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Generals, Ladies and Gentlemen, I
know that time is running out and that lunch is almost
ready.
I just wish to give you a brief summary and some information on
the Hungarian MSU contingent in Sarajevo. I am very proud of this
contingent because I was its first commander and was rather worried
because the Hungarian defense forces do not have the same kind of
units you have. Thus, this company has had to learn the procedures
of the infantry units and general Leso supported me and said:
"don't worry, because we will support you during training and
during the mission". I really felt this support on behalf of the
Italians, the Slovenians and the Rumanians. Therefore, my
intervention consists in supplying you with general information on
the contingent and the structure of the MSU tasks - the Hungarian
contingent of course - and the rules and lessons learnt. Everyone
knows that our forces are not consistent forces: this is why we
have 1.450 soldiers abroad. I will now mention the SFOR mission in
the Balkans. I would like to talk about the Hungarian participation
in the mission. Hungary delegated a battalion of the Engineers
Corps that was deployed near the frontier between Croatia and
Bosnia as Engineers Brigade. Everyone knows that this battalion
sustains SFOR operations in support of the Engineers
Corps.
Hungary
withdrew this contingent in 2002 just a few weeks before deploying
a Hungarian MSU contingent for SFOR. This contingent is formed by
150 soldiers and was deployed in two phases: 50 men on 16 May, 2002
in the first stage. These formed the command platoon of the
contingent and some quotas of the logistic group. The main part of
the contingent was deployed a month later with 100 people over
three Hungarian MSU platoons. Before taking part in the MSU
regiment our soldiers and officers took part in a training period
in Bosnia and some officers were sent to places such as Rome where
they learnt about the aims of the MSU regiment. The organization of
the Hungarian contingent provides for a company within the MSU with
logistic elements. We began our job and carried out our tasks in
the MSU regiment with a Hungarian platoon. Later, the Hungarian
platoon was organized as a separate company. I have already
mentioned that the latter is a mechanized infantry company.
Thus in the
last two years of our work with the MSU, our headquarters monitored
this company and gathered all the information from the Italian
colleagues regarding the Hungarian contingent's contribution; we
need to change our contribution and propose new ideas. During our
integration training the Hungarian contingent carried out all the
tasks it would have had to carry out later during the rotation with
other contingents. The Hungarian units that were part of the MSU
carry out the same tasks as all the other corps. The tasks of the
Hungarians, carried out now just as in the past, are military
police tasks, operative readiness, check points and patrol. Lastly,
I would like to mention some of our experiences during the last two
years. You already know that the Hungarian contingent is the MSU's
youngest member and that the basic operation level is that of a
platoon. Perhaps it would be better to maintain the control of
operations at company level and equip platoons with mixed vehicles
to co-operate with other military units, both local and
international.
In fact we aim
at achieving more complex capacities both at police and at military
level. 74 We have a lot to learn, in Hungary, because we believe
that this is what we have to expect for the future. Therefore, we
must consider the possibility of taking part in this kind of
mission and must also consider the need for intensifying and
improving our general military training to be able to face further
peace-keeping operations. The MSU activity must improve out
capacities. Thank you for your attention.
(*) - Transcript from an audio
recording.
(**) - Major of the Hungarian Armed
Forces. | 
