Hungarian Air Force troops transition after successful deployment with Afghan Air Force

Published Jan. 17, 2011
By Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class Vladimir Potapenko
438th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Members of the Hungarian Air Force deployed with the 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron held a change of command ceremony at the Afghan Air Force Base in Kabul Jan. 15. The ceremony marked the transition of responsibility from one group of Airmen attached to the HAF "Phoenix" squadron to another.

The Hungarian Airmen serve as advisors to Afghans learning maintenance and operation of the Mi-17 and Mi-35 helicopters.

It was a great experience working with the Afghan Air Force and having the opportunity to fly in Afghanistan, said HAF Maj. Attila Suszter, the Hungarian team leader.

"The Afghan pilots are flying well, but they still need more training," he said. "I think we started something that will go on and grow and expand. We have started to make changes in the mentality of the Afghan pilots."

Even though he is proud of the progress made by the AAF, Suszter says he is ready to go home after serving five months in Kabul.

"Of course I am excited," he said.

Taking the place of Suszter and his men is HAF Lt. Col. Zoltan Rolko, the newly minted team leader of the 438th AEAS Hungarians.

Colonel Rolko says that there are two main goals that he and his team hope to achieve: training Afghans in GPS navigation and instrumental flying. He hopes this will break members of the AAF from their dependence on visual based flying, leading them to rely more on their understanding of the aircraft and its instrumentation to fly and complete missions successfully.

Colonel Rolko was quick to praise those he is replacing all the while setting a challenge for his crew.

"They were good...but we will be better," he said laughingly. "I think because we are very motivated and have always worked professionally in the past, we will be successful here."

This will be the first deployment to Afghanistan for the new batch of HAF Airmen serving with NATO Air Training Command-Afghanistan and the 438th AEAS.