Joint development is the key to success

Lieutenant General Zoltán Mihócza, Deputy Chief for Territorial Defence, HDF Defence Staff received the major general on an office call in the Balaton Street building of the Ministry of Defence. In what followed, the American guest met with Major General Dr. László Drót, Commander, HDF Territorial Defence and Military Augmentation Command.

“Based on the lessons learned by the Ohio National Guard, we launched the reserve system organized on the principle of territorial defence in 2017. In 2023, we established the leading organization, the HDF Territorial Defence and Military Augmentation Command, which supervises the operation of the seven territorial defence regiments around Hungary. This was a huge milestone for us” – said Major General Dr. Drót.

He added that thanks to the partnership, the subunits of the two organizations have been developing for years on the tactical level in a multinational environment during joint exercises.

We’re looking at new opportunities where we can expand the cooperation between the Ohio National Guard and the Hungarian Defence Forces. There is room for cooperation since the Hungarian territorial defence forces look very similar to the Ohio National Guard. Year after year, we can see that the joint exercises are running more and more smoothly. The Hungarian soldiers have capabilities for performing domestic response and rear area operations” – said Major General Woodruff in praising the role of Hungarian reservists.

The discussion was followed by professional presentations. The Hungarian side informed the guests about the results of Exercise Adaptive Hussars 2025, while the American side presented a complex combat readiness exercise of the Ohio National Guard, to be conducted with Hungarian participation in the State of Michigan in July.