Hungarian senior officer receives NATO recognition

Text: defence.hu | Photo: NATO JFTC | 10:01 June 6, 2024

Transformation through training – this is the motto of the NATO Joint Force Training Centre (NATO JFTC), which is responsible, among others, for combined and national training in the defensive Alliance, for concept development and for the enhancement of interoperability. During a ceremony held to mark the 20th anniversary of the military organization, Lieutenant Colonel Gábor Endrődi, Staff Officer, HOST/Operations Section, JFTC received a certificate of commendation from the chief of staff of NATO’s Allied Command Transformation (ACT) for his outstanding service from September 2022 to August 2023.

In this period, Lieutenant Colonel Endrődi demonstrated excellent leadership as the Deputy NFS/NCS Section Head in his absence. His work supported the section in the preparation and execution of Exercise Loyal Leda 2022 and in the preparation of Loyal Leda 2024. His leadership has been instrumental in the coordination of JFTC’s contribution to the ACT training efforts. Besides, his professional knowledge and initiative also promoted the development of partnership between the JFTC and the NATO–Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre (JTEC). His work has earned him the respect of all Training and Exercise Division (TED) members, and his distinctive accomplishments reflect great credit upon himself, the Allied Command Transformation and the Hungarian Defence Forces.

“I was working as a stopgap, so to speak, because the »rotation personnel« from Canada did not arrive to fill the NFS/NCS Section Head position. Although at first it seemed to be a serious challenge, I did not expect that my superiors would recognize the achievements of our team under my leadership within a year with a distinctive commendation. The recognition from the Norfolk-based strategic command is a surprise and a great honor, which – diverging from the general order – I received in the presence of former commanders and several military dignitaries at the anniversary ceremony of the centre. I led a 17-strong team, organized its everyday activities, assigned the tasks, supervised their execution and participated in the conduct of military exercises. It may be among the reasons for this recognition that, as a matter of course, I was helping my newly arrived »boss« with his smooth integration into the organization and activities of the NATO JFTC” – told us Lieutenant Colonel Gábor Endrődi after receiving the certificate of commendation.