Brigadier General Zsolt Sándor, commander of the Hungarian Ground Forces, has said that Hungarian soldiers have the role of a permanently deployable reserve force over the entire area of the Kosovo mission.
In his interview given to Hungarian daily Magyar Idők, Sándor said the area needs comprehensive preparedness, even for terrorist attacks.
Reacting to the comment of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó on the increasing Hungarian participation in certain NATO missions, e.g. in Afghanistan or Iraq, he said that the Hungarian Defense Forces are prepared to expand the number and means of these missions if requested by their superiors.
General Sándor said that he cannot talk about the activities of the Hungarian special operational groups in detail. However, the soldiers in these groups are outstandingly well-trained in the region and their equipment is world-class, therefore they have received many awards, even in the NATO.
Since Democratic Coalition MP Ágnes Vadai raised her concerns lately on the use of the new army Airbuses, the brigadier general said that he does not deal with politically motivated questions, however, the fixed-wing military aircrafts have an essential role in transporting military personnel even on a great distance.
He said that there is no safe mission, no matter how high the direct threat is, thus the Airbuses are very useful both in cases of injury, accident and even illness of soldiers. Together, a hundred and twenty people can be carried, with weapons and equipment., he added.