On Tuesday, September 4 Gen. Dr. Tibor Benkő, the Chief of the Defence Staff visited the the US Army Europe Headquarters (USAREUR HQ) in Heidelberg, Germany at the invitation of US Army Europe Commander Lt.-Gen. Mark P. Hertling.

The occasion for the bilateral meeting was that the United States Secretary of Defense awarded a decoration to Gen. Dr. Tibor Benkő.

Lt.-Gen. Mark P. Hertling presented the Chief of the Defence Staff with the commander degree of the prestigious US Army Legion of Merit medal.  This medal is awarded for „exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements”. The commander degree of the Legion of Merit is the second highest decoration that has been awarded to Gen. Benkő for his military service. The first degree (Chief Commander) of the medal is awarded to heads of states and governments.

The decoration was awarded and presented to Gen. Dr. Tibor Benkő with the following recommendation:

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 20, 1942, has awarded the Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander) to General Tibor Benkő Chief of the Defence, Hungarian Defense Forses for exceptionally meritorious service as the Chief of Defense of the Hungarian Defense Forces from June 2010 to March 2012. General Benkő worked with the United States Army Europe to advance European security cooperation and actively support the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. His modernization of the Hungarian Defense Forces’ interoperability and deployment capabilities has set the framework for the twenty-first century security challenges. General Benkő’s contributions to collective security cooperation reflect great credit upon himself, the Hungarian Defense Forces, and Hungary.

(honvedelem.hu)