Rotation of Hungarian peacekeepers in Lebanon

Having completed the pre-deployment training for the Middle East mission, the first batch of the second troop rotation has departed from Hungary for the Beirut airport in order to commence a six-month tour of duty in Lebanon. The team met up in Petőfi barracks, Budapest, and then travelled to Kecskemét to board a plane taking off from there.

Speaking about the mission rehearsal training, which started this February, Lieutenant Dávid Kiss told us that during the domestic exercises, the trainees had taken part in tactical training sessions where they had conducted target practice and practiced patrolling as well. “Besides, we also participated in a SERE “B” course, which included tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) for survival, evasion, resistance and escape as well as extraction techniques, and so it was very useful”, said the lieutenant. He added that together with a Polish company, they had also completed an international training event. The lieutenant, who is about to deploy on his third foreign mission, revealed to us that he expects his tour of duty abroad to be rich in lessons learned, and at the same time to go without incidents.

The eight soldiers, among them Lieutenant Ádám Krecz, proudly boarded the aircraft to take off for Lebanon.

The young officer told us that they are going to perform joint service in the multinational Polish–Hungarian–Hungarian Battalion. “We, Hungarian soldiers will mainly perform patrol tasks and camp force protection duties”, he said, adding that they had been continuously communicating with the personnel of the mission deployed abroad, thanks to which they had been able to conduct a thorough pre-deployment training program.

Another eight members of the mission rotation will set off at the end of September to put on the peacekeepers’ blue helmet.