One of Antoni Macierewicz's first decisions when he took over as Minister of National Defense was sabotage of the Polish army, which consisted in abandoning the purchase of uniforms for the Polish army – said the deputy head of the Ministry of National Defense, Cezary Tomczyk, on Thursday in the Sejm. He added that if an armed conflict had occurred in 2016, “soldiers of the Polish Army would have had to participate in military operations wearing tracksuits.”
– What we found a year ago, when we took over in Poland, was a desperate picture. There was a lack of basic things in the Polish Army units, such as field uniforms, sleeping pads, not to mention shoes, sights, and optoelectronics. The deficiencies were gigantic – said the Deputy Minister of National Defense on Thursday in the Sejm Cezary Tomczyk. He cited two “shocking” examples here.
– On the border about which we talked so much, about which the previous government talked so much, during the two years of operation of thousands of soldiers, no thought was given to providing the soldiers with raincoats. So, when a soldier stood on the belt for 12 hours, he had to rely only on his uniform, he could not take his cape, because the regulations also prohibited that. The soldier who was standing on a strip at the border at minus 20 degrees in Podlasie did not have a winter jacket, said Tomczyk.
Tomczyk about the “sabotage of the Polish army” by Macierewicz
He said that “one of the first decisions of Antoni Macierewicz, when he took over as Minister of National Defense on November 16, 2015, was to sabotage the Polish army by abandoning the purchase of uniforms for the Polish army.”
– Financing and implementation of uniform purchases have been carried out continuously since 2012 as part of central material plans. On May 9, 2016, the head of the Inspectorate of Armed Forces Support, on the oral order of the Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of National Defense, Mr. Bartłomiej Grabski, who was a member of Antoni Macierewicz's management, ordered the suspension and invalidation of all procedures for the award of public procurement for the supply of uniforms for Polish armyincluded in the material resources purchase plan for 2016-2022 and in the material resources purchase plan for 2016 – said Tomczyk.
As he clarified, “tender procedures for 40 product items with an estimated value of nearly a quarter of a billion zlotys, including field uniforms model 2010, were invalidated and abandoned.”
“Soldiers in extreme conditions would have to run in tracksuits”
– The Inspectorate of Support for the Armed Forces, despite having financial resources for the purchase of uniforms in 2016 and 2017, i.e. during the government of Antoni Macierewicz, did not receive consent from the management of the Ministry of National Defense for the purchase of field uniforms – said the deputy minister. – Let us imagine what it entailed… In 2016 we are two years later annexation of Crimea. If, God forbid, an armed conflict had occurred, then, to put it bluntly, Polish Army soldiers would have had to participate in military operations in tracksuits, said the deputy head of the Ministry of National Defense.
Tomczyk informed that in May 2016, shortly after Antoni Macierewicz took over, conceptual work was undertaken on obtaining new Leopard camouflage uniforms, which – as he stated – “could be a good idea in itself”. – But what two processes overlapped at the same time? Uniforms began to be withdrawn due to the plan to introduce a new camouflage, which ultimately did not take place, and at the same time, uniforms for soldiers of the Polish Army were stopped – Tomczyk reported.
For this reason, the Armed Forces were forced to “limit the number of users to whom supply units realized or issued uniform payments.” – Soldiers in extreme conditions would have to run in tracksuits – he repeated. He added that “In the Polish Army itself, you had to choose who would get the uniform.” – The uniforms went for foreign contingents, they went to the units of the Territorial Defense Forces, and operational troops in the Polish Army were deprived of the possibility of wearing uniforms – said Tomczyk.
“For us, the issue of soldiers' comfort in service is the highest priority”
According to Tomczyk, in 2016 the needs of the Polish Army in terms of items, uniforms and equipment amounted to nearly half a billion zlotys. – Less than PLN 90 million was spent for this purpose throughout the year, which covered 18 percent of needs – he enumerated. He added that in 2024, this level will be 98 percent. – For us, the issue of individual equipment for soldiers and the comfort of soldiers in service is the highest priority – he emphasized.
The deputy minister announced that in connection with this information, he would refer the case to the prosecutor's office.
In addition to the purchases of “large” military equipment, the new management of the Ministry of National Defense also constantly emphasizes the issue of individual equipment for soldiers and the general conditions of their service. Improving equipment – including: elimination of obsolete steel helmets or old uniforms – the “Szpei” operation, launched in January last year, is aimed at increasing orders for equipment such as uniforms, helmets, bulletproof vests, footwear and individual weapons. By 2026, approximately PLN 2 billion is to be allocated to the program.
Main photo source: Tomasz Waszczuk/PAP