That day in November was the beginning of my real growing up and I learned about order, discipline, keeping my environment clean and everything else, that falls into that category. In short, I was taught to be tidy and disciplined.
I turned 18 in October 1995 and from that day on I knew that what was to come would come soon. So it was that in November 1995 I joined the Hungarian Defence Forces and took an oath to defend my country with my life.
I believe that this statement will completely change the life of an 18 year old young man. I have never experienced a feeling like that until I loudly proclaimed, with a machine gun on my chest, that I was prepared to sacrifice my life for my country if necessary.
In this article, I would like to share with you a recollection of the year I spent in the army. It was 26 years ago, so I will try to recall as much as possible the events and my experiences.
I spent my military service in three different places. I had to travel a lot and I only went home when I was on long leave, which was from Friday afternoon to Sunday midnight. My short time off, which lasted from 4 pm to midnight, was usually spent in the local town or relaxing inside the camp.
My First Experiences
Before I start, it should be known, that there were four different months of the marches in February, May, August and November. I was assigned to the training camp with the November marchers. I remember there were a lot of us and I didn't know anyone. I felt completely alone in a new environment, not really knowing what to expect for the year ahead.
I was in the first place for seven weeks, from which I could not go home at all, as long as the training and preparation for the military oath lasted. Everything had to be done on command and I couldn't just do what I wanted. I was also told when to go to bed, when to get up and what to do all day.
We went to have breakfast in disciplined platoons led by the platoon leader. Breakfast was over when we were told it was over and to leave the mess hall. I had to hurry with my breakfast, because they didn't leave much time for it. Our whole day was scheduled almost hour by hour.
After breakfast we went to a classroom, where we learned about all sorts of exciting things. We were taught mainly about ranks and which epaulet indicated which rank. We had to know them all, because if we had to talk to someone we didn't call them by their name, we called them by their rank. Sergeant, Captain, Major are usually the ranks we encounter with. The higher ranks less often, like Colonel or General.
I kept in touch with the family in two ways, by letter or by phone. There was no internet or mobile phone. I could write letters by hand or queue at the phone box. There was always a queue. Visiting was allowed on weekends. On those days my parents and my brother would visit me.
I loved those weekends, because they would bring goodies from home. Delicious food and cakes. At the end of the visit, I would then take what I had left with and put it on a communal table. Seriously, it was like being at a wedding, in terms of the food. There were about 20 of us in a room. Can you imagine the amount of food we had there to share?
Preparing For The Oath
We were in the classroom every day between breakfast and lunch and after lunch we practiced marching, standing at attention and turns in the formation area until 4pm. This went on for seven weeks. We had free time from 4pm. The bad thing was that it was cold. We couldn't wait to get inside and warm up. A soldier has got to put up with everything, right?
Our leisure time was spent satisfying the older soldiers, who marched in ahead of us, who regularly sent us to the mess hall for something to bring back to them, because they were lazy or we had to wash the long corridor by hand, which had been well lathered beforehand. Those almost two months were the hardest. (That's not me in the image below.)
What Happened After The Oath
When everyone took the military oath we didn't stay in that place. I was transferred to another town, which was closer to home and I could get home more often. It was an anti-aircraft regiment, where our job was to maintain and clean Volkhov missiles. That was the first time I have ever seen rockets up close. By that time I was through basic training and I could say I was a combat ready soldier.
I don't have many memories of this place, because I wasn't here very long, but I do remember, that one of my roommates was the son of my father's co-worker, so I got special treatment.
The Second Semester
I spent the second semester of my military service in a new place, which was a combat helicopter regiment. Again, it was further away from home, so going home was only possible at weekends, if I got a weekend off. My job here was to maintain and repair machine guns. I learned to disassemble and reassemble the machine guns thoroughly. (AK47)
I also did various duties such as guard duty, sub-unit duty, site duty or kitchen duty. Apart from kitchen duty, the other services were 24 hours a day. Guard duty was the hardest, because I was usually most active there at night. We had to stand watch in a watchtower, but we took turns every two hours.
On duty at the site, I had to walk around the vehicles and check that everything was OK with them.
I was only allowed to sleep three hours on duty at the sub-unit, the rest of the time I had to sit in a chair in a corridor all night. The days passed more quickly, because that was when I took the company out for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I have most of my memories from here, because I was here the longest and this is where I had most of my friends. My job was easier, because by the second semester I was an old soldier and I didn't have to do extra tasks in my spare time, like mopping or tidying up.
Instead, I went out with the others to spend a few hours in the local town. Even in the town we had to follow all the rules, that applied to a soldier, just because we were free for a few hours it didn't mean we could do anything. Outside, we were also in military uniform, which we liked, because the girls would turn round after us. However, outside, the inspectors could check us and, if they found anything abnormal, they could send us back.
Short hair, shaved face, clean clothes were compulsory. Later on, it was no longer compulsory to go out in military uniform, but we could still be checked.
On my last week of my military service they took me on a combat helicopter to fly around the local area, which was and amazing unforgettable memory.
By the time my one year's service was up, compulsory military service had been abolished and voluntary service was introduced. I have many memories left, the most memorable ones I have shared with you and I think I will never forget them.
Lead Image Source: https://besthqwallpapers.com/flags/flag-of-hungarian-air-force-4k-silk-flag-silk-texture-hungarian-defence-forces-101859
