As native Hungarians, US Airmen link multinational airlift unit and community

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott Wagers
  • Defense Media Activity- Ramstein
Papa, Hungary (AFPN) --  Staff Sgt. Attila Csipes said his life-long interest in aviation was born during summers spent as a child in rural Hungary, when Russian-made Kamov Ka-26 helicopters would hover near his village to spray for mosquitoes.

"My friends and I would gather on the playground when we heard the aircraft and we'd basically run as fast and as far as we could with the helicopter spraying above our heads."

Soon after, his family moved to the U.S. where his youthful curiosity drew him to air shows and the movie "Top Gun," which he credits for cementing his interest in the military and "anything that involves motors or mechanics."

Now at 28 years old, Sergeant Csipes, is a 10-year veteran aerial transporter in the U.S. Air Force. In July 2008, a coworker alerted him to a special duty assignment requiring his skills in his native homeland of Hungary.

The assignment involved partnering with Airmen from 11 European nations to provide
heavy airlift capability to the European Union, United Nations, and NATO while based out of the small town of Papa - some 150 miles from where he used to chase helicopters.

"At first, I thought my coworker was joking about the job," remembered Sergeant Csipes who said the job listing was temporarily deleted online when he first attempted to read about it. Five months later in December 2008, the job reappeared while he was deployed to the Middle East. He clicked the volunteer button.

Meanwhile, half a world away in Papa, another native-Hungarian Airmen was already in place and hard at work preparing for the impending arrival of a multinational mix of military personnel and their families.
Lt. Col. Pete Sipos, a 19-year veteran flight surgeon who was born to Hungarian parents in Long Beach, Calif., said his family never stopped speaking in their native tongue throughout his youth and adult life.

Because of his language skills and familiarity with Hungarian culture, Lt. Col. Sipos became involved in the initial planning phases of the Heavy Airlift Wing in early 2009. The wing's commander, Col. John Zazworsky, then requested him to serve as the unit's flight surgeon and asked that he arrive on station ahead of the remaining team.

Since his arrival, Lt. Col. Sipos has interacted with Hungarian hospitals and the Hungarian government to set up access to local health care for the international team. His efforts have successfully created a network of dentists, pediatricians, general practitioners and hospitals for a complex mix of international personnel accustomed to a wide range of health care.

"Our international team members now have seamless access to local healthcare via Hungarian health care cards - the same as Hungarian citizens. U.S. service members simply call TRICARE for local providers.

The 43-year-old flight surgeon said language is one of the most underappreciated and critical components of the new airlift wing.

"Anytime we come to a country where we don't have an established presence, we need to be cognizant of getting language fixes in place - whether that's U.S. citizens, government employees or local citizens for hired translation. It helps all processes flow more smoothly."

Even though English fluency is a mandatory requirement for the airlift wing's multinational team members, it does little good when trying to communicate with the local community.

According to Lt. Col. Sipos, younger generation Hungarians often speak English as a second language. But older Hungarians - those who own local businesses and living accommodations - only speak either Russian, due to the Soviet influence until the late 80s, or German, because of steady Austrian and German tourism.

Furthermore, the high ops tempo of the new multinational airlift wing leaves little free time for military members to learn the language. Many dependent families, however, are embracing the pioneering spirit by enrolling in conversational language classes.

Lt. Col Sipos says it's because Hungarian is "extremely difficult" to learn.

"If somebody was extremely dedicated and used the language every day in addition to studying it, that perhaps after six months to a year they would begin to make some headway."

Because of the persistent language barrier, both Lt. Col. Sipos and newly arrived Sergeant Csipes say the majority of their time each day is spent interacting with either the local community or their Hungarian Air Force hosts, who share the base, on behalf of their fellow coworkers.

Sergeant Csipes said being back in his native homeland helping to stand up an "exciting new " unit in a place where he speaks the language and knows the culture "feels fantastic."

"You've heard of the 'Dream Team'?" he asked. "Well, this is the dream assignment!"

When fellow Hungarian Airmen learn of Sergeant Csipes' nationality, he said the conversation quickly switches from straight business to questions about U.S. aircraft to a sincere interest in what town he's from.

"It quickly becomes a friendly environment and they start telling me about good restaurants in town, which doctors to use and where to get the best car wash."

Lt. Col. Sipos described Hungary as a "tremendous" opportunity.

"I think we've been good diplomats. People are very curious about us, eager to meet us and just happy to have us here," he said.

"It's not the U.S. The roads aren't as good. The language is always going to be an issue and you may not have all the Internet frills and big shopping malls but the basic services and the general warmth of the community is here. It's a good place."