NATO commander Vollmer receives high state award in Hungary – UPDATE
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Jörg Vollmer, Commander of NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) Brunssum, has been awarded the Hungarian Order of Merit, Middle Cross.
Defence Minister Tibor Benkő handed over the award at the ministry of defence in Budapest on Wednesday.
The award recognises the German Lieutenant General’s outstanding role in establishing and strengthening Hungarian-German military relations, according to the commendation.
At the ceremony, Benkő noted that cooperation began in 2009 in Afghanistan, where German and Hungarian soldiers worked together to bring peace, and it continues up to the present day with the establishment of the headquarters of the multinational division based in Székesfehérvár, a NATO command centre. (Read more here: New multinational command to be set up in Hungary)
Vollmer said he was honoured to receive the award.
The event was attended by, among others, Ferenc Korom, Commander of the Hungarian Armed Forces, and Attila Takacs of the Hungarian Armed Forces Command.
President János Áder conferred the award at the proposal of Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister.
UPDATE
Vollmer visited the Székesfehérvár NATO command centre later on Wednesday where he met Korom for talks. Korom told a press conference after the meeting that the Hungarian government and its partners had decided to set up a multinational command and later a full division in Székesfehérvár to coordinate operations in the Carpathian Basin and carry out defence and crisis management tasks. A Croatian commander of this unit has been filling his post since August 1, he added.