There Is No Lack of Patriots

The minister underlined that the countrywide campaign resulted in the number of new territorial defence reservists exceeding 4000 by the second half of January 2025, which shows that the campaign was even more successful than expected. He emphasized that this result not only shows the success of the campaign but also the commitment of the Hungarian citizens to strengthening the country’s defence.

“Hungary did not send a call to the youth, but an invitation for a lifetime to become members of a community where cohesion, joint responsibility and comradeship are the most important principles”, said the minister. He added that out of the new territorial defence reservists, almost 300 took a step further and became professional or contract soldiers. This success can be measured not only in numbers. It also proves that the Hungarian population has realized the importance of the reservist system. “We are proud of each new reservist who signs on and chooses the defence of the society as a part of their vocation”, said the minister.

The campaign is going on to further develop the territorial defence reservist system. The Hungarian Defence Forces wait for those who wish to join, in order to create a more secure future for Hungary, declared Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky.

The minister called the youth’s special attention to the possibility of receiving 16 bonus points in their application to higher education even after the basic training if they participate in volunteer territorial defence reservist training for six consecutive months. This also serves the purpose of the youth being able to plan more easily so that they can coordinate the reservist service with their studies, added the minister. He also mentioned that the rules for 32 or 64 bonus points are still valid, so those participating in longer training still going to have the possibility to acquire more points.

Press release by the Ministry of Defence