What would happen if the General Staff found out you gave an interview?
I hope I get fired.
And if they don’t go that far?
It’s hard to say. It could range from a fine to imprisonment.
What if you were told that you’re getting deployed to Chad in two weeks, staying there for a year and a half?
As long as the threat of three years’ imprisonment is a stronger deterrent, people are forced to cooperate in the hope of that maybe someday they’ll be free. As for me right now, I’ve been in the process of discharge for almost nine months, so of course, I’d reconsider. A prison sentence doesn’t seem like such a bad option anymore.
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In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a government decree was issued stating that members of the Hungarian Defence Forces – both with definite and indefinite contracts – cannot voluntarily leave the forces. “It is justified, based on the experiences of the state of emergency, to introduce regulations that, in view of the declaration of a special legal order, generally restrict the rights of personnel serving in the forces. The personnel of the Hungarian Defence Forces must be available in these situations” – argued the government in support of the discharge ban at the time.
A year and a half later, we reported on how more and more soldiers were frustrated by this binding policy, and the situation has only worsened since then. On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, and on March 1, 2022, the Hungarian government declared a state of emergency due to war, still in effect today (currently planned to be extended again for another 180 days, until March). Releasing soldiers therefore remains off the table, although many would leave if they could – we detailed this issue more extensively in the autumn of 2022.
Our interviewee, who joined the military nearly ten years ago, is one of them: he made the decision in the beginning of the year to close this chapter of his life. He was not allowed to.
Farkas Norbert / 24.hu
Gábor – whose name has been changed at his request – has wanted to serve in the military since the days of his youth. We cannot describe his exact position, only that he was in the air force until recently. He grew to love military aviation for several reasons: he found a profession he could call his calling, and “military aviation is a closed world within the closed world of the military, with an atmosphere that’s very easy to fall in love with and make your own.”
For a long time, he felt he was in the right place. He doesn’t regret becoming a soldier –
Gábor graduated from the National University of Public Service in 2017. For many years, he felt comfortable within the ranks of the military, unbothered by the dangers he and his comrades had to perform in the face of. He explained it was no problem, especially since during the 2015 migrant crisis, volunteers could earn good money via border duty; while during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it briefly seemed like the global economy might collapse, the military provided a sense of security.
However, the government decree introducing the discharge ban at the time was already a bad omen, and with this year’s reorganisation of the military, Gábor believes a completely new world has emerged.
New legal status for military personnel
The government decree on the status of soldiers (Hjkr.), introduced in the summer of 2024, aims – on paper – to make the military more efficient and modernise its operations. As part of this, regulations on discipline and military order have tightened, while service time has become “more flexible”, meaning soldiers can now be obliged to spend more time on standby. Moreover, working hours can now be organised more freely, allowing for more overtime in case the military’s interests require so.
Regarding overtime, there have also been changes to the organisation of resting periods soldiers are entitled to. Under the new rules, commanders can now assign rest days or compensatory time-off later, taking into account the priority of service tasks. In cases of recall or emergency duty, the regulation states that subordinates must be notified at least 24 hours in advance, unless military interests require immediate action. At the same time, working hours for soldiers are capped at 40 hours per week in most cases, but this can be extended due to standby situations or increased workloads.
Farkas Norbert / 24.hu
The fundamental problem stems from a shortage of personnel. Until that is resolved, they will stretch the current staff. It is us they expect more from; for instance, overtime has disappeared as a concept, there is no compensation for it, and there are no limits on it, either
– Gábor sums up what the new system means in practice. In the past, commanders used to tell subordinates not to be too full of themselves, that they were not irreplaceable, and there were long queues at the gates waiting to take their place. But they’ve stopped saying that for a while now, because it’s clear that those long queues don’t exist – no matter how many recruitment campaigns they launch.
There’s no shortage of tasks, however, so the available staff is burdened with additional responsibilities. “The commander can essentially manage a soldier’s time indefinitely” – he adds. They were warned of this earlier, and the most sensitive points of the new military status decree were read out to them during an assembly in the spring.
Positions have been divided into two major categories: administrative and operational. Apart from those doing classic office work, almost everyone falls into the operational category. In our case, it was literally stated that operational staff could be deployed anywhere, from China to the Moon, without limits
– explains the first lieutenant, whose unit leaders are currently trying to recruit volunteers for a mission in Kosovo.
“There’s a mandatory quota, a NATO commitment that will be fulfilled without question. Personal preferences cannot override these numbers; a NATO mission cannot be cancelled just because people aren’t in the mood for it – in itself, there’s nothing wrong with that. However, we’ve heard people are pressured into taking on mission tasks. For example, someone who doesn’t want to volunteer might be punished with extra duties, or transferred to a position with a lower salary as they wouldn’t be eligible for certain allowances” – details Gábor the military’s idea of volunteering, emphasising that these aren’t even veiled threats — commanders are playing with open cards.
Gábor Böröndi (Chief of Staff of the Hungarian Defence Forces) once said that orders are followed by execution, and he won’t tolerate, not even from a unit commander, that a task isn’t completed due to personal interests or basic human concerns. This is what everyone adheres to.
As a result of Hungary’s foreign policy manoeuvres, it’s not out of the question that Gábor could be sent on a mission to Chad, for as much as eighteen months or even two whole years. As he said, in that case, he would seriously reconsider his next step because, on the one hand, he no longer wants to be a soldier, and on the other, a mission in Chad would pose a direct life-threatening risk. Since the law decrees that soldiers refusing orders can face up to three years of imprisonment, he would normally comply and go on the mission. However, given that he decided months ago to leave the military, he would weigh his options carefully because, in this situation, “a prison sentence doesn’t seem like such a bad option.”
Hakan Nural / ANADOLU / Anadolu / AFP Chief of the Turkish General Staff, Metin Gürak, and General Gábor Böröndi, Chief of the Hungarian General Staff, in Ankara on October 25, 2023.
“If he crashes then he wasn’t a good pilot.”
The new military status decree was just the final straw in Gábor’s case, as he had already made up his mind to leave the army before that. He had been arriving at the decision gradually, but eventually, the realisation struck him: “I’m not sure that the leadership values the same things in military aviation as I do, and I’m not sure they care about what’s important to me.”
He recalls a story from a few years ago when an extraordinary night flight exercise was suddenly ordered out of the blue, despite the fact that the pilots hadn’t completed their rest period (soldiers are entitled to an eight-hour rest period after their service, and even in these stressful times, everyone pays close attention to ensuring it is respected). The pilots spoke up about it.
The general’s response was that military pilots don’t have a rest period. They fly as long as they can. If they crash, they crash. If that happens, then they weren’t a good pilot.
In the end the exercise was nonetheless cancelled because, as Gábor explains, these rules are taken seriously, and especially in the air force, the tragic memory of Lieutenant Colonel Zsolt Rácz, who crashed with a MiG-29 fighter jet near Kecskemét, still looms large. “Everyone remembers Zsolt Rácz, but I see that as time passes, these lessons seem to become less and less of a deterrent to the leadership” – Gábor notes, emphasising that this night exercise wasn’t the only time when he felt that lives would be risked. “These incidents hit me hard because nothing is more important than safety. Aerodynamics can’t be regulated by orders.”
Earlier this year, he finally decided to resign.
John THYS / AFP
Good enough for a regular soldier
He first approached his commander in January to tell him he would like to continue as a civilian. His superior explained that he understood how young people no longer wanted to grow old in the same workplace, but first of all “it wouldn’t be any easier as a civilian”, and second, he wouldn’t be able to leave anyway.
Gábor wasn’t moved by these words, so the matter was escalated to the battalion commander, who also tried to convince him to stay, with similar results. However, all of this had little significance as lower-ranking commanders have no say in the matter.
And in most cases, he does not grant permission to resign.
However, Gábor’s case never reached Böröndi. By the time his pleas reached air force command, he had already received such a blow that he realised he would get nowhere through official channels.
“They told me that the time is here when it’s really going to be good for us young people, that now is the time to advance. All while I was seeing 55-year-old captains who had been stuck at the same rank for fifteen years, still standing by the aircraft. But they tried to convince me that what I was seeing is not the way things really are, that they are only that way in my head” – sums up the first lieutenant, who realised at this exact point that he wouldn’t be able to leave with his head held high. However, this didn’t deter him from his intention to leave.
In February, Gábor went to see a psychiatrist, to whom he explained his issues and what he wanted to do with his life. Regardless of his intentions, the expert assessed anyway that Gábor’s nervous system would give out in the not-so-distant future if he had to remain in the military, and proceeded to issue an expert opinion that military service was not recommended for him.
The problem, however, is that whenever someone obtains a medical certificate from a healthcare institution not belonging to the military, it’s an eligibility review board that decides whether or not to consider the medical opinion. “The psychiatrist stated that further service was not recommended for me. But the doctor responsible for the eligibility evaluations interpreted it like this — and now I’m quoting:
The fact that someone doesn’t want to be a soldier, doesn’t feel comfortable in this system, and doesn’t want to contribute to it, is not a reason to disqualify them from being a soldier.
After that, I was given a month of medical leave to pull myself together.
Kummer János / 24.hu
Once the month was over, Gábor returned to his unit, but something had irrevocably broken inside him. Since he was not allowed to leave voluntarily, he tried to get himself fired. He started behaving negligently, stopped shaving, but apart from a few remarks, nothing much came of it. As for disobeying orders, he had to be careful because even minor rule violations could result in severe punishment, except, of course, for dismissal.
The next act of open defiance came in the spring when he deliberately failed the annual physical fitness test. By his own admission, he performed abysmally, but there were no consequences. This was partly because the fitness test was structured in such a way that it could be retaken in the summer, autumn, or even at the end of the year if someone failed to meet the minimum requirements. And for those still attempting at the end of the year, a “mercy pass” of the lowest grade is often given. Gábor didn’t even show up for the summer test due to his leave, and at the time of our conversation, he was “preparing” for the autumn test.
In the meantime, however, there was a new development in his case: he had another meeting with the military-appointed psychiatrist, who agreed to conduct a more thorough evaluation. In the end,
Gábor’s story has now reached a peculiar stage. As he is no longer able to operate within his actual profession – aviation – he has spent weeks without any assigned tasks. “I just sat in one of the hangar’s empty rooms. My boss told me not to come out unless absolutely necessary, so as not to disrupt the otherwise great atmosphere” – he recalls.
According to current regulations, a soldier becoming unfit for their post can be released by their commander through a discharge process. However, in Gábor’s case, this option was not exercised. Instead, he was transferred to another department, which he revealed to have some connection to the field of national security. This is curious, as he lacks the necessary clearances for the job and therefore cannot even access the documents needed to perform his duties.
I spent the whole day sitting in front of a switched-off computer. That was my job for today
– he shared his experiences on the day of our conversation.
The thin red line
If you have some ambition and would transfer to just another company within aviation, try yourself in something new, or perhaps would like to get deployed on a mission, then you will most likely get rejected by your commander. They tell you that your place is not with that type of unit; that’s not why you were hired. Stay where you are” – Gábor illustrates the negotiating position of military personnel, also highlighting how higher-ups often crush soldiers’ enthusiasm.
He knows, since he too wanted to transfer before his decision to leave. He expressed interest in joining the unit handling the cutting-edge military technology the Hungarian army had recently acquired. Despite his qualifications and experience, his request was denied.
At this point I do indeed have a sense of being trapped, feeling that I can’t leave and I’m held here against my will. I volunteered to be a soldier, so it’s not fair that I can’t voluntarily leave
– he vented at one point in the conversation, adding that, in his view, he still remains one of the more mentally balanced individuals.
Ancsin Gábor / 24.hu
Just as no one is really let go due to poor physical fitness, the psychological evaluations are not taken at face value either amid the severe personnel shortages. Gábor recounts a personal experience from a few years ago when he met a reservist at the border and asked him why, after deciding to serve anyway, he didn’t opt to become a full-time soldier. The reservist explained that he was filtered out during the psychological assessment but was later encouraged to apply as a reservist. “And these people are given weapons, standing at gates and in guard towers. The professionals are pushing the button to escalate this as a major issue, but they simply can’t dismiss anyone”.
Gábor is not aware of any unstable colleagues endangering others’ lives, but he has heard of self-harm and even more serious incidents. To his knowledge, three soldiers have committed suicide in the past six months. He quickly adds that he himself does not suffer from such severe mental health issues, and he views his situation realistically, sometimes even finding humour in it. However, when asked if he has suicidal thoughts, his answer is: “it depends on who’s asking.”
He doesn’t reveal more about these rumours, saying that considering the news blackout it’s a small miracle that the national press was even able to report on the soldier who, according to unconfirmed but not denied reports (due to so-called memorial piety reasons), committed suicide at the southern border in 2021.
As for his next steps, Gábor isn’t entirely sure yet, but since the new Military Service Act (Hjkr.) prohibits soldiers from being members of political parties, it’s possible he might explore that route. As we reported at the end of 2021, 23 police officers left their jobs during the pandemic under this pretext, when resignations were banned.
I’ve heard of people managing to get out one way or another, so it’s possible. I do hope so, there’s nothing else I can do
– he finally responds to the question of whether there’s a chance he’ll be living as a civilian this time next year.
It should be noted that in December 2022, just before the end of the mandatory vaccination requirement, the military discharged more than 150 soldiers for not getting the Covid vaccine, which had been made compulsory within the forces. Before their discharge, they were placed on unpaid leave for a year, during which they were not allowed to take on other jobs.
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After the conversation, we reached out to the Ministry of Defence to inquire how many soldiers had expressed their intention to leave the service since the introduction of the resignation ban, and how many had been allowed to do so. We also asked what criteria are used to decide which soldiers can transition to civilian life, why the resignation ban is still deemed necessary, and for how long it will remain in place. Lastly, we inquired about the accuracy of Gábor’s information regarding recent suicides, and what measures the military is taking to protect soldiers’ mental health. The Ministry has not responded.
The post “Someone not wanting to be a soldier doesn’t mean they can’t be one” – for the past four and a half years, it has been almost impossible leave the Hungarian military first appeared on 24.hu.
