit and the bilateral military relations as well as some current issues in security policy.
Imami: The Special Forces are not only the pride of the Armed Forces, but also important ambassadors of Albania’s image, important ambassadors of the peace message. Defence Minister Mr. Arben Imami, accompanied by Members of the Parliament, Mr. Genti Strazimiri and Mr. Fatos Hoxha, held a two-day visit in Afghanistan to meet with the Albanian contingents located there in the framework of ISAF operation, as well as higher military authorities commanding the NATO operation.
Of all people, it is perhaps politicians whose diaries have the largest number of entries, and the same goes for Defence Minister Dr. Csaba Hende. Saying goodbye to the old year and greeting the new one, our interview focuses on the ups and downs of the last 12 months, as well as plans for the future.
Minister of Defence and Sports Norbert Darabos has announced a reduction of the Austrian Armed Forces' fleet of armoured vehicles by more than 50 percent.
The Nordic Battle Group (NBG11) formed by Sweden, Finland, Norway, Estonia and Ireland has a total complement of about 2,200 soldiers, of whom 200 are Finnish. The core of the Finnish contingent is a Jaeger company.
Hungary is well prepared for her term of EU Presidency, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission underscored in Budapest on 7 January 2011. The two political leaders held a press conference after the joint session of the Commission and the Government of Hungary.
Just like the 2006 flooding on each major river in Hungary, this year’s spring flash floods have shown again that Hungarian citizens in trouble can count on the HDF servicemembers’ assistance any time. Our troops have contributed their professionalism, equipment and experience to prevent more extensive disasters and rescue the property that can be saved.
„Along these lines, I sincerely hope that Hungary’s EU Presidency will be a time for action, with difficulties never seen as excuses but rather as mission and obstacles that can and should be overcome."
The top military leaders of the Visegrád Four Group – Hungarian CHOD LTG Tibor Benkő, Czech CHOD Gen. Vlastimil Picek, Slovak CHOD Gen. L’ubomír Bulik and Polish CHOD Admiral Tomasz Mathea – as well as Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Ukraine Vice-Admiral Igor V. Kabanenko met on June 21-22 in Balatonőszöd, Hungary. They reviewed the results achieved during the Hungarian presidency, then the Deputy CHOD of the Ukrainian Armed Forces joined the discussion on the second day to hold talks about the topical issues of the ongoing cooperation between the V4 countries and the Ukraine.
In early July Defence Minister Dr. Csaba Hende paid an official visit to the Balkans Joint Operations Area (JOA) where he met the commanders of the NATO- and EU-led missions and those Hungarian troops who are doing their tour of duty in the Balkans. He received reports from EUFOR’s senior Hungarian general and from the commander of the HDF EUFOR contingent on the activities and current tasks of the Hungarian troops. The Defence Minister’s visit was primarily aimed at learning about the Hungarian servicemembers’ living and working conditions. While in Pristina, Dr. Csaba Hende met Zoltán Imecs, the Ambassador of the Republic of Hungary accredited to Kosovo.
Defence Minister Dr. Imre Szekeres and Dragan Sutanovac, Minister of Defence of Serbia signed a bilateral defence cooperation agreement between the Republic of Hungary and Serbia on 22 March in Belgrade. The bilateral agreement comprises 17 articles which provide a framework for the joint training of the two nation’s military units as well as for cooperation in joint control of airspace, EOD and disaster relief operations.
Heading a delegation, NATO Military Committee Chairman Admiral Giampaolo di Paola recently paid an official visit to Hungary at Hungarian CHOD LTG Tibor Benkő’s invitation. The high-ranking guest was received with military honors on June 25. The Admiral met with the Chairman of the National Assembly Defence and Law Enforcement Committee and Defence Minister Dr. Csaba Hende. At the plenary talks following the courtesy call on the Defence Minister, the two delegations discussed some topical issues concerning the Hungarian Defence Forces with special regard to the HDF troops’ participation in peace support operations. In the afternoon the MC Chairman delivered a lecture entitled ‘Key issues in the Alliance ahead of the Lisbon Summit’ to senior political and military leaders and the representatives of NGOs and military science working groups.
In mid-January I received a phone call from Kosovo, from where a Hungarian major informed me that a Turkish colonel standing next to him was inquiring after me, and before I could reply he passed over his cell phone. I had not heard the voice speaking on the phone for six years. By the evening, the Turkish officer had sent me an e-mail in which he praised our phone talk and concluded with the following sentence: ‘Sir, I will stand by you, wherever in the world you are doing your tour of duty!’ Maj-Gen. János Isaszegi, the Commanding General of the HDF Central Training Base (HDF CTB) started our conversation about his international service by relating this story and letting us into the ‘secret’, as he revealed that the colonel – one of his former subordinates – had served as an officer (then holding the rank of lieutenant-colonel) with the Turkish liaison group in the Iraq War. Upon hearing this, it crossed my mind that his must be a significant commitment, certainly a very great honor to any soldier.
Strategic Allied Commander Transformation’s annual Strategic Military Partner Conference (SMPC) will be held on 14–16 June 2010 at the Hilton Kalastajatorppa Hotel, Helsinki. The conference attendees will include the Chiefs of Defence of most NATO, Partnership for Peace, Mediterranean Dialogue, Istanbul Cooperation Initiative Nations and eight selected Contact Countries as well as important military leadership such as the Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, Italian Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, the Chairman of the European Union’s Military Committee, Swedish General Håkan Syrén, as well as the host of this event, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, French Air Force, General Stéphane Abrial.
NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT) Gen. Stéphane Abrial paid an official visit to Budapest, Hungary in the first half of February at the invitation of Gen. (Eng.) László Tömböl, Chief, MoD Defence Staff. Gen. Abrial paid a courtesy call on Defence Minister Dr. Imre Szekeres and Foreign Minister Dr. Péter Balázs. The French general also had talks with Gen. Tömböl and attended the NATO C-IED conference.
Federal Councillor for Defence, Civil Protection and Sports of the Confederation of Switzerland, Mr Ueli Maurer, is to make an official visit to Finland between the 16th and 18th of May 2010. The visit is hosted by the Finnish Minister of Defence Jyri Häkämies. Topics of the meeting include an overview of the Swiss draft report on security policy as well as discussions regarding the Finnish Security and Defence Policy report. I addition, bilateral relations as well as defence material co-operation will be discussed during the visit. On Tuesday 18th of May both ministers are to visit the Pori Brigade.
Sgt-Maj. Ludek Kolesa, NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT) Command Sergeant Major (CSM) visited Budapest for the third time as a member of the delegation headed by Gen. Stéphane Abrial, NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation (SACT). Sgt-Maj. Kolesa first had bilateral talks with his host, HDF CSM WO Tibor Bogdán, then he briefed the members of the board present to honor the CSM corps on the current tasks and concepts of NATO ACT as well as the possible responses to today’s challenges. In the break of the meeting Sgt-Maj. Kolesa answered the questions of Defence Mirror.
Defence Minister Dr. Imre Szekeres awarded the Medal of Service ornamented with laurel wreath to former EUMC Chairman Gen. Henri Bentégeat. Gen. (Eng.) László Tömböl, Chief, MoD HDF Defence Staff also attended the event that took place on 23 March. Gen. Bentégeat held the position of EUMC Chairman between 2006 and 2009, and he has been decorated for his sustained efforts made in the interest of developing French–Hungarian relations.
Recent developments in the crisis zones around the world and conflict management by military means require the training of Special Forces (SF) on the levels of planning, command and execution. To focus on these challenges, the first International Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC) was launched on 2 February at the HDF Peace Support Training Centre in Szolnok. Another SFQC course with English as the working language is run in compliance with NATO standards in the USA, Fort Bragg, NC, and now Hungary is hosting a similar one.