Foreign trainers prepare at Hungarian NCO Academy

The majority of guest soldiers serve in EOD technician positions. Bomb disposal troops need to learn about the characteristics of the many-sided threats posed by IEDs due to their extensive use. In addition to terrorist and guerilla groups, IED users include networks of organized crime and poachers, and already even regular armies. Belgium intends to renew its C-IED defence capability by means of the Hungarian training, whereas Bosnia-Herzegovina is going to incorporate the basic NATO C-IED tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) into its own courses.

The courses were held in English in the form of incremental classroom lectures and hands-on training sessions. Besides the tasks of planning and organization, the training methodology, communication techniques, time management and logistic considerations also played important roles. Following a written test, all course participants were required to demonstrate their knowledge and skills both as lecturers in the classroom and trainers in the field, so they “taught back” the earlier acquired curriculum to their buddies. The course ended with the participants conducting a complex tactical exercise in the training area of Csobánka Tactical Training Base. During the exercise, the course participants had to use all the skills and knowledge they had acquired up to that point, and the joint practice was closed with a hotwash.

In all cases, international courses form an excellent basis for enabling Hungarian trainers to learn from foreign attendees who have different approaches, knowledge and experiences – which always gives them the opportunity to brush up on their own knowledge and make the next steps more efficient.