Military Camps to Bring Youth Closer to Defense Forces

The Hungarian Defense Forces are trying to reach young people through summer camps, which seem to be very popular with teenagers. A parachute camp is held in Szolnok, and a warrior-themed defense camp was organized for the first time this year in Újszász in eastern Hungary.

In Újszász, the camp was organized by the 68th Territorial Defense Battalion of the 3rd Territorial Defense Regiment of the Hungarian Defence Forces, writes Honvédelem.hu.

On the first day, the campers aged 12-15 received a detailed briefing on the rules of the camp, and took part in fire, work, and accident prevention training. In the next part,

the youngsters were introduced to field orientation, age-appropriate combat, survival techniques, and basic health and self-defense skills.

They also had the opportunity to try out air-soft weapons and test their physical fitness on the mobile military obstacle course. To round off the week, the campers demonstrated to their parents and invited guests how to treat injured comrades and evacuate them from the area in a patrol competition, using the skills they had acquired throughout the week.

Meanwhile, a parachute camp for young people has been organized for the third time in Szolnok, a town with a strong military past and present, with 80 cadets taking part in four sessions. István Simicskó, President of the Defense Sports Association and former Minister of Defense, visited the site and said that defense camps strengthen young people’s love and attachment to their homeland, reports Hirado.hu. As he noted, “there is only one homeland, and it is a beautiful and noble duty to defend it from all harm,” adding that for young people these camps are also a “test of courage,” and congratulated the participants.

István Simicskó recalled that with the abolition of compulsory military service in Hungary, a gap was created. On the one hand, there was no reserve system, and this was started to be built up from 2010, he said, noting that

in 2010, the Hungarian Defense Forces had 17 reserve soldiers, and now there are almost 12,000.

He pointed out that while in 2017 there were three, now the Hungarian Defence Forces has contracts with 135 secondary schools, and there are 7,200 cadets in the country today.

Camps were held last week in Nyíregyháza and Nyíradony in eastern Hungary as well, reports Honvédelem.hu. In Nyíradony, participants spent their everyday life in sports, learning the basics of military hand-to-hand combat and boxing, while also gaining experience in self-defense.

They were given an insight into military basics, took part in physical training sessions, and had to cope with special survival tasks such as shelter and cover building, learning to navigate with the use of compasses and maps, and fire-starting techniques.

In Nyíregyháza, the focus was on defense sports for 15-18 year olds, who learned the basics of judo and military hand-to-hand combat, tried out the VR-glasses supported Gripen simulator, camouflage techniques, and different types of shelter construction.

Featured photo via MTI/Mészáros János