Headquarters Multinational Division Centre reaches Full Operational Capability

Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky recalled that Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia have come a long way together since raising the idea: a couple of years ago, “three Central European nations decided to establish a multinational division headquarters to jointly make up for the deficiencies in command and control” in the region.

The minister highlighted that by achieving Full Operational Capability, HQ MND-C is now ready and will be able to participate in the command and control of regional NATO operations in the event of any potential crisis or conflict. He added that this increases deterrence and rapid response capabilities, ensuring an immediate and coordinated response in the event of a threat.

Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky was of the opinion that this region is not simply a part of NATO’s eastern flank, as it also lies in a key geopolitical location, at the crossroads of north and south, and east and west.

“Our historical experiences unambiguously show that the nations of this region play a key role in the defence of Europe and the values of our common culture” – he said, adding that HQ MND-C has “written a short military history” by reaching FOC.

The minister noted that the security environment has become even more fragile since the decision was made on establishing HQ MND-C, which justifies the necessity of the efforts made so far and the further steps to be taken.

NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmilla Shekerinska called the declaration of Full Operational Capability of HQ MND-C a milestone in the life of the North Atlantic Alliance, because “it plays a critical role to play in defending NATO’s eastern flank”, and so it“contributes to keeping our one billion people safe”.

In conveying a message from the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, she noted that one cannot rest content with this much, as “we need to increase defence spendings, we need to increase and ramp up defence production in order to ensure that we keep our people safe now, but also in the future”. She was of the opinion that everyone has an important role in achieving this goal.

Slovak Defence Minister Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinák said that “the current geopolitical environment is extremely unstable and unpredictable”, and “that is why unity and solidarity among allies is very crucial”, which includes cooperation among the three framework nations.

Croatian State Secretary of Defence Tomislav Galic said that the Full Operational Capability has created a sort of security that must not be underestimated. Rather, it must be further strengthened by making use of potential capabilities.

General Guglielmo Luigi Miglietta, Commander Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS) emphasized that on Monday, HQ MND-C is assigned to the force made up of the battle groups, which is more than a military qualification, as it is a strong symbol and commitment in the field of deterrence and defence. He noted that from now on, HQ MND-C is ready to accomplish its mission even in multiple regions and modes of operation.

Lieutenant General Sáez Rocandio, Commander of NATO Rapid Deployable Corps – Spain (NRDC-ESP) pointed out that HQ MND-C has come a long way to achieve FOC, and the three framework nations have made their journey here under three commanders. HQ MND-C is now strong and combat ready – he added.

Major General Tibor Králik, Commander of HQ MND-C highlighted that the organization can meet technological and global security challenges precisely, in full harmony with NATO’s strategy. He said he thought that in the future, they would be able to do so only by constantly increasing their capabilities.

In the cooperation of ten nations

Given that previously there was not any headquarters for commanding and controlling tasks and operations related to collective defence and crisis management, the government of Hungary made a decision in 2018 to establish, together with its regional partners, Headquarters Multinational Division Centre. HQ MND-C is a tactical-level command element that ensures the integration of forces and capabilities declared to NATO into a higher tactical unit, and is able to lead them across the full spectrum of land operations.

Besides the three framework nations (Croatia, Hungary and Slovakia) another seven NATO member states (Poland, Germany, Italy, Romania, Spain, Slovenia and Türkiye) contribute personnel to HQ MND-C. The positions of the commander, deputy commander and chief of staff are filled in a rotational system, so the incumbent commander of the organization is Slovak, its deputy commander is Hungarian, and its chief of staff is a Croatian general.

Since its activation in May 2022, HQ MND-C has achieved several significant results on its way to Full Operational Capability. The main tasks of the next period are, among others, to further fine-tune and optimize the structures and systems of HQ MND-C, and to achieve the full-scale integration of the Hungarian and Slovak multinational NATO Forward Land Forces Battle Groups (FLF BGs) that will soon be placed under its subordination.