Territorial Reserve Soldiers Take Their Oaths at Heroes’ Square

“Today, we have added another link to the intertwined chain of generations defending Hungary: following last autumn’s thousand, another 1,277 territorial defense reservists have sworn an oath to defend their country and nation, their families and homes,” said the Minister of Defense on Sunday in Budapest’s Heroes’ Square at the joint military oath-taking ceremony of the Hungarian Defense Forces’ territorial defense reserves.

Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky addressed the soldiers who took the oath, saying: “You are among those who not only ask what your country is doing for you, but have also found the answer to the question of what you can do for your country.” As he put it, the goal that the reservists have committed themselves to serving is greater than all of us. “It is greater because this country and this nation must live: we must preserve the country we inherited from our ancestors, where our families live and where our homes are, and which we want to pass on to future generations, to our children,” stated Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky.

The Minister thanked the soldiers for undertaking reserve service alongside their work or studies. “Thank you for your determination, your perseverance, your courage, and your love for your country,” he said.

Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky. Photo: MTI/Lakatos Péter

Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky emphasized that the Armed Forces have been developing at their fastest pace since the change of regime, old and outdated equipment has been replaced with new, barracks are being renovated and built, soldiers’ salaries have been rising steadily since 2010, military service is becoming more visible in wider circles of society, and its recognition is growing. He noted that

recruitment results have also been excellent: since the launch of the “I Love It, I Protect It” campaign, 5,500 people have signed up for the territorial defense reserve in less than a year, 10 percent of whom will go on to become professional or contract personnel.

The Minister drew attention to the fact that the war taking place in the country’s neighborhood has once again shown that peace is fragile. “Hungary is therefore rebuilding its military strength because, compared to recent decades, we have never needed armed forces capable of defending our borders as much as we do now,” he said, emphasizing that “we are not preparing for war, but to preserve peace.” He added that peace requires strength to protect us all, and that the reservists who have taken the oath are part of that strength.

Photo: MTI/Lakatos Péter

In his welcoming speech, Lieutenant General Gábor Böröndi, Chief of the General Staff, said that national defense is not only a matter for soldiers, but for society as a whole, and that they can only wholeheartedly assume responsibility for defending their country if they know that the country stands behind them.

You, who stand before us today represent both military strength and the faith and commitment of society,”

he emphasized. The Chief of the General Staff pointed out that territorial reserve service has become indispensable to the structure of the armed forces, reserve soldiers are not a “second line,” but a committed, well-trained, reliable force that can support and supplement the professional staff in any situation, making the professional and reserve systems equal components of the armed forces.

Gábor Böröndi also mentioned that

the territorial defense reserves have proven in recent times, during flood defense and exercises, that the reserve system does not only exist on paper, but is a real, functioning and indispensable element of the Hungarian Defense Forces.

At the end of the event, the Armed Forces’ Airbus H145-M and two H225-M helicopters, as well as three JAS Gripen fighter jets, flew over Heroes’ Square in a fly-past to salute the reserve soldiers who had taken their oath.