The traditional medal parade for Hungarian and Portuguese peacekeepers serving in Camp Slim Lines, Pristina, Kosovo was held on Monday, July 25. Maj.-Gen. József Kovács, Commander, HDF Joint Force Command (HDF JFC) also attended the ceremony, which was organized for the troops who are going to complete their tour of duty abroad in these days.

The entire personnel of the Hungarian and Portuguese contingents lined up on Monday, July 25 in the late afternoon hours on the parade ground of Camp Slim Lines, Pristina, Kosovo. The peacekeepers attended the so-called medal parade, which is a ceremony traditionally arranged for soldiers who are about to complete their tour of duty with KFOR.

The Portuguese and Hungarian soldiers have been serving with the KFOR Tactical Reserve Maneuver Battalion (KFOR TACRES Battalion) and have done their tour of duty together in Kosovo during the past six months.

Lt.-Col. Sándor Szabó, the commander of the fourth rotation of the HDF KFOR contingent (KFOR-4 HUNCON) that provides the Hungarian element of the battalion, told us that ten Portuguese soldiers earned the Peacekeeping Service Medal, which was awarded to them by Defence Minister Dr. Csaba Hende. At the medal parade, HDF JFC Commander Maj.-Gen. József Kovács handed over the medals to the Portuguese troops.

A total of 98 Hungarian peacekeepers received the NATO Medal for service in the Balkans from the general as well as from Béla Gárdos, the consul of the Hungarian Embassy in Kosovo and from Col. László Takács, Hungary’s Senior National Representative (SNR) in KFOR. This medal is awarded to those who have completed their peacekeeping mission in Kosovo for the first time, Lt-Col. Szabó told us.

(Ministry of Defence, Zrínyi Média)