From Ohio to Újdörögd

The Ohio National Guard (ONG) keeps expanding its Hungarian partnerships. In April, it organized a patrol championship “Best Warrior Competition” with Hungarian reservists achieving nice placements; now, however, a platoon of the 148th Infantry Regiment has paid a visit from overseas to the Balaton Uplands in Hungary. Conducted between 18-29 May, Exercise Best Warrior 2024 is focused on individual training and the exchange of lessons learned.

“The interest is mutual, we are working to adapt each other’s combat technique” – this was how Officer Commanding Captain István Németh tells us about his experiences so far at the Újdörögd exercise. “This training does not have any academic phase, we are present in the military training area all the time. The personnel of the Hungarian company have been drawn from the territorial defence regiments stationed in Transdanubia”.

The four-day lead-up panel of Valiant Panther (VP) included individual training, while the next three-day stage of the training consists of squad-level small unit tactics. The express objective of the exercise is to make sure that following their individual training, the soldiers can acquire as use as skills in squad- and platoon-level units everything that they learn at Újdörögd. “The first half of the program is going to end with today’s individual target practice; on 28 May, the integrated Hungarian-US personnel are going to participate in squad evaluation sessions coupled with live fire training.”

Corporal Dominik Szűcs is helping the work of the said personnel: this time, the reservist from the Várpalota-based HDF Klempa Kálmán 7th Territorial Defence Regiment is acting as interpreter for the guests and as Combat Life Saver (CLS) in the VP 1st platoon 3rd squad. “This is the first time when I’m working as an interpreter in the Hungarian Defence Forces, and besides its obvious practical benefits, I’m also happy for it because I’ve got to know some excellent people here. We and the ONG are learning a lot from each other. After the exercise, I’m planning to continue my career as reservist in the air force. I hope that in my new position, I’ll be able to take training programs both in Europe and in the USA, since I’d like to travel around the globe” – said the corporal about his goals.

The May 23 panel-closing day started with the soldiers conducting target practice first by firing their weapons in prone position and then while advancing forward. In the afternoon, the participants were practicing hand-grenade throwing from a trench. Before moving on to the squad-level training, all reservists enjoy personal attention and are assigned tasks to be carried out individually on the Újdörögd shooting range. “The main novelty of the day is the CZ Bren 2 assault rifle, which I’m holding for the first time in my hands. This precision weapon is quite user-friendly, as well as more modern and lighter than the AK. Being modular, it can be fitted with various accessories, that’s why it has Picatinny rails on it. It has the further virtue of being ambidextrous, so one can simply swap hands while using it. I’m very glad to have been able to test it at last” – this is how Corporal Dominik Szűcs summarized his experiences.