By sharing their special knowledge, our air mentors have contributed to making the Afghan attack and transport helicopter squadrons more professional and effective – Tamás Vargha, the Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence stressed in the military memorial park at Pákozd on May 29.

At the “welcome home” ceremony for the last, ninth rotation of the HDF Mi–35 Air Mentor Team (Mi–35 AMT), Tamás Vargha addressed the homecoming soldiers, saying that “both our allies and the hosts speak very highly of their work”.

“Considerateness has no place in evaluating performance in the area of operation. The success and effectiveness of the mission and the soldiers’ security may hinge on a single mistake or inadvertence. Their professional competence is undisputable on an international level, the soldiers of other nations are pleased to cooperate with them” – the Parliamentary State Secretary stated.

In his speech, Tamás Vargha noted that the members of the just returned rotation had “given a tremendous momentum” to the vocational training of the Afghan Air Force.

“As mentors, they contributed to the conduct of successful operations like Close Combat Attack, reconnaissance/surveillance and troop transport. As mentors, they had opportunity to learn unique lessons, for example operational sorties in multinational combat formations, which would have taken them decades to master in peacetime training here in Hungary”, Tamás Vargha said.

In connection with the Peacekeepers’ Day, the State Secretary stressed that Hungarian peacekeepers are currently serving with several NATO- and EU-led missions, “gathering the experience offered by a multinational environment, sharing their knowledge and contributing to building international confidence and security”. He added that posterity is obliged and expected to respect the soldiers who shed their blood for their country, and to continue holding them in this respect with special care.

Answering our question, Maj. Péter Simon, the Chief of the Flight Engineer Branch of the th HDF 86 Szolnok Helicopter Base and the commander of the rotation, who just completed his tour of duty in Afghanistan said that mentoring the Afghan pilots “had not been an easy task, but everybody had done a very good job.”

“I have directed a young and good team, and we also spent our free time together, which is very important in a mission abroad. The Afghan colleagues accepted us, and we formed deep friendships with them. When we, the last rotation said our farewell, even the men wiped a tear from their eyes, the major said.

Maj. Zsolt Kovács, the aircraft maintenance instructor of the ninth rotation told us that like it had been the case with the previous eight rotations, the Afghan colleagues viewed them as “friends and colleagues” during this period too. The Afghan ground crews are experienced, so we did not have to work together with complete novices – Maj. Zsolt Kovács told us, adding that he benefited the most from the work done in the international environment.

At the ceremony, Tamás Vargha, Gen. Dr. Tibor Benkő, the Chief of the Defence Staff and Maj.-Gen. László Domján, the commander of the HDF Joint Command handed over commendations. On the occasion of the Day of Hungarian Peacekeepers, they laid a wreath by the peacekeepers’ memorial, where the soldiers and civilians participating in the ceremony paid their tribute.

The HDF Mi–35 AMT had the mission of providing academic and hands-on training for the attack helicopter pilots of the Afghan Air Force, participating in the aviation unit maintenance (AVUM) work of Afghan National Army Air Corps (ANAAC), as well as mentoring the Afghan aircraft maintenance specialists.

(Gábor Kálmánfi)