Chief of HDF Defence Staff: More than just logistics – a change of strategic approach

“On the one hand, our objective is to show that our units are not exclusively tied to their own barracks, as they are also able to perform the full spectrum of their tasks from other garrisons by temporarily relocating part of their personnel and military equipment. Service of the homeland is not exclusively limited to a garrison, the Hungarian Defence Forces must be ready to conduct operations in the entire area of Hungary – and the point of the ongoing exercise is that the troops have to stand their ground even at distances of several hundred kilometers from their homes and barracks.

On the other hand, to us, this regrouping is not just a logistic operation, but a part of that change of strategic approach which involves the testing in practice of the recently introduced garrison support concept as well. This concept aims at ensuring the undisturbed performance of national defence tasks in any point of Hungary – through the proper servicing of personnel and military equipment” – he added, emphasizing that the quarters left behind in order by the units moving out may be occupied by another unit, which provides more flexibility in the conduct of operations.

General Böröndi pointed out that adaptation is continuous in the Hungarian Defence Forces, so in line with the security challenges of the 21st century, the armed forces are being shaped to meet the requirements of capability-based operation and operational command, which significantly increases their response capability and mobility.

“To the Hungarian Defence Forces, the process starting now is a milestone, as it marks the realization of the first-ever countrywide movement based on cooperation among garrisons, and is simultaneously testing the service of soldiers assigned to the recently introduced operational and administrative categories in the new legal environment – pointed out the Chief of Defence.

While planning and carrying out troop movements, the Hungarian Defence Forces are paying special attention to the precise and continuous information of the population about the events to be expected and their course.

Organized within the framework of NATO, one of the objectives of this joint whole-of-government defence exercise is to cause the slightest possible disturbance in everyday life, and for this reason, during operations the military organizations are working in close cooperation with local authorities and local governments. The Hungarian Defence Forces are working to achieve that the troop movements can be implemented safely and transparently from the civil population’s point of view, and that they affect the rhythm of everyday life as little as possible.