Reservists preparing for international exercise

Text: First Lieutenant Viktória Szidor | Photo: Reserve Corporal Eliza Simon-Papp | 13:29 June 9, 2026

The preparation of reservists is continuing based on the lessons learned on the Moonstar exercises organized in recent years. The reservists of the 5th Territorial Defence Battalion of the HDF 2nd Territorial Defence Regiment participated in a three-day training program in the training area and on the shooting range of the Hajdúhadház Training Base. The training focused on developing marksmanship skills and the coordinated execution of tactical missions.

The soldiers of the regiment carried out the earlier Moonstar exercises together with the Polish territorial defence forces, but this year, they can demonstrate their preparedness in Poland. The tasks executed in an international environment create a particularly valuable opportunity for them, as they can gain experiences abroad, have an insight into the procedures of other armed forces and further strengthen their interoperability.

During this training, the soldiers, among others, practiced movement on terrain, the harmony of fire and maneuver, as well as task execution on force level. Also part of the training were the improvement of weapons handling skills, the practice of tasks assigned to fire pairs, fire teams, squads and platoons, as well as fire discipline and the development of fire control and fireplans.

“There are a lot of fresh-module, young soldiers here. They are disciplined, persevering, and showing determination” – said Reserve Captain Orsolya Kiss, who pointed out that one of the important objectives of the training was to have the reservists learn from each other’s experiences.

As she said, the trainers, the commanders and the members of the training audience are all reservists, so the “reservists instruct reservists” is one of the specialties of the preparation. From a professional point of view, it provides valuable lessons learned, and strengthens cohesion and the taking of collective responsibility as well.

Reserve First Lieutenant János Galambos told us that the participants had continuously been preparing for the tactical tasks since February. The present training also serves the aim of enabling soldiers to act with more confidence, discipline and coordination during the exercise.

Exercises are particularly valuable for reservists, as they enable them to assess their skills, expand the scope of lessons learned and demonstrate their dedication in the service of the homeland under realistic circumstances. Besides all these, the exercise in Poland provides the Hungarian reservists with another opportunity to professionally operate in an international environment.