The Ministry of Defence has decided on the time and conditions for the homecoming of the Hungarian air mentor contingent from Afghanistan. Preparations are under way for the permanent return home, which would be completed by the first half of May under the Ministry’s decision.

The Hungarian Defence Forces contribute two air mentor teams to the NATO-led ISAF operations in Afghanistan. They are responsible for providing the attack helicopter crews of the Afghan Air Force (AAF) with classroom instruction and hands-on training, and also for participating in the maintenance of the helicopters of the Afghan National Army (ANA) and mentoring the ground crews.

The personnel of both teams are drawn from the HDF 86th Szolnok Helicopter Base in four- month rotations. The Hungarian Defence Forces Mi–35 Air Mentor Team has been serving at the Kabul International Airport (KAIA) since April 2010. The mandate of this contingent runs until May 2013, when the ninth rotation of the team will end its mission and these soldiers too will permanently return from Afghanistan.

The return home of the other Hungarian air mentor team by the end of 2013 will mark the end of the training the Hungarians are providing to helicopter crews in the region. The Mi– 17 Air Advisory Team (AAT) has been deployed on Shindand Air Base, Herat Province since August 2011. In principle, this team is supposed to serve in Afghanistan until the end of December 2013.

As it is known, currently more than 100,000 troops from 50 countries are serving with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Several hundred soldiers of the Hungarian Defence Forces are deployed with eight contingents in Afghanistan. One of these, the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) has already completed its mission and its service members have returned to Hungary.

(Magyar Nemzet)