Polish army. Jacek Siewier: there will be no appointment of a new general commander and commander of the Territorial Defense Forces in the coming days

The head of the National Security Bureau was asked by PAP whether it is planned to appoint a president during the celebration of the upcoming Independence Day on November 11. Andrzej Duda new commanders in currently vacant positions – general commander of the Armed Forces and commander of the Territorial Defense Forces (WOT).

These vacancies arose when the previous commanders – General Commander General Wiesław Kukuła and WOT Commander General Maciej Klisz – were appointed at the beginning of October appointed by the president to the positions of Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces and Operational Commander of the Armed Forces, respectively. Since then, the duties of the general commander and WOT have been performed by deputies – General Marek Sokołowski and Colonel Krzysztof Stańczyk.

Jacek Siewiera stated that “no decisions will be made in the coming days regarding the appointment of a new general commander and commander of the Territorial Defense Forces.” – The president’s intention is to make these decisions when the shape of the leadership of the Ministry of Defense in the new term of parliament is known. Today, these commands operate without disruptions and we are giving ourselves time to identify officers who will be able to perform their functions in a stable and continuous manner in the long term, noted the head of the National Security Bureau.

He added that general promotions are planned to be awarded during the celebrations on November 11.

– Independence Day, next to the Polish Army holidays and May 3, is a traditional moment of promotions. The President’s presentation of general nominations in November has been planned for a long time as part of the natural process of personnel and organizational changes in the armed forces. There are still several dozen positions in the army filled by officers with lower ranks than those required for the positions. We are also faced with the need to introduce changes in the management and command system, to which the current personnel policy must be adapted, said the head of the National Security Bureau.

He announced that promotions will be given primarily to officers who already hold command positions.

– Several officers from other uniformed services will also receive promotions on the occasion of the holiday. The names of the officers and details regarding the presentation of nominations will be announced soon, the minister added.

At the beginning of October, the current Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army, General Rajmund Andrzejczak, and the Operational Commander of the Armed Forces, General Tomasz Piotrowski, terminated their employment relationship.

On October 10, President Andrzej Duda dismissed them from their positions and appointed General Wiesław Kukuła as the head of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, and General Maciej Klisz as the operational commander of the Branches of the Armed Forces.

On October 11, the head of the Ministry of National Defense Mariusz Błaszczak informed that the duties of the General Commander will be temporarily held by Gen. Marek Sokołowski, and the WOT Commander by Col. Krzysztof Stańczyk.