Between June 26 and July 1, the Military Engineering Training School – which is situated in a scenic environment at the foot of the Southern Carpathians in Râmnicu Vâlcea – and the adjoining complex military training area hosted the annual Exercise TISA-2011 of the multinational (Hungarian–Romanian–Serbian) Engineer Battalion.

The engineer units of the Hungarian Defence Forces were represented by 21 personnel drawn from the HDF 37th “Ferenc Rákóczi II” Engineer Regiment of Szentes, who were led by Regimental Commander Col. (Eng.) József Nyers. The 25-strong Hungarian team included three field officers from the HDF Joint Force Command (HDF JFC) who were posted as analysts/evaluators/controllers in the Directing Staff (DISTAFF) of the exercise.

Speaking in the opening ceremony held on June 27, Brig.-Gen. Mihai Ciungu, the Chief of the Romanian Training and Doctrine Center (TRADOC) first welcomed the troops of three nations, then wished them a successful joint work after the hoisting of the national flags of Hungary, Romania and Serbia and the playing of the national anthems.

During the next three days a command post exercise (CPX) was being conducted at the command post set up in the Military Engineering Training School, concurrent with the live exercise (LIVEX) of the subunits composed of the three nations’ troops in the military training area.

The VIP day of the exercise provided the high-ranking representatives and superiors of the three nations with an opportunity to watch the battalion in action. Representing the Hungarian Defence Forces, HDF JFC Logistics Chief Brig.-Gen. István Baráth made a tour of inspection to the Battalion HQ and staff, and proceeded to see the executive subunits in the training area. On this day, Deputy Commander Lt.-Col. (Eng.) Sándor Kaszanyi was in charge of the Battalion HQ and staff, while the LIVEX was directed by the Romanian host, Lt.-Col. Sorin Calin, the current commander of the multinational engineer battalion.

At the end of the day the superiors of all three nations expressed their satisfaction with what they had seen and spoke highly of the exercise, wishing the executive personnel every success with their work in the future. The Romanian hosts offered the invited guests an insight into the country’s culture. A variety of programs (outdoor village museum, visits to a monastery and a salt mine, guided tours to cities and museums) turned the afternoons of their stay in Romania into an unforgettable experience.

On June 30, the end of exercise (ENDEX) day, the DISTAFF held an after action review (AAR) to take stock of the lessons learned during the joint work. The evaluating staff, including analysts from all three nations pointed to the positive results and identified the areas for the battalion where further progress should be made. Speaking at the parade during the ENDEX ceremony, the senior national representatives unanimously declared the activity of the battalion during the exercise to be effective and useful, anticipating that it will provide a solid basis for the planning and conduct of next year’s exercise in Serbia.

(Ministry of Defence)