The armed forces rely on the NCOs and are held together by the NCOs who carry them on their back, Defence Minister Csaba Hende said at the NCO swearing-in ceremony which was held in Budapest on Saturday, July 7.
More than 150 freshly graduated sergeants took their oath of service in Szent György Square, Buda Castle in the presence of the leaders of the Ministry of Defence and the Hungarian Defence Forces. Sgt. Balázs Prech, a radar technician graduate was appointed to read out the text of the oath.
After the pledge, the Minister of Defence greeted the soldiers just sworn in. In his speech, Csaba Hende recalled the military events related to the historic places and pointed out that the soldiers sworn in at the ceremony have the mission of renewing Hungary and the system of national defence within it. For two years now, all servicemembers of the Hungarian Defence Forces have been working towards this goal in their places and positions.
“Our efforts are beginning to show the first substantial results”, he added. These include all the things we have done in order to renew the training of military leaders. An example is the establishment of the HDF NCO Academy, and you have been the first batch of students to pass out of it. The Academy has the important mission of laying the necessary foundations for shaping the identity of the NCO corps.”
Csaba Hende pointed out that the NCOs provide the backbone of the military. “The armed forces rely on you, it is you who hold them together and carry them on your back. You are responsible for the enlisted personnel. You teach them the military profession, the life lived in discipline, its requirements and beauty. When the order is issued, you must always be ready to lead and to execute the assigned task.”
The Minister pointed out that “If you do for your country everything you are required to do, if your men see that you take service seriously, everything will go on track almost as a matter of course, and you will be successful and happy in your vocation. I ask and expect you to love your homeland, the Hungarian Defence Forces which serve it and the enlisted men you are responsible for.”
The Minister stressed that this was an important moment in the life the nation, as it means that there are brave men and women who undertake to defend and serve it unconditionally, without question. This is an important moment in the life of the Hungarian Defence Forces too, because the armed forces always need excellent NCOs who understand the objective and sense of their mission, and are able to live up to it in everyday life by doing service – by performing their duties with precision and commitment, with due humility and humanity, bravely and cleverly.
“May you be able to draw strength from this great and huge moment in the difficult hours of your career so that you can keep to this oath. May God help you along this path!”, Csaba Hende closed his speech.
This year Sgt. Gergely Fehér, a student of surface-to-air missile systems received the dagger of honor named after Kálmán Kéri. The dagger of honor goes to a single graduate every year in recognition of his or her excellent scholastic record.
(Ministry of Defence)
