NATO will kick out Hungary for sacking ‘NATO friend officers’ from the Hungarian military?
NATO may start an investigation against Hungary because the government sacked hundreds of high-ranking military officers who reached the age of 45. The Orbán cabinet highlighted there were no political reasons behind sending those people into retirement. The opposition believes the motive is purely political. Orbán wants to give way to a new military officer generation, which is not that NATO-friendly.
This is why so many officers are sent into retirement
A new government decree allows military officers to retire after at least 25 years in active service, and reaching the age of 45. The Hungarian defence minister talked about the importance of rejuvenation and argued that young officers learn and use modern devices, but older servicemen do not. He also added that the military needed officers speaking foreign languages and obtaining international experience, index.hu wrote.
The trade union supported the idea. Meanwhile, it caused aversion in some NATO members. They argue that the Hungarian government sends away a generation that worked together with NATO. The Financial Times names István Juhász, who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and later in the USA. Military sources say the decree and the swiftness of its execution shocked military officers.
There are too many officers in the system, so reforms are needed. In the USA, 18 percent of the military are officers, while in Hungary, that rate is 23 percent.
PM Orbán and the commander of the Hungarian Armed Forces, Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi:
NATO worries
Ágnes Vadai, an MP of opposition DK and a former defence secretary, said that the government fires ‘NATO friend’ officers. Other opposition politicians believe the government would like new officers in positions, who share their pro-Russia views. Interestingly, nobody knows the number of officers the government sent into retirement. Vadai mentioned 170 and 1,000.
Experts say the Hungarian armed forces did their job well in NATO. A high-ranking NATO official said that such a move is a warning sign. Dr Péter Wágner, a foreign policy analyst, said the new military officer generation is just as NATO-friendly as the previous one was.
Tom Rogan, a national security journalist, wrote before that Hungary should be excluded from NATO because of PM Viktor Orbán. He suggested that Turkey and Hungary would not protect other NATO members in case of an attack.
Read alsoNATO will kick out Hungary for sacking ‘NATO friend officers’ from the Hungarian military?
Source: index.hu