On October 6 around noon, the ISAF Regional Command-North (RC-N) notified the officer on duty of the HDF Provincial Reconstruction Team (HUN PRT) that a Swedish ISAF service member got separated from his unit due to external circumstances. The allied soldier in need of help could not be located exactly, so he could have been anywhere over a several square kilometers-wide area.

As the sandstorm in the region did not facilitate aerial reconnaissance and helicopter-assisted extraction, the HUN PRT was tasked with locating and recovering the isolated personnel. After the commander’s briefing the stand-by quick reaction force (QRF) of the HUN PRT-11 arrived in the designated area in two hours by vehicles on the ground and started the search for the isolated soldier.

Complying with the safety regulations, the Swedish soldier was staying in a concealed position until he made sure that the recovery team has arrived in the direct neighborhood. The HUN PRT QRF came into contact with the isolated soldier and identified him as required by the ISAF standard operating procedures (SOPs), and after a quick medical check-up he was transported back to Camp Pannonia.

Fortunately, the above described scenario was not a real-world one, since the Hungarian troops took this course of action as a culmination exercise (CULEX) of a so-called Personnel Recovery (PR) training program.

An instructor officer from the ISAF Regional Command-North (ISAF RC-N) prepared the Hungarian troops during the CULEX for the execution of recovery tasks. Through this PR exercise, the specially trained personnel of the HUN PRT-11 demonstrated their ability to conduct safe recovery of isolated ISAF troops in the area of responsibility (AOR).

(Ministry of Defence)