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[translation from a Polish website] Supreme Polish leaders, including the President of the Republic of Poland, Mr Lech Kaczynski and his legendary predecessor, the President of Poland In Exile, Mr. Ryszard Kaczorowski, as well as almost entire Staff of the Polish Armed Forces die in the crash near Smolensk, Russia. According to official information (confirmed),  supreme commanders of the Polish Armed Forces died in the crash, adding to thousands of the military commanders that had been killed there in 1940. Upon the Constitution of Poland, in case of President's sudden death, the Speaker of the Parliament, automatically becomes the President of...

Kidnapped Pole - why not send in GROM? Created: 04.02.2009 14:26 As the Taliban deadline looms, many call for Poland to send its equivalent to the SAS to the Pakistani lawless borderlands. Wednesday sees the deadline delivered to the Pakistani government by kidnappers of a Polish engineer who was abducted last September. Family and friends of Piotr Stanczak, an engineer working for a mining company in Pakistan, call for the foreign ministry to be more actively involved in his release. “There is nothing more we can do," says Pawel Gras of the ruling Civic Platform (PO) party, underlining, that "this...

Polish Special Forces to fight Somali pirates Created: 03.01.2009 10:02 Polish Special Forces from the Operation Mobile Reaction Group (GROM) are to join European Union troops fighting piracy off the coast of Somalia. Several dozen commandos are scheduled to go to Somalia to take part in the EU anti-piracy operation, code-named Atalanta. The idea arose when, in November, the Saudi based tanker, ‘Sirius Star,’ with a crew including two Poles - the captain and a crew member - on board plus 2 million barrels of oil. The pirates are demanding 25 million dollars in ransom money. Somali pirates have been...

Friday October 20, 2006 Israel has a surprising friend in Poland by tad taube A Polish Israeli Nobel Peace Prize candidate? Sounds crazy, no? Yet this surprising idea was advanced by Polish President Lech Kaczynski during his visit to Israel last month and received the enthusiastic support of Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres. The proposed Nobel candidate, 96-year-old Irena Sendlerowa, is a Polish Catholic who oversaw the children's section of Zegota, a Polish underground body that saved 15,000 Jews during World War II. Through her singular efforts, 2,500 Jewish children escaped death at the hands of the Nazis or their...

UPHEAVAL IN THE EAST; U.S. Praises Poland's Plans To Fly Soviet Jews to Israel REUTERS Published: March 28, 1990 LEAD: The United States praised Poland today for agreeing to fly Soviet Jews to Israel and deplored the decision of the Hungarian airline, Malev, to stop flights in the face of threats of terrorism. The United States praised Poland today for agreeing to fly Soviet Jews to Israel and deplored the decision of the Hungarian airline, Malev, to stop flights in the face of threats of terrorism. [ Snip ] Poland offered Monday to increase its flights to Israel to accommodate...

Poland sends special troops to Afghanistan WARSAW: Soldiers from Poland’s Operational Mobile Reaction Group (GROM) will leave for Afghanistan soon to support other Polish units there, reported the Polish news agency PAP. The troops on Monday received an official farewell from Defence Minister Aleksander Szczyglo and military Chief of Staff General Franciszek Gagor. Established on July 13, 1990, GROM is a special unit of the Polish army, which can also serve in counter-terrorist operations. Currently, there are over 100 Polish soldiers in Afghanistan, and the Polish government last year vowed to send 1,000 more in the first half of 2007....

GROM troops set of for Afghanistan 19.02.2007 A farewell ceremony for soldiers of Poland’s elite unit GROM who will serve in Afghanistan has been held at Rembertow near Warsaw. Defense minister Aleksander Szczyglo said their mission is a realization of Poland’s obligations as a NATO member. Polish troops, who are taking part in the NATO operation codenamed ISAF, will cooperate within a multinational contingent and also with the United States. Upon arrival, they will adapt to the climate for several weeks. GROM unit commander colonel Piotr Patalong said their tasks in Afghanistan will be dangerous but they are well prepared...

LTC Leszek Drewniak (55 years old) died last night. The first commander of the GROM - Brigadier General Slawomir Petelicki said, that "Col. Drewniak exemplified courage and bravery, which he had shown during operation "Uphold Democracy" in Haiti (1994). He didn't think about himself, but helped the others. And he has always been like that. He was a very modest person. Besides - he was an outstanding karate champion (5th dan), who had trained more than 5.000 people. He was a type of a quiet professional, who never talked about himself, but thought about the others and about his own...

CBS/AP) Fighting eased Sunday, the second day of a U.S. and Iraqi sweep through the militant stronghold of Tal Afar near the Syrian border, as insurgents melted into the countryside, many escaping through a tunnel network dug under an ancient northern city. Iraqi and U.S. military officials vowed to expand the offensive. The 8,500-strong Iraqi-U.S. force continued house-to-house searches, and military leaders said the assault would push all along the Syrian frontier and in the Euphrates River valley. Cities and towns along the fabled river are bastions of the insurgency, a collection of foreign fighters and disaffected Sunni Muslims, many...

Poland to beef up crack army units WARSAW (AFP) Jan 08, 2005 Poland said Saturday it would beef up elite military units including its GROM special forces deployed in Iraq in 2003 to back the US-led war. Deputy Defence minister Janusz Zemke said GROM was "being developed with the setting up of new combat groups." "In 2005, we will continue building up GROM and other similar units," PAP news agency quoted the official as saying. GROM, or Operational Manoeuvre Reconnaissance Group also known as Thunderbolt, is a special forces unit created to fight terrorist threats, equivalent to the US Delta...

WARSAW (AFP) - Polish special forces have ended their mission in Iraq (news - web sites) where they took part in joint operations alongside US troops, the Polish military announced. "All the soldiers have returned to Poland having completed their mission," Polish army chiefs of staff spokesman colonel Zdzislaw Gnatowski said. "This withdrawal, which was planned in advance, was carried out with the agreement of the allies," he added. He said the special troops had taken part in hunting down terrorist suspects as well as former members of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime. Fifty-six members of the GROM...

The Weekly Standard The GROM Factor: Haven't heard of Poland's Special Forces? They're real, they're serious, and they're here to save the day. by Victorino Matus 05/08/2003 2:40:00 PM Victorino Matus, assistant managing editor IT CAME AS A SURPRISE to many when the U.S. postwar plans for Iraq were finally revealed. Like Gaul, Iraq would be divided into three parts: an American zone, a British zone, and a Polish zone. But what role did Poland play during the war? It turns out a very important one--albeit one that was kept mostly secret. One of the primary objectives during the early...

In some Oct. 1 editions, an article on the presidential debate said Polish forces were not part of the original ground invasion of Iraq. As noted in later editions, a small number of Polish commandos did assist in the early stages of the 2003 war.

Latest news and developments surrounding Polish forces in Iraq From Poland A.M. The Iraqi Culture Minister yesterday accused the coalition forces, commanded by Polish General Andrzej Ekiert, of constantly damaging and destroying the ancient part of Babilon. "Their presence, with their heavy equipment, is extremely harmful," said the Minister, stressing that what creates greatest inconvenience is helicopter traffic. Lieutenant-Colonel Artur Domañski, the multinational division's spokesman, refuted the Iraqi Ministers arguments and stated, "There are archaeologists in our division who take care of Babilon's historical buildings.". Meanwhile General Ekiert announced yesterday that the beginning of operation Marcin, aimed at detaining terrorists...

Something is going on in Iraq that is very strong against terrorist. Grom is on a quick movement and America soldiers also. Big fight is about to began between good guys and terrorist. There was a blast in Bagdad that killed more the two Irakis. Something is about to happen maybe is happening already, do you American people hear anything in your news?

It is my husband birthday today. Many of you wonder what Grom is, I was able to find closest article that would explain from your America sources. I feel sorry of what happened to your person. Whoever did this will pay in hell. The GROM Factor Haven't heard of Poland's Special Forces? They're real, they're serious, and they're here to save the day. by Victorino Matus 05/08/2003 2:40:00 PM IT CAME AS A SURPRISE to many when the U.S. postwar plans for Iraq were finally revealed. Like Gaul, Iraq would be divided into three parts: an American zone, a British...

Members of the Polish elite commando team GROM arrive on the beach during an exercise on the Baltic Sea coast October 22, 2003. The elite GROM unit was Poland's only active participant in Operation Iraqi Freedom and may have also won a new lease on its existence during the Iraqi war. Photo by Peter Andrews/Reuters Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller, left, gives a medal to Polish soldiers for their work in Iraq (news - web sites) during his visit at the Camp Babylon Base, some 80 miles south of Baghdad, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2003. Miller marked his country's 85th...

BALTIC SEA COAST, Poland (Reuters) - Under cover of darkness and in complete silence Polish elite commandos stormed an offshore Iraqi oil platform in the first days of the U.S.-led war to oust Saddam Hussein. As they advanced towards the rig's control centre, it was far from clear if Saddam would use chemical weapons or even if the platform itself was a booby-trapped. "Suddenly an old telephone we passed on the platform began to ring. We held our breath thinking the ringer could be a fuse mechanism for a bomb," recalled an officer who took part in the mission. "After...

BALTIC SEA COAST, Poland (Reuters) - Under cover of darkness and in complete silence Polish elite commandos stormed an offshore Iraqi oil platform in the first days of the U.S.-led war to oust Saddam Hussein. As they advanced towards the rig's control centre, it was far from clear if Saddam would use chemical weapons or even if the platform itself was a booby-trapped. "Suddenly an old telephone we passed on the platform began to ring. We held our breath thinking the ringer could be a fuse mechanism for a bomb," recalled an officer who took part in the mission. "After...