The Bravest Warriors

The fourth rotation of the NATO Forward Land Forces Battle Group (NATO FLF BG) composed of Italian, US, Croatian and Hungarian sub-units gathered in the Bakony Hills on 6 May to prepare for the Combat Readiness Evaluation of Land Headquarters and Units (CREVAL) validation exercise in the next two weeks.

“According to the NATO Allied Force Standards (AFS), the CREVAL Evaluation Team will designate a 72-hour operational time frame to evaluate in English the combat readiness of the units for deployment in live situations. In addition to the level of combat readiness, the personnel policy, logistics and other tasks all count in the final assessment”, said Major István Böjti. The foreign troops arriving at the Central Firing and Training Range of the Hungarian Defence Forces are well-trained ones, as the troops of the different nations have already commenced the gradual training of their small and then larger units. Having reached their deployment posture, they have arrived in Hungary, except for the Turkish contingent that assumes standby duties at their home station in Türkiye.

“Of course, the NATO forces are exercising on the basis of a defensive task system rather than conducting offensive operations. Their program encompasses the logistic and CIS tasks which may even affect civilian players, and are therefore non-kinetic procedures. For example, CBRN defence is being provided under Hungarian control as part of the full-scale training” – this was how the deputy commander summed up the main elements of the preparation.

“This week, in the framework of integration, we are practicing CBRN decontamination tasks in cooperation with various units, for example, now with the artillerymen. This case is special because the Panzerhaubitze 2000 (PzH 2000) howitzers are involved in the execution of this kind of task for the first time. We are now also testing the Blauer protective suits that are not yet in service with the Hungarian Defence Forces” – said Lieutenant Balázs Váczi, acting platoon leader, CBRN Company, HDF 102nd CBRN Regiment. Therefore, force development has come to the fore on the NATO exercise, which does not merely mean the procurement of equipment but also the testing of new procedures.

“We are continuously learning lessons from the war going on in our neighborhood while adapting ourselves and trying to work out the most effective procedures. Naturally, we are conducting these activities by using the newly acquired military hardware of the Hungarian Defence Forces such as the Leopard main battle tanks, the Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled howitzers and the drones of the reconnaissance platoon” – added Major István Böjti.

Captain Márk Schaffer precisely defines the task of the high-tech assets used on the May 9 exercise: “Three rifle platoons have called in drone support during today’s complex tactical training event, with the objective of reconnoitering the enemy stationed on the terrain section in front of the platoon. This also adds significant further value to the training because this type of interoperability is what defines contemporary tactics” – said the company commander of the Hungarian rifle company of the NATO Forward Land Forces Battle Group.