Chief Warrant Officer Tamás Zsiros
13:28 August 13, 2025Personal details:
Date of birth: 30/07/1975
Place of birth: Miskolc
Marital status: married
Military career:
15/08/2025– Command Sergeant Major of the Hungarian Defence Forces
01/08/2023 – 15/08/2025 Commandant, NCO Leadership Center of Excellence, HDF NCO Academy, Szentendre, Hungary
30/09/2020 – 31/07/2023 Support Branch Chief/Deputy Commandant, NCO Leadership Center of Excellence HDF NCO Academy, Szentendre, Hungary
16/09/2013 – 29/09/2020 Command Sergeant Major, HDF Ludovika Battalion, Budapest, Hungary
08/07/2009 – 15/09/2013 Chief of Support Division, Deputy Chief of Staff, Personal Assistant, Headquarters NATO Rapid Deployable Corps – Italy (HQ NRDC-ITA), Solbiate Olona, Italy
01/06/2008 – 07/07/2009 Subordinate NCO, command organizations, ISR cell, HDF 34th László Bercsényi Special Operations Forces Battalion, Szolnok, Hungary
31/01/2005 – 01/06/2008 Senior Training Instructor NCO, Platoon Sergeant, HDF 34th László Bercsényi Special Operations Forces Battalion, Szolnok, Hungary
01/09/1999 – 30/01/2005 Team Leader, Long-Range Reconnaissance (LRR) Team, 1st Company, HDF 34th László Bercsényi Special Operations Forces Battalion, Szolnok, Hungary
12/7/1998 – 31/08/1999 Team Leader, Long-Range Reconnaissance (LRR) Team, 4th Company, HDF 34th László Bercsényi Special Operations Forces Battalion, Szolnok, Hungary
Foreign service experience:
2021–2022 Command Sergeant Major for COM KFOR, KFOR HQ, Pristina, Kosovo,
2014–2015 Deputy Commander, Chief of Staff, Personal Assistant, EUFOR HQ, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
2013 CJOC – C-IED Branch Liaison NCO, IJC, ISAF, Kabul, Afghanistan
2009–2013 Chief of Support Division, Deputy Chief of Staff, Personal Assistant, Headquarters NATO Rapid Deployable Corps-Italy (HQ NRDC-ITA), Solbiate Olona, Italy
2008–2009 Team Sergeant, Kabul International Airport Commander’s Close Protection Team, Kabul, Afghanistan
2007–2008 Senior Advisor/Chief Training Instructor, NATO Training Mission–Iraq (NTM-I) for training the Iraqi Guard and Security Battalion, Baghdad, Iraq
2004–2005 Platoon Sergeant, 1st Light Infantry Company, Kabul, Afghanistan
2001–2002 Team Leader, HDF Guard and Security Battalion, KFOR, Pristina, Kosovo
Courses:
04/2025 Conduct After Capture (CaC) Training and Instructor (CaCI) Course, HDF NCO Academy, Szentendre, Hungary
2021 NATO Command Senior Enlisted Leaders Course, NATO School, Oberammergau, Germany (NATO’s top-level CSEL course)
06/2018 Commandant Pre Command Course, US Army Sergeants Major Academy, El Paso, TX, USA (training and development course for leading the HDF NCO Academy)
03/2018 Master Resilience Training Course, The University of Pennsylvania, El Paso, TX, USA (course preparing for coping with and successfully reacting to everyday challenges and tasks of the military vocation and civilian life)
2017–2018 US Army Sergeants Major Course, US Army Sergeants Major Academy, El Paso, TX, USA (training course for command sergeant majors of the US Army)
2015–2016 Command Senior Enlisted Leaders (CSEL) Course, HDF NCO Academy, Szentendre, Hungary. “Primus Inter Pares” Award.
2008 SWAT Close Protection Training, International Training Centre, Budapest, Hungary
2007 US Army Special Forces Train the Trainer Course, Szolnok, Hungary
2007 HK MP5 Operator and Instructor Training, Szolnok, Hungary
2006 Special Forces Qualification Course, Szolnok, Hungary
2005 United States Marine Corps (USMC) Basic Amphibious Reconnaissance Course, Fort Story, Norfolk, VA, USA
2003 “Distinguished International Student” graduate at the Special Forces Qualification Course (SF Weapons Sergeant Training Program) of the US Army JFK Special Warfare Center and School, Fort Bragg, NC, USA
2000 Basic Military Free-Fall Training Course, Szolnok, Hungary (currently 177 parachute jumps)
1998 Long-Range Reconnaissance and Training Sergeant (Distinguished Graduate), Reconnaissance Program, HDF Military Vocational School and Student Hostel, Szentendre, Hungary
1997 Basic Parachuting Course, Szolnok, Hungary
University:
Security Policy Expert (ongoing; expected completion date: July 2026), Security and Defence Policy Program, International Studies, Milton Friedman University, Budapest, Hungary
Language Qualification:
English STANAG 3333
English Advanced “C”
Medals and Decorations:
Hungarian Outstanding Service Medal “Gold”
Hungarian Outstanding Service Medal “Silver”
Hungarian Outstanding Service Medal “Bronze”
Hungarian Distinguished Service Medal “Silver”
Long-Term Foreign Service Medal
Hungarian Peacekeeping Service Medal (7×)
Hungarian Migration Crisis Management Service Medal
Flood Control Service Medal (2×)
Hungarian Military Service Medal Grade II (after 20 years of service as NCO)
Hungarian Military Service Medal (after 10 years of service as NCO)
NATO Non-Article 5 Service Medal for KFOR CSM activity
2022 Italian Armed Forces Service Medal, Pristina, Kosovo
2022 Slovenian Armed Forces “Medal for International Cooperation Grade IV”, Pristina, Kosovo
2022 US Army Joint Service Achievement Medal
2018 US Army NCO Professional Development “Level 5” Medal
2018 US Army Meritorious Unit Commendation Medal
2016 “Primus Inter Pares” Award, CSEL Course, Szentendre, Hungary
2013 US Army Commendation Medal
2010 “NCO of the Year” Award, NATO NRDC-ITA, Solbiate Olona, Italy
2010 “NCO Quarter of the Year” Award, NATO NRDC-ITA, Solbiate Olona, Italy
2009 US Army Achievement Medal
2003 “Distinguished International Graduate”, US Army Special Forces Course, Fort Bragg, NC, USA
Cohesion is the key to mission success
11:07 April 9, 2026
“Led by the contingent commander, during your tour of duty abroad, you have formed a cohesive unit with members attentive to and assuming responsibility for each other, where all soldiers knew that they can count on their comrades if in need” – said Colonel Tibor Gaspor, Deputy Commander, HDF 1st Armored Brigade at the homecoming ceremony of the 33rd rotation of the HDF KFOR Contingent (KFOR-33 HUNCON, KFOR Tactical Reserve Battalion – KTRBN) on 2 April.
HDF KFOR 34th Rotation at the FMC Evaluation
11:46 April 8, 2026
The soldiers of the Hungarian Defence Forces (HDF) KFOR Contingent 34th rotation, who arrived in early March, have successfully completed their Full Mission Capability (FMC) evaluation. The results of the exercise confirm that the troops are ready to execute mission tasks and are prepared to handle unexpected situations quickly and effectively.
Colonel Dr. Levente Várhelyi receives prestigious international recognition
12:15 April 7, 2026
President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella recently awarded Colonel Dr. Levente Várhelyi PhD one of the highest state decorations of Italy, the knight’s title “Cavaliere” for his cooperation with Italian military medical institutions and the popularization of Italian trauma surgery procedures in Hungary. The colonel received the medal – the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic awarded for outstanding political, artistic, economic or social performance – from Italy’s ambassador to Hungary Giuseppe Scognamiglio. The recognition confirms Colonel Dr. Várhelyi’s decades-long professional performance and dedication on an international level.
Strong American-Hungarian Alliance
12:11 April 7, 2026
“Strong bonds between the United States and Hungary are especially important to us within the field of national defence. The development of the Hungarian Defence Forces, the significance of our NATO engagement and the mutual security policy cooperation are all fields where the United States is our indispensable partner”, wrote Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky on his social media page on 7 April, a few hours before Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Budapest.
We protect Hungary’s energy security under all circumstances
11:11 April 7, 2026
“The energy security of the Hungarian people is no toy! The Hungarian Defence Forces are ready to fully carry out their tasks laid out in the Fundamental Law of Hungary. The reinforcement of guard and security personnel at national critical energy infrastructure started weeks ago. The military has complemented it by reinforcing the protection of the Hungarian section of the pipeline system, based on information received from Serbia” – said Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky in a video message uploaded to his social media page on 6 April.
Personnel Recovery in Tempest
13:02 April 2, 2026
Three weeks spent in an uninhabited forested area, at most a couple hours of sleep on end, food deprivation for up to several days, shelter-building from one own’s equipment, water purification, practical shooting, close quarters combat – this is how Charlie, the top-level course in Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) training can be summed up in a few words. During the course, Hungarian soldiers practiced air extraction in Csobánka on 30 March.
Tuned to Exercise
12:17 April 2, 2026
Preparation for Exercise Moonstar 2026 is still going on at the Hajdúhadház-based Vay Ádám Training and Exercise Area and Shooting Range. Reservists of the 5th Territorial Defence Battalion of the HDF 2nd Territorial Defence Regiment participated in a three-day training program to improve their marksmanship skills.
They have returned home from Bosnia and Herzegovina
12:09 April 2, 2026
“The performance you gave during your tour of duty abroad well exemplifies Hungarian military expertise and camaraderie” – this was how Brigadier General Zsolt Molnár praised the homecoming personnel of the 29th rotation of the HDF EUFOR Contingent. At their homecoming ceremony held in Szentes, the Depuy Commander (Land) of the HDF Joint Force Command (HDF JFC) handed over recognitions to soldiers returning home from their service in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Preparing for collective defence on Exercise Loyal Leda 2026
12:27 March 31, 2026
A significant number of Hungarian soldiers participated in NATO’s multinational Exercise Loyal Leda 2026, which served the operational training of the corps headquarters of the Alliance. Held between 3–12 March in the areas of nine allied member nations, the training event was controlled by the NATO Joint Force Training Centre located in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Target Destroyed
11:24 March 31, 2026
The crews of the 1st Grenadier Battalion’s 2nd company of the HDF 30th Mechanized Infantry Brigade have recently been forged on combat-like live fire exercises (LFX). The company had to react to enemy targets with its own crews according to the tactical situation, both day and night.