EUROPEAN MODELS of MILITARY SERVICES HUNGARY

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EUROPEAN MODELS of MILITARY SERVICESHUNGARY

• Presented by Dr. Gábor Szarka
• Head of Cabinet, MoD Hungary.

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Topics to present

• Short description of the current system of
  military service,
• Assessment of the specific system of military
  service of the respective country,
• Description of fundamental political and
  strategic considerations,
• Assessment of social and economic side-effects,
• Consequences of a change in the system of
  military service on the respective defence
  budget,
• Main Lessons Learned with regard to the
  implementation process.

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Topics to present

• Short description of the current system of
  military service,
• Assessment of the specific system of military
  service of the respective country,
• Description of fundamental political and
  strategic considerations,
• Assessment of social and economic side-effects,
• Consequences of a change in the system of
  military service on the respective defence
  budget,
• Main Lessons Learned with regard to the
  implementation process.

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The Past 20 Years

• 1990
• Conscripted Army
• Warsaw Pact
• Up to 150,000 persons
• Conventional threats
• National commitments.

• 2010
• All-Voluntary Force
• NATO
• Around 25,000 persons
• Asymmetric threats
• International commitments.

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Cornerstones of the Process
Professional Army Nov 2004
PfP
Accession Process
125000
120000
115000
Defence Overview 2006
125.000
Defence Review 2002-03
110000
Strategic Review 1999
105000
100000
95000
90000
85000
80000
75000
52.000
37.000
70000
31.000
29.000
26.000
25.000
65000
H U N G A R I A N D E F E N C E
F O R C E S
60000
55000
2009
2010
2008
2006
50000
2005
2004
2003
2002
45000
2001
2000
1999
1998
40000
35000
1997
30000
1996
25000
20000
1994
15000
1992
10000
1990
5000
0
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Internal Composition of HDF
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Topics to present

• Short description of the current system of
  military service,
• Assessment of the specific system of military
  service of the respective country,
• Description of fundamental political and
  strategic considerations,
• Assessment of social and economic side-effects,
• Consequences of a change in the system of
  military service on the respective defence
  budget,
• Main Lessons Learned with regard to the
  implementation process.

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Considerations

• The starting point for transformation was a
  military force with a heritage of a different
  military culture,
• The economic transition of Hungary into a market
  economy has limited the financial means for HDF,
• Nevertheless adequacy to foreign and internal
  policy has always been at the core of
  transformation,
• NATO requirements, social expectations, and many
  other factors have influenced this process,
• New challenges in the region and the world.

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Some Basic Characteristics

• High Commander of the HDF is the President of the
  Republic of Hungary,
• The HDF is under civil control since 1990 all
  ministers have been civilians,
• The HDF is a force composed of professional and
  contracted personnel,
• Defence budget is at 1,17 of the GDP (1,46 b.
  USD) from which 42 goes for personal, 10 for
  missions,
• One of the main characteristics is to participate
  in international missions.

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New Service Culture

• In recent years we can witness a radical
  expansion of professionalism even under
  contracted soldiers,
• Time spent in a foreign mission per soldier has
  increased, which includes experience even in
  combat,
• Planable career opportunities (at least in
  theory) with dual-use knowledge in many areas,
• Growing importance of foreign languages, and
  adequate physical fitness is important for
  promotion.

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Topics to present

• Short description of the current system of
  military service,
• Assessment of the specific system of military
  service of the respective country,
• Description of fundamental political and
  strategic considerations,
• Assessment of social and economic side-effects,
• Consequences of a change in the system of
  military service on the respective defence
  budget,
• Main Lessons Learned with regard to the
  implementation process.

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Adapting to the Demand

• A military force based on voluntary service with
  some expeditionary capabilities emerged around
  2000,
• The aim was to design a force that is lighter in
  equipment and more mobile and deployable,
• This resulted in significant changes in the
  system of tasks, the structure and the
  operational characteristics,
• As a consequence, the system of recruiting,
  training and assigning personnel were also
  transformed.

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Fulfilling Commitments

• Operational characteristics and structural
  principles fundamentally changed and required
  reorganisations,
• The HDF is on the road to become a well-trained
  and equipped force having expeditionary
  capabilities,
• It is important to find a balance between
  capabilities required for national and
  international commitments,
• For both high level of training, appropriate
  equipment and committed personnel is needed.

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Still a Lot to Do

• All in all order of battle, organizational
  structure and strength of HDF should be in
  harmony,
• Internal proportion of personnel, armament and
  equipment should meet operational requirements,
• International security environment and the
  necessities of national defence should complement
  each other,
• Shaping the HDF has to take into account the
  material and financial resources available.

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Topics to present

• Short description of the current system of
  military service,
• Assessment of the specific system of military
  service of the respective country,
• Description of fundamental political and
  strategic considerations,
• Assessment of social and economic side-effects,
• Consequences of a change in the system of
  military service on the respective defence
  budget,
• Main Lessons Learned with regard to the
  implementation process.

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On Social Side-effects

• The conversion of the HDF fundamentally changed
  the characteristics and the architectural
  principles,
• The mechanisms of the voluntary-based system is
  still burdened with tensions,
• Social integration in terms of labor market
  competitiveness are still not consolidated,
• Organisations of the HDF struggle with lesser or
  greater shortfalls of personnel.

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Establishing a Reserve

• The conversion process of the HDF to a
  fully-fledged professional force is a complex
  process,
• The introduction of new types of capabilities and
  the integration into the labour market go
  simultaneously,
• Important and neglected aspect of the conversion
  process was the establishment of a reserve force,
• With the new government in place this process has
  been accelerated and is in full swing.

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On Economic Side-effects

• Having even a relatively small full professional
  force is not a cheap thing,
• Unfortunately the defence budget has not grown
  significantly in recent years,
• There is political will to increase step-by-step
  the defence budget in the legislature period,
• We have to create a better balance between the
  development and other expenditure,
• It is equally important to find a mechanism that
  helps allocate available resources more
  efficiently.

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Topics to present

• Short description of the current system of
  military service,
• Assessment of the specific system of military
  service of the respective country,
• Description of fundamental political and
  strategic considerations,
• Assessment of social and economic side-effects,
• Consequences of a change in the system of
  military service on the respective defence
  budget,
• Main Lessons Learned with regard to the
  implementation process.

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Budget Characteristics

• According to a cynical saying a budget is a
  backyard of any liberal democracy,
• NATO proposes 2 of the GDP defence budget for
  the member countries,
• Similar to other member nations the share of
  personnel expenses is too high in the Hungarian
  defence budget,
• This distortion makes it very difficult to make a
  balance between personnel and technical costs

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Burdens on the Budget

• The HDF has become better educated, but higher
  education level generally stands for higher
  salaries,
• Not only force development, but also force
  reduction can be a costly business,
• Modernisation of weapons and equipments stands
  for additional expenses,
• Keeping international missions running is very
  costly, which might increase further in future.

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Ways to Find Money

• Key for the future is to shape a force that can
  be financed in a more efficient way,
• This requires rethinking in terms of
  officer/enlisted ratio and the internal
  composition of rank groups,
• Constant monitoring of existing mechanisms of
  money spending and initiating improvements ASAP,
• When economic growth sets in the defence budget
  can be beefed up.

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Topics to present

• Short description of the current system of
  military service,
• Assessment of the specific system of military
  service of the respective country,
• Description of fundamental political and
  strategic considerations,
• Assessment of social and economic side-effects,
• Cconsequences of a change in the system of
  military service on the respective defence
  budget,
• Main Lessons Learned with regard to the
  implementation process.

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Some Lessons

• Hungary has just one military force, but there
  are many commitments,
• In order to maintain credibility a modular,
  multifunctional, and flexible HDF is needed,
• Key words are co-operation, interoperability,
  sustainability, and deployability,
• Both internal co-operation and home defence
  require new capabilities (medical, CIMIC, NBC,
  SOF),
• Running the HDF is a very costly business that
  demands much money and time (in some cases
  patience, as well),
• Lost the professionals by let them go, the
  military loose a lot of experience.

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Lessons Learned

• Smartness means that even a smaller force can
  cope with increased challenges,
• Instead of developing a multipurpose,
  all-weather, all theatre force the HDF should
  further specialize,
• Specialization should go hand in glove with
  lessening the current shortfall in personnel,
• Without the establishment of a functioning
  reserve the HDF can run dry in fulfilling
  commitments,
• Hungary can not afford to maintain a military
  with full range of capabilities,
• The system of the future could be one of the
  mutual completed capabilities among the small
  nations,

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION !