Taszar Airbase, near Kaposvar in Southeastern Hungary was the location of the Intermediate Staging Base (ISB) for Operation Joint Endeavour and Joint Guard, the NATO Peacekeeping mission in the Former Yugoslavia.
My Army Reserve unit, Det. 1 (Military Police), 2125th Garrison Support Unit, was attached to the 805th Military Police Company from Raleigh, North Carolina in August of 1997. After two months of training, we deployed to Taszar where we were responsible for three missions: (1) Security and Law Enforcement on the ISB itself; (2) Convoy Escorts into and out of the Former Yugoslavia; and (3) Quick Reaction Force for the ISB.
Hungary being, at that time, a friendly Allied country (and now a part of NATO), we did occasionally get some time off to see the sights (Budapest was the favorite R&R spot), and of course our convoy escort missions often took us to some scenic locations.
Above: Vineyards near Pecs, Southern Hungary, December, 1997.
Below: A somewhat fuzzy picture of me on Law Enforcement patrol at the ISB.
Above: This eternal flame memorializes the heroic 1956 Hungarian uprising against the Communists. If you haven't heard of this, you should read up on it. I recommend James Michener's The Bridge at Andau. To summarize, the Hungarians spontaneously rose up against their Soviet occupiers, and actually ran them out of the country for about a week. Then the Soviets came back in and crushed the uprising in typically Soviet fashion, i.e., brutally and without mercy.
45 years later, the Hungarian flame of freedom burns on, and the Soviet Empire resides where it belongs, in the cesspool of history. May this flame always burn as a testament to the sacrifices that brave men make in the service of liberty.
Note: More pictures of Hungary will be available soon
All images © by Martin Albright, 1998-2001. All rights reserved.
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