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The MoD celebrated the anniversary of the 1848-1849 revolution and war of independence on March 11 in the “Stefánia” Palace in Budapest. The event was attended by Dr.Imre Szekeres, Minister of Defense, General László Tömböl, Chief of Defense Staff of the HDF, senior political and military leaders in the MoD as well as several general officers.
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Major General Don T. Riley, Deputy Commanding General, Deputy Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers visited the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) of the Hungarian Defense Forces in Pol-e-Khumri.
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In the morning on International Women's Day, which is marked on the 8th of March every year and is a day of global celebration of women, Dr.Imre Szekeres, Minister of Defense as well as General László Tömböl, Chief of Defense Staff of the HDF greeted each lady upon entering the MoD building with a flower. Female members of the MoD staff appreciated the beautiful roses that complemented the minister and the ChoD’s greetings early in the morning.
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Dr.Imre Szekeres, Minister of Defense awarded the “HDF Service Medal to Combat Wounded Personnel”, the Hungarian equivalent of the U.S. Purple Heart to CPT. László Lengyel and Corporal Árpád Ferenc Kovács, who were wounded while serving in the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) of the Hungarian Defense Forces in Afghanistan on February 7, 2010.
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Approximately 550 troops in the No.25. “Klapka György” Infantry Brigade started their preparations for flood control activities at disaster relief training sites on March 3.
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Several Government ministries in Hungary will participate in an upcoming NATO Crisis management exercise. Preparations for the CMX09 (Crisis Management Exercise) began on March 2. The objective of the exercise is to employ the crisis management concept, procedures and action plans of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, to practice crisis management consultations and joint decision making procedures.
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A series of conferences entitled “Military Sciences in Our Modern Times” was launched by the Hungarian Society for Military Sciences, the “Zrínyi Miklós” NDU as well as the Military Science Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2009. A “Conference about Peace Missions” was held as part of this program.
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A small hydroelectric power plant was built in Pulkah, Banu region in the Andarab Valley. The construction project was sponsored by the Hungarian Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT). The 24 kW power plant will supply a small community of 250 families with electricity.
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H.E. Tolkach Aleksandr Aleksandrovich, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation paid an office call on Dr.Imre Szekeres, Minister of Defense. In the course of a meeting in the Ministry of Defense the Parties discussed issues relating to bilateral Hungarian –Russian military ties with specific regard to cooperation in military technological areas as well as in maintaining military cemeteries.
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The Defense and Law Enforcement Committee of the Parliament held its last scheduled meeting before the term of this Parliament expires. The Defense and Law Enforcement Committee of the Parliament regarded the Government’s report about the amendment of the Government decree about Hungary’s extended military participation in the ISAF mission as suitable for submission to the Parliament for general debate.
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Severe winter weather hit Baghlan Province, the area of responsibility of the Hungarian Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Afghanistan. Almost 20 inches of snow fell within a period of a few days. Snow storms and avalanches make the situation even more difficult, temperatures remain well below freezing for days in a row.
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The Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) of the Hungarian Defense Forces completed a complex project in Kampirak, Dahana-i Ghory region, Baghlan Province, Afghanistan. They built offices for doctors where they can examine their patients and waiting rooms where patients arriving from small settlements around Kampirak can stay while they are waiting for treatment in the local clinic. The HUN PRT refurbished the local water supply system, improved the reliability of the electrical power supply network and repaired the local well.
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A meeting with the participation of senior members of the MoD and the HDF leadership was held in the Ministry of Defense on February 1 where changes in the senior leadership of the Defense Staff, HDF, the Joint Force Command, HDF as well as the Ministry of Defense were announced. The meeting was attended by Dr.Imre Szekeres, Minister of Defense, MoD State Secretary dr.Ágnes Vadai as well as General László Tömböl, Chief of Defense Staff of the HDF.
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Dr.László Sólyom, President of the Republic promoted Major General Hazuga Károly to Lieutenant General, Brigadier General László Frigyer to Major General, COL. Zoltán Mihócza as well as COL. László Domján to Brigadier General.
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On January 20 Dr.Imre Szekeres, Minister of Defense received the new U.S. Ambassador Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis in the MoD. The Minister of Defense briefed Ambassador Tsakopoulos Kounalakis about the tasks and missions of the Hungarian Defense Forces emphasizing the fact that defense is considered to be a key issue for all Hungarians and a national consensus was achieved over issues relating to defense.
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The Multinational Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) has conducted a humanitarian relief mission to Haiti on 18 January 2010 delivering first-aid kits and supplies to help Haiti, whose capital Port-au-Prince has been devastated in a massive earthquake.
This was the first humanitarian assistance flight by SAC’s operational arm, The Heavy Airlift Wing based in Pápa Air Base in Hungary. The HAW has flown several operational missions, including flights to support Kosovo Forces and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), but the mission to Haiti is an important milestone for the SAC program.
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Police officers from several European Union member nations serve in Afghanistan to train and support the Afghan National Police (ANP). Police Lt.Col Frank Hansen, Northern Region Chief of EUPOL (European Union Police Mission) in Afghanistan and his delegation visited the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) of the HDF.
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The Pákozd Military Memorial Park, the establishment of which was partly funded by the European Union, was formally opened with a military ceremony. The opening ceremony on Mészeg Hill, Pákozd was attended by Dr.Imre Szekeres, Minister of Defense, General László Tömböl, Chief of Defense Staff of the HDF and several senior military leaders of the HDF.
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The 8th rotation of HDF troops in the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) of the Hungarian Defense Forces took over responsibility for the mission in a ceremony at Camp Pannonia, which was attended by Brigadier General Frank Leidenberger, Commander Regional Command North (RCN), ISAF, Mr.Hajji Akhbar Barakzai, the Governor of Baghlan Province as well as Mr. Razul Kahn, Head of the Provincial Shura, senior leaders of Baghlan Province and individual regions in the province and representatives of partner organizations that are involved in reconstruction and development projects in Baghlan Province.
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On March 4 Dr.Imre Szekeres, Minister of Defense met Ambassador Marie Gervais-Vidricaire, Ambassador Fernando Perpiñá-Robert Peyra as well as Mr. Pablo Gutiérrez Segú, personal assistant to Ambassador Peyra who are members of the expert team charged with responsibility for drawing up NATO’s new strategic concept. Mr. József Bali, MoD State Secretary for Defense Policy, NATO Ambassador István Kovács, Deputy Head of Department COL. Antal Szöllősi also attended the meeting in the Ministry of Defense.
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A soldier, a security guard and a businessman saved the lives of two teenagers who walked on thin ice and fell into the local lake in the “Adyváros” suburb of Győr in late February. Approximately 10 m from the shore the ice cracked under the 2 youths. Luckily, a few passers-by rushed to their rescue.
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The Joint Hungarian-Slovak Peacekeeping Battalion in Cyprus as well as the Tatra Mountain Rescue Service received the Hungarian-Slovak Good Neighbors Prize in 2010. The Prize was handed over by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Balazs and Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcák in Budapest.
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General László Tömböl, Chief of Defense Staff of the HDF was hosted by Major General Gregory L. Wayt, Adjutant General of the Ohio National Guard at the four/day trilateral U.S. – Hungarian – Serbian talks that started on February 27 in Ohio. Serbia was represented by Lieutenant General Miloje Miletich, Chief of Defense Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces.
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Dr.Imre Szekeres, Minister of Defense and his delegation participated in the EU Informal Defense Ministerial Meeting in Mallorca, Spain on February 24 and 25. EU Peacekeeping missions, the current state of capability development programs as well as the implications of organizational changes in the EU for defense policy were the featuring items in the agenda of talks among ministers of defense.
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Football fans had a unique experience watching EOD experts play football in their bomb suits at Camp Pannonia, Pol-e-Khumri, Afghanistan. HDF EOD operators and technicians remembered their two Hungarian colleagues who died in the line of duty in 2008 by playing football in bomb suits weighing up to 100 lb each.
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General László Tömböl, Chief of Defense Staff of the HDF hosts General Stéphane Abrial, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (ACT) in Budapest. General Abrial will pay a courtesy call on Dr.Imre Szekeres, Minister of Defense and General Abrial will have talks with Dr.Péter Balázs, Minister of Foreign Affairs and General Tömböl. General Abrial will attend the IED countermeasures conference in Hungary.
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An initial detachment of 10 troops in the 5th” Bocskai István” Infantry Brigade received Alpine warfare training between February 8 and 12. They learned the tricks of their trade including rappelling, rock climbing techniques, basic mountain survival, land navigation, first aid, and tactical knots. There are plans for the training of trainers so that they can share their newly acquired skills with other members of their unit.
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Several units in the 5th” Bocskai István” Infantry Brigade have conducted exercises at this time of the year in subzero temperatures. At the Hajdúhadház exercise area the 1st infantry battalion undergoes training and prepares for the upcoming NATO CREVAL inspection in the fall of this year.
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One liaison team of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) of the Hungarian Defense Forces carried out a mission on February 7, 2010 in their own area of responsibility and they were ambushed at 11.16 a.m. 80 km from Pol-e-Khumri, in the Andara Valley in the vicinity of the borderline between Deh-e-Selah and Banu regions.
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COL. László Szabó, Commander of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) of the Hungarian Defense Forces hosted members of the newly elected Shura of Baghlan Province in Camp Pannonia.
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Heidi Kühn, founder and CEO of Roots of Peace, an American NGO, visited the Hungarian Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in November 2009. Roots of Peace was established in 1997 and is a humanitarian organization dedicated to eradicating landmines worldwide and rehabilitating the land to make it productive again. Roots of Peace plays a major role in the controlled disposal of landmines and UXOs as well as the development of the agricultural sector in Afghanistan.
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A Hungarian general officer is to be appointed as deputy Commander of EUFOR. Brigadier General Tibor Nagy leaves his current post as Commander of the Operations Center, HDF and will occupy his new post in EUFOR on January 25.
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Dr.Imre Szekeres, Minister of Defense paid an official visit to France and on January 18 had talks with French Minister of Defense Hervé Morin as well as with Senate Defense Committee Chairman Josselin de Rohan. The two parties discussed potential new areas of the enhancement of French – Hungarian military relations as well as defense policy issues that are expected to crop up during Hungary’ EU Presidency in 2011. The Minister of Defense awarded the Peacekeeping Service Medal to 15 French troops in the EUFOR contingent.
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The 12th “Arrabona“ Air Defense Missile Regiment held commemorative ceremonies both in the Győr and Szombathely Garrisons to observe the 67th anniversary of the annihilation of the 2nd Hungarian Royal Army at the bend of the Don River in January 1943.
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