We must act today for the peace of the future

Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky added that once again, through this development – just like through the pace and size of the armed forces development or the capacity building of the defence industry – we set an example to the whole of Europe.

He stated that the Special Operations Forces (SOF) barracks in Szolnok will be the most modern military installation in Hungary.

Drawing exclusively on Hungarian budgetary resources, the new home to the HDF 1st Special Operations Group, the HDF Joint Special Operations Command and the Regional Special Operations Component Command (R-SOCC) will be built at a cost of HUF 59 billion. The first phase of the project will be finished by 2026 – said the minister.

He added that the last time when a barracks was completed in Hungary was in Győr in the year 1976.

The minister of defence said that before 2010, a series of barracks had been closed down, and a lot of military units were terminated and disbanded. Instead of being replaced or at least maintained, the obsolete Soviet armaments were bargained away. In the last few years, however, developments and construction works are taking place – he added. He went on pointing out that “the year 2025 will especially be about development”.

He mentioned that these days, numerous investment projects are under way or get completed around Hungary. Recently, a repair shop and a row of technical buildings were established in Tata, a repair shop and a storage place in Hódmezővásárhely, while a logistic depot in Hajdúhadháza. Among the projects, he mentioned, for example, the EOD enlisted men’s building of the Irinyi barracks in Budapest, as well as the hangar complex in Szolnok.

Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky also said that the past years had brought dangers to us and to the world. First, illegal migration, then Covid, then the war in the east and the south – all these have raised our awareness of the fact that “security and peace are our greatest treasures”.

„To me, the safety of Hungary and the Hungarian families always comes first” – he pointed out, indicating that the well-equipped and highly trained Hungarian Defence Forces with a high operational value, which are esteemed in NATO’s alliance system and fit well into it, will have a huge role in that. The SOF barracks in Szolnok serves this purpose – he added.

The minister also mentioned that Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County is famous for its military past, while Szolnok is expressly a military garrison town and base. By now, this base has become overcrowded, so the time has come for this development project o to take place, so that the new installation can accommodate more than 2000 military personnel serving here day by day. The road and public utility networks will also be built – he said. He stated that besides the soldiers, the residents of Szolnok will be the big winners of all the above, since more job opportunities, new needs, investments, services and development projects will appear in the town and its surroundings.

The minister of defence thanked the MP of the region for her committed support. He also thanked the members of the Hungarian Defence Forces and the Ministry of Defence for their work in the preparations, and wished every success to the work of the tender-winning contractor, ZÁÉV Construction Co. Ltd.

Speaking at the event, General Dr. Gábor Böröndi, Chief of HDF Defence Staff, said, among others, that the timely launched reform of the armed forces shows the picture of a military force with combat readiness increasing day by day, expanding manpower and more and more modern military equipment. He emphasized that the Hungarian Defence Forces are getting stronger day after day.

Mária Kállai, the MP of the region called the development a project of historic significance, and thanked the government of Hungary and the Ministry of Defence. She noted that Szolnok is celebrating the 950th anniversary of its establishment, and a number of significant municipal development projects are going on currently, adding that the construction of the barracks is a kind of rehabilitation of this quarter of the town.

She highlighted the connection of the M4 motorway and the barracks as well as the expansion of the road outside the barracks to four lanes. In parallel with the rebuilding of the barracks, significant development projects are under way at the Szolnok helicopter base as well, where new hangars are being built and the helicopter fleet is undergoing modernization – she said.

We are proud of the SOF soldiers

Speaking after the groundbreaking ceremony, Chief of Defence General Dr. Gábor Böröndi told the press that the barracks is a symbol for soldiers. “From time to time, by opening a new barracks, we express our hope that the Hungarian Defence Forces have a future. The new complex to be built in the place of the one-time Fürst Sándor barracks is the symbol of the rebuilding Hungarian Defence Forces “– he stated.

General Böröndi pointed out that the Special Operations Forces are an important branch of the military here in Hungary and in NATO, too. “The Special Operations Forces have served with several foreign missions and carried out tasks in real-world combat situations. The renewing armed forces are characterized by 21st century training, equipment and infrastructure, but to me, it is at least as much important as this that we have modern SOF soldiers who can give adequate responses to the challenges of the age” – he said, adding that SOF soldiers are force multipliers, since they make the existing capabilities of the Hungarian Defence Forces even more effective.