He called on the further construction and continuation of the decisive and striking force of the region at his hearing before the appointment of Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, the commander of the Hungarian Armed Forces, at the meeting of the National Defense and Law Enforcement Committee on Tuesday.
Among other things, the Major General emphasized the importance of continuing to procure individual tactical equipment, developing “cyber capabilities,” and renewing the logistics system so that as many executives and as few administrative staff as possible were needed. He also drew attention to the need for cultural change and the development of training due to the use of new military equipment.
He also said that his aim was to increase the number of combat personnel as much as possible and to simplify the voluntary reserve system.
He also called it a priority to continuously strengthen the social perception of the army, and in connection with this, to strengthen the values and symbols of the army and the role of the garrison commanders in the settlement.
The former Deputy Secretary of State for Human Policy said:
the personnel is made up of active soldiers, reserve soldiers, “obsitos personnel” and cadets. He called it important for retired soldiers to feel even more: they are also members of the “big family”.
Ruszin-Szendi Romulusz said: he served in teams, in the tribe, in Hungary in 8 garrisons in more than 20 positions. He was also a decision-maker and commander. He studied both in Hungary and abroad.
The candidate for commander thanked his predecessor, Ferenc Korom, who, as he put it, “put on track” the technical reinforcement of the Hungarian Armed Forces and implemented the separation of the ministry and the military leadership. According to his assessment, Ferenc Korom has “written history” in the last three years.
Minister of Defense Tibor Benkő called Ruszin-Szendi Romulus, the commander of the Hungarian Armed Forces, an excellent soldier.
He said that the Major General, whom he has known for a long time, has excellent military experience both in Hungary and abroad.
At the hearing of his nominee, Rusyn-Sendi Romulusz received several questions from the committee. In response, he confirmed that the current Deputy Commander would also resign. He said that he offered Gábor Böröndi a foreign diplomatic post, who accepted it. He added that, with the support of the Minister of Defense, his deputy commander could be Zsolt Sándor, who is currently the head of the Reserve Training and Support Command of the Hungarian Armed Forces.
Lajos Kósa, the Fidesz chairman of the committee, asked the candidate about, among other things, the strengthening of the recruitment and the military role model.
Ruszin-Szendi Romulusz said:
the headcount is growing year by year, but at the same time I want to put recruitment on a new footing. Among his role models he named: poet and warlord Miklós Zrínyi, the first Hungarian military sratég; the valiant Árpád Bertalan, the commander of the first parachute battalion; and of the foreigners, General George S. Patton, whose main leadership principle was “ask the subordinate as much as you can do”
Rutin-Sendi Romulus quoted.
Ágnes Vadai, the vice-chairwoman of the committee and Tamás Harangozó from the MSZP, also asked about the scandal at the Károly Kratochvil Honvéd Secondary School and College in Debrecen in 2019, as well as about the accident last summer, in which a military helicopter was involved.
Rusyn-Sendi Romulus stated:
what happened in the military college in Debrecen is not tolerated, so the legal relationship of the perpetrators was terminated. The institution was headed by a military director and stricter control rules were put in place. And in connection with the accident, he stressed that they are working to prevent similar things from happening in the future.
Lajos Kósa highlighted:
He knew Romulus Ruszin-Szendi as an extremely well-prepared, precise soldier, and he “supports his command” to the maximum.
Vice President Ágnes Vadai, on the other hand, said she would vote no because she considered him a political appointee, while also expressing regret that soldiers were taking up political positions.
Tibor Benkő also reacted to what was said. Among other things, by reading the statement of the Minister of the Interior verbatim, the Minister strongly refuted the words of Tamás Harangozó, who said: According to Sándor Pintér, the Armed Forces is responsible for the accident involving the military helicopter.
He noted the relevant 2018 law states precisely: the deputy secretary of state is a professional leader, not a political one. So Ruthenian-Sendi Romulus was never in a political position, the minister stressed.
The Defense and Law Enforcement Committee of the Parliament supported the appointment of Romulus Ruszin-Szendi as a commander with 6 yes, 2 no, and 1 abstention.
MTI