Celebration of Defense Force Paratroopers

In keeping with tradition, the Hungarian Defense Forces Joint Special Operations Command and the 1st Special Operations Brigade of the Hungarian Defense Forces’ Arpad Bertalan 1st Special Operations Brigade held the Paratroopers’ Day on March 31 in Szolnok, reported Honvédelem.hu.

The event, held at the Kiss József Helicopter Base in Ittebe, was attended by all units with paratroopers. In addition to the active personnel, a significant number of retired comrades and members of traditional groups were also present.

The program started with a ceremonial staff meeting, where Colonel Attila Krezinger, Commander of the Defense Forces’ Combined Forces Special Operations Command, followed a speech by Dávid Kiss, a traditionalist, who recalled the history, pioneers, and achievements of Hungarian military parachuting. Retired Colonel, Dr. István Sipos, commemorated the past of parachuting on behalf of the Hungarian Parachutists’ Association.

At the parachute memorial wall, a camp chaplain shared his thoughts with the participants, and then the names of the soldiers who died heroically in parachute accidents or in combat were read out to the sound of the soul bell.

Following the commemoration, static and dynamic programs, a demonstration of the weapons and technical equipment of the Special Operations Brigade and a traditional exhibition, were held at the military organization’s airport, where students from the Szolnok Technical Vocational Training Center also joined the audience.

The program ended with a parachute jump.

Featured photo via Rácz Tünde/Honvédelem.hu