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Sixteen suspects arrested by Polish troops in Iraq 05.11.2007 Polish troops together with the Iraqi army and police have detained 16 people suspected of the latest attacks on the coalition forces and civilian population in the south central stabilization zone. Among them may be also people responsible for the latest attack on a Polish convoy, in which one soldier was killed and three were wounded. The detention is a result of a well-coordinated, large scale operation aimed at crushing a criminal group responsible for attacks with the use of car bombs and land mines

Polish soldiers commemorated Created: Friday, November 2. 2007 The Ministry of National Defense has dedicated a special Internet gallery to soldiers killed overseas in Iraq, Afghanistan, but also Kosovo, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. The list of soldiers killed during missions abroad features 73 names. The Ministry has explained that the gallery is a tribute to the memory of the heroes “who died while carrying out professional duties abroad”. The list is to be completed gradually. At present the gallery includes short biographies and information on the mission in which a given soldier was killed. The Ministry has requested their families...

Polish patrol under fire 01.11.2007 A polish patrol in Afghanistan came under fire some 5 kilometers from the base in Sharana. Six RPG grenades were fired at the Polish transporter. No one was wounded and a special team is investigating the attack.

Every Polish soldier to see Katyn by December 15 Created: Tuesday, October 9. 2007 “By December 15, commanders of military units throughout the country make sure regular and compulsory military service soldiers see the Katyń movie by director Andrzej Wajda,” Minister of National Defence Aleksander Szczygło has announced. The Minister watched the movie with the soldiers from the 1 Masuria Artillery Brigade in a hall of the local community centre. Mr. Szczygło assured during a press conference that, “Shall the need arise to support this enterprise [the screening of the movie] logistically, the Ministry of National Defence will give logistical...

More Polish soldiers leave for Afghanistan Sunday, October 7. 2007 220 soldiers of the second shift of the Polish Military Contingent in Afghanistan have departed from Wrocław airport, Poland. The group consisted of soldiers from the 17th Mechanised Brigade in Międzyrzecze and the 6th Airborne Brigade in Krakow. At the airport they were bidden farewell by their families and the representatives of the military authorities. In a speech to the leaving soldiers, first deputy of the head of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces Gen. Mieczysław Stachowiak pointed out that the second shift of the Polish contingent was...

Polish general among candidates for NATO chief Friday, August 31. 2007 General Franciszek Gagor, head of the Polish military headquarters, is one of three candidates for the position of Chief of NATO Military Committee. The Polish general will compete against two other chiefs of military headquarters: Italian admiral Giampaolo Di Paola and Spanish general Felix Sanz Roldan. A meeting of heads of national military headquarters is scheduled in Canada for September, by which time a full list of candidates has to be drawn up. A vote by secret ballot to select the new chief will take place in Brussels in...

Body of Polish soldier killed in Afghanistan flown to Poland 17.08.2007 The body of the Polish soldier killed on a mission in Afghanistan has been flown to Poland. The short ceremony at the airport was attended exclusively by the closest family of the late lieutenant Łukasz Kurowski. The military funeral will take place tomorrow. Lieutenant Łukasz Kurowski came from Gniezno, near Poznan, western Poland. He was 28 years old and married.

Tanks roll in Warsaw as Poles celebrate Army Day WARSAW (Poland), Aug. 15 (AP): Tanks rolled down a Warsaw avenue and F16 jets screamed overhead Wednesday as Poland's patriotic and assertive new leaders staged the country's grandest military parade in decades to mark one of its most famous military victories. President, Lech Kaczynski, a nationalist conservative, rode in an open vehicle along Warsaw's tree-lined Ujazdowski Avenue, waving and smiling at a large crowd that had turned out to celebrate Army Day. The celebrations were held nearly two years after ex-communists were defeated by Kaczynski and his twin brother, Prime Minister...

Polish soldier killed in Afghanistan 14.08.2007 A Polish soldier has been killed in Afghanistan. The 28-year-old lieutenant was wounded after shots were fired at his patrol, and died as he was being transported to hospital. This is the first Polish soldier killed in the mission to Afghanistan. The Polish contingent there, which is part of the Nato-led ISAF mission, numbers about 1100 troops, based in provinces Ghazni and Paktika.

Polish troops and guests preparing for the parade on Polish Army Day (August 15, 2007) - picture gallery

Four Poles Wounded in Afghanistan 11 July 2007 Four Polish soldiers serving in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan were injured when a homemade bomb exploded on a road in Paktika province July 8. Their HMMWV military vehicle ran into the bomb when the patrol was on its way back to base. Two soldiers had their arms, backs and legs burned and were also wounded in the head. The other two sustained minor injuries. All four were airlifted to a hospital in Kandahar. Three soldiers left the clinic the following day, while the fourth is in stable condition,...

Polish contingent ready in Afghanistan 04.06.2007 Polish soldiers stationed in Afghanistan are to take over sector duties in two essential Afghani provinces of Ghazni and Paktice in a few days time. 1300 Polish soldiers stationed in Afghanistan have for the past few weeks been getting ready to officially commence their mission in that country. Their aim has been to achieve full combat readiness which means that they will then be ready to patrol their region and face the Taliban forces if such a need arises. According to analysts, Polish troops in Afghanistan will have to face not only risky military...

Polish troops prepare face Afghan Taliban Published: May 21, 2007 at 1:27 PM WARSAW, Poland, May 21 (UPI) -- About 1,300 well-trained Polish troops are being prepared to face Taliban forces in southern and eastern Afghanistan, Polish Radio reported Monday. Polish troops as part of NATO forces in Afghanistan are completing drills to reach peak combat readiness and formally begin their mission of patrolling the region in early June, the report said. Polish Radio quoted military analysts as saying Polish troops should be ready by then to participate in military operations and to deal with anti-foreign military hostility from local...

1200 Polish troops on Iraqi mission till end 2007 22.12.2006 President Lech Kaczynski has approved a government motion to extend Poland’s military presence in Iraq till end 2007. However, the decision does not exclude the possibility of an earlier pullout should sufficient security conditions in the country permit. The Polish contingent is to number 1200 troops and auxiliary personnel. 900 soldiers are to serve in Iraq, while the remaining 300 will constitute a reserve force stationed in Poland.

Hohenfels training gets Polish troops ready for deployment to Afghanistan By Nancy Montgomery, Stars and Stripes European edition, Monday, December 18, 2006 HOHENFELS, Germany — Three months after NATO’s top commander pleaded for more troops in Afghanistan, just weeks after army generals discussed it in a Heidelberg hotel, Pvt. Krystian Belski had his boots planted in the Hohenfels mud. The Polish private, with his AK-74, helped fend off a pretend ambush that followed a mock roadside bomb explosion. He was with other soldiers from the 18th Airborne Battalion training this month at the Joint Multi-National Training Center to prepare for...

Joint exercise of the armed forces and non-military services ANAKONDA 2006 2006-09-29 09:51:09 On Thursday, 21 September, in the Operation Command headquarters in Warsaw, a conference devoted to the ANAKONDA 2006 tactical exercise took place. NOTE: a website giving information about the exercises can be found at: anakonda.army.mil.pl Representatives of the organizers of the ANAKONDA 2006 Exercise Lieut. Gen. Henryk Tacik – Exercise Director, Brig. Gen. Krzysztof Za³êski – Chief of Staff of the Exercise Management, Chief Superintendent Ryszard Siewierski – Coordinator of Police Operations took part in the conference. The aim of the conference was to present the main...

Poland holds largest military drill to test defense capability Poland's largest military drill in the recent decade started in the northwest of the country on Sunday to test its defense capability in northern coastal area, reported the PAP news agency. Held in a shooting range in Drawsko Pomorskie, the drill was expected to involve about 10,000 staff from the army, police and border guards as well as fighter planes, tanks, helicopters, armored vehicles and artillery. The drill, including a paper exercise and real battle conditions, simulated a conflict over the mining rights of the petroleum and natural gas in the...

Anniversary of the 1920 Battle of Warsaw marked as Polish Army Day 15.08.2006 Today is Polish Army Day. It is observed on the anniversary of the victorious battle of 1920 against the Soviet army fought on the outskirts of Warsaw. President Lech Kaczynski laid wreaths at the monument to Marshal Jozef Pilsudski, the architect of that victory, and at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where a ceremonial changing of the guard was held. A memorial to Polish soldiers who died in the peace and stabilizations missions has been unveiled in Warsaw. Since 1953 Polish troops have taken part in...

"Polish soldiers can't abandon" AFP, WARSAW June 17: Poland's troops in Iraq "cannot abandon the battlefield yet", the country's foreign minister said on Saturday as she prepared to make her first visit to Washington. "Poland wants to reinforce the civilian contingent of its force, which will stay in Iraq at least until the end of 2006," said Anna Fotyga, who will visit Washington on Monday. "Polish soldiers are already training Iraqi police, judges and prosecutors. The Polish people have always been and will remain opposed to the war. But they are equally aware that you cannot make a deal with...