Hungarian Soldiers Honored for Defending Paris Olympics

The French Ministry of the Armed Forces has awarded the Military Commendation to Master Sergeant Balázs Németh and Sergeant Major Lajos Serb for their contribution to the defense of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris. The award was presented by the Ambassador of France in Budapest, wrote Honvédelem.

At the ceremony held at the French Ambassador’s residence, Ambassador Jonathan Lacôte said that two Hungarian soldiers of the 1st Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Riverine Regiment of the Hungarian Defense Forces were awarded the Sentinelle – Jeux olympiques 2024 for their services at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Together with their dogs and their fellow mission members, they have made a significant contribution to ensuring the security of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris through their exemplary behavior.

This is also important for Franco-Hungarian cooperation, as their actions demonstrate that the cooperation of our armed forces in protecting the population is practical and effective,” said the Ambassador.

The ambassador recalled that France has invited its main European partners and other countries to provide military support with special dog units. “Twelve countries, including Hungary, have responded to this call and have offered their support for security measures for the Olympic Games,” he said.

The NCOs received the medal in the company of their service dogs.

As part of a big international coalition, we helped with the preparations for the Olympics. More than 100 explosive detection dogs were used in security duties. I am honored to receive a medal for my service,”

said Master Sergeant Balázs Németh. He can work very effectively with his service dog, Ashlan. “My colleague is a four-year-old German Shepherd. He came to me when he was two years old, that’s when we started training him. We make a very good pair, we have a really good rapport,” he said. He pointed out that Ashlan has a special ability, because while the average bomb-sniffing dog can identify thirty compounds, Ashlan can also identify a number of domestic mixtures that are considered terror devices.

“We were in the French capital for about three weeks and it was very useful to work with different nations. It is a great pride to have been recognized and it gives us a sense of having done our job well,” said Sergeant Major Serb Lajos. His German Shepherd, Carlos, is now retiring, so it was important for him to be able to take part in the preliminary search of the Louvre area, among other places, as well as last year’s Olympic venues.