EUFOR: Departing as a committed and successful leader

In his ceremonial speech, Brigadier General Szabó emphasized that he considered his one-year tenure as chief of staff in the mission a huge honor, because he not only took over a position with significant responsibility, but also represented Hungary and the Hungarian Defence Forces in an international environment.

“The mandate of our mission is to support the local forces in maintaining a safe and secure and stable environment. Our committed personnel did their best to achieve this objective, and I thank everybody for it from here, too” – said the outgoing chief of staff.

In answer to our question, Brigadier General Tibor Szabó said that with the completion of his one-year tour of duty, he would return back to Hungary with positive experiences because he has achieved a number of professional successes as chief of staff. “I have learned a lot, now I take this knowledge back home, and will make good use of it in my later tours. Besides the professional lessons learned, I got to know a lot of new comrades, with whom I also made friends beyond our professional connection” – this was how the brigadier general summed up the last one year.

In connection with the engagement of the Hungarian contingent, he added that the nations co-deployed with the Hungarian troops also spoke highly of them, because they are playing a key role in the mission through their outstanding preparedness.

Speaking about the merits of the outgoing chief of staff, COMEUFOR Major General Maurizio Fronda underlined the general’s commitment to partnerships and cooperation. “His sound judgement was a guarantee of successful joint operations. He represented the highest leadership norms, providing our team with stability, guidance and respect” – this was how the COMEUFOR praised Tibor Szabó’s attitude.

The ceremony was also attended by Lieutenant General Ferenc Kajári, Deputy Chief of HDF Defence Staff. He said that the last few months of EUFOR had been a special period for the Hungarian Defence Forces, because it occurs very rarely that two Hungarian generals – DCOM EUFOR Brigadier General Bálint Legoza and COS EUFOR Brigadier General Tibor Szabó – serve as leaders of the mission concurrently. This shows that Hungary is a recognized member of the alliance, and there is a need for its engagement in foreign missions.