Page 35 - The Cormorant Issue 14

RSE 1 Budapest, Hungary
By Wg Cdr Tom Talbot
For nearly 60 students the destination for Regional Security Exercise 1 was the Hungarian capital of Budapest. Steeped in history, the city provided an excellent backdrop for the week’s professional, cultural and social activities, which made for a var- ied and thoroughly enjoyable programme. A former Soviet Bloc country with a population of around 10 million, Hungary joined NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004 and had recently taken over the EU Presidency at the time of the visit.
We were welcomed on the first evening by a reception at the Brit- ish Ambassador’s residence and over the following two days we attended a series of presentations at various locations around the city, from Budapest’s magnificent parliament building on the banks of the Danube to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence. Each department had its own specific agenda, but the general message was consistent and clear. Hungary wants to play an active role in the EU, viewing it very much as a global political actor and strongly supports an enlargement policy. They are equally staunch supporters of NATO, viewing the organisation as the only option for a trans-Atlantic alliance and providing in the region of 500 troops to the ISAF mission in Afghanistan. Hun- gary also has aspirations to join the UN Security Council using its specialist knowledge of the adjacent Balkan States as a way-in. An outward-looking country with big aspirations, the perspective of this small Eastern European state brought to life many of the issues raised on the Course.
The programme was interspersed with cultural and social activities that enabled us to see Hungary in a broader context. A tour of the Military Institute museum provided an insight into Hungary’s past during both world wars and a bus tour around the city included the architectural splendour of Fisherman’s Bastion, Heroes’ Square and the Hungarian State Opera House. A performance of Mozart’s
Cosi Fan Tutte, in the State Opera House was attended by most students, although few made it all the way through the epic performance, with some likening it to a full
day in the Cormorant Hall.
An early start on the final day saw us travel further afield to the military base at Szolnok to the south east of Buda- pest. Those that stayed awake on the 2 hour bus journey, were entertained by Gabriella, our interpreter for the week, who regaled us with anything from Hungarian poetry, to life under
The Hungarian Parliament
the Soviet regime to the migratory habits of Hungary’s 10,000 storks. Szolnok Garrison is a joint army and helicopter base and home to Hungary’s entire rotary fleet. After some insightful introductory presentations we were treated to a capability dem- onstration comprising static stands and a dynamic display. The Hungarian Defence force has reduced from 125,000 personnel in its Soviet heyday to around 24,000 today, operating a mix- ture of very old and very new equipment. A number of battlefield manoeuvres were demonstrated, but the highlights for most were a helicopter extraction that ended with 8 fully-equipped troops hanging in pairs below a MI-8 HIP as they were flown away at a considerable rate of knots, and a demonstration of hand-to-hand combat, which culminated with a 10ft length of 4 by 2 failing to break across the shoulder blades of a platoon sergeant, despite several attempts by one of his increasingly perturbed soldiers. A detour on the return transit took us to Hungary’s famous Eger wine region where a tasting of a selection of local wines was a fitting end to the formal programme. Our short trip to Budapest undoubtedly left us far better informed of what Hungary has to offer across a broad security spectrum.
MI-8 HIP at Szolnok Garrison
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