Minister of Defence István Simicskó has bidden farewell in Tata to close to 500 Hungarian troops to deploy with foreign missions, and presented the personnel serving at the borders with Service Medals for Handling the Migration Crisis.

While addressing the contingents to leave for Iraq and Kosovo, the minister of defence stated that the tasks the Hungarian soldiers are executing along the borders or in foreign missions serve the security of the Hungarian society, the Hungarian nation.

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Speaking about the security situation, Mr. Simicskó called it peculiar because alongside the presence of conventional military challenges, a number of new threats are also emerging in the world, as international terrorism has never before been as widespread as it is today. 

He emphasized that the Hungarians want stability and peace “for our nation and for Europe”.  He pointed out that “we are fighting for this cause”, and that’s why Hungarian troops are being deployed around the world to participate in eliminating security risks, and they are protecting Hungary’s borders as well.

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The minister noted that these days the military profession is becoming more and more important, since Hungary is facing a concrete threat. “We know and see that illegal mass migration increases the terrorist threat level of our civilian world whereas it threatens and undermines the security of the home front”, he said, adding that the military, the police, the secret services and all peace-loving people must respond to this threat. He stated that we must prevent it from happening that civilians, innocent people, women and children die due to meaningless acts of terror.

After the farewell ceremony held on Monday, 1 August, 354 troops left the Tata barracks for the Western Balkans to deploy with the Hungarian KFOR contingent. The Hungarian Defence Forces have continuously been present in Kosovo since 1999, and the current one is the 15th rotation. A total of 139 Hungarian troops are going to join the third rotation of the Iraqi training mission.

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At the farewell ceremony, the new battle dress uniform (BDU) of the Hungarian Forces was also introduced. This newly designed uniform is made of better quality, modern material which provides more safety on dangerous terrain because it reflects infrared light.

The minister of defence said that the new BDU is a first step in a process, which has the message for the Hungarian Defence Forces that the soldiers are increasingly important to society. He pointed out that the goal is to establish the system of human-centered national defence, and a military pay raise has been started to achieve it. Furthermore, soldiers are provided with training and individual equipment meeting 21st century standards.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)