Ridge Runner – Reservists Return from the US after Multinational Exercise

The Hungarian participants of the Ridge Runner exercise are back home from the US. Some of them have been trained for these overseas exercises in the Hungarian reserve forces for several years, ones in which not only reservists, but even active defense forces personnel seldom take part, reported honvedelem.hu.

2021 was a watershed year in the history of the territorial defense reserve system, as the reservists began to be organized according to the type of weapons they used based on the model of the active force. “We wanted to give advanced training to a selected team. In addition to the obvious physical and professional requirements, we looked for certain personality traits in the applicants,” say the representatives of the special operations forces who selected the soldiers participating in this year’s Ridge Runner exercise.

In the first year of the advanced course, which began three years ago, the goal was to bring reservists to the same level, and then, following the example of the specialist forces, they were organized into smaller groups. “So far, little attention has been paid to tasks carried out in civilian clothes in reserve training, even though in America these tasks are common. Nearby reconnaissance, even reconnaissance in a green environment, target marking, conducting ambushes,” are all included in the Ridge Runner program. But it was not just reservists who faced new procedures. Special operations teams, already well-oiled, also had to adapt to their peers, as the exercise involved working together in joint tasks. “The scenario was that we were doing the training of the local population. We were still learning new skills, new attitudes, and new ways of thinking.”

Cooperation between active and reserve personnel is a vital requirement in modern warfare.

“The armed conflicts of our time warn of the importance of guerrilla warfare, to which we must also adapt. The international and foreign language nature of the practice also enhanced the movement out of the comfort zone. Ridge Runner created an environment that we could not reproduce in a domestic environment.” In America, soldiers do not carry out their tasks at the platoon level, but in groups, as is customary for special forces. In each group of 12, there are four special operations soldiers, including the commanding officer, a medical specialist, and communications specialists – the latter clearly reflects how much the role of communication has increased these days.

“We noticed among the reservists that their attention waned after the end of the eight-hour daily period. Since special operations do not have the normal working hours in the civilian sphere, but can only rest after the execution, we encouraged the soldiers to increase their concentration,” said one of the group commanders, adding that the Ridge Runner also provided an excellent opportunity to practice actions outside the barracks.

“This time there was no organized food supply, from the most basic shopping tasks to the military execution, we had to solve everything ourselves. The reservists also found themselves in unusual situations in that the protection and concealment of our civilian residences in the city or outside the city also imposed a special responsibility on us.” The specialist forces acknowledged the performance of their soldiers with satisfaction. “I would like to highlight how pleasantly surprised we were by the adaptability and improvisation skills of our teams, which are also shown in an international context.”

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