On the eve of the Polish Army Day, President Andrzej Duda presented 21 officers with certificates of appointment to the ranks of general and admiral. In his speech, he spoke about the need to unify the command system. He announced, among other things, the creation of the Joint Forces Command and the reconstruction of the Commands of the Armed Forces Branches.
On Monday Andrzej Duda presented 21 officers with certificates of appointment to the ranks of general and admiral during the ceremony in the courtyard of the Presidential Palace. In his speech, the president, the head of the Armed Forces, noted that there was “a definite need to unify the command system”.
– I deeply believe that as a result of the changes that will be proposed in the near future, legislative changes, the Joint Forces Command will be established, which will be supervised by the Chief of the General Staff – he said.
– Commands of the branches of the Armed Forces will be reconstructed, which will be responsible for the training of soldiers, for the daily operational functioning of the types of troops, but whose overall structure will be similar in times of peace and in times of war, so that we are more efficient – added the president
President Andrzej Duda and the commander of the Warsaw Garrison, Brig. Tomasz Dominikowski in the courtyard of the Presidential Palace PAP/Leszek Szymanski
General and admiral appointments
During the ceremony in the courtyard of the Presidential Palace, the following were appointed to the rank of Lieutenant General of the Polish Army: Deputy Head of the National Security Bureau, Maj. Gen. Dariusz Łukowski and the first Deputy General Commander of the Branches of the Polish Armed Forces, Maj. Gen. Marek Sokolowski.
The following were appointed to the rank of Major General of the Polish Army: Brig. Norbert Iwanowski – Commander of the 1st Legions Infantry Division; brigadier general Artur Kępczyński – Head of the Armed Forces Support Inspectorate; brigadier general Maciej Klisz – Commander of the Territorial Defense Forces; brigadier general Szymon Koziatek – Commander of the 12th Mechanized Division; brigadier general Karol Molenda – Commander of the Component of the Cyberspace Defense Forces and Brig. Ireneusz Nowak – Inspector of the Air Force, General Command of the Armed Forces Branches.
President Andrzej Duda, head of the Ministry of National Defense Mariusz Błaszczak and commander of the 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade Colonel Artur Kozłowski PAP/Leszek Szymanski
The following were appointed to the rank of Brigadier General of the Polish Army: Col. Mariusz Chmielewski – Deputy Commander of the Cyberspace Defense Forces Component; Colonel Krzysztof Knut – Deputy Head of the Military Control Inspectorate; Col. Sławomir Kocanowski – Commander of the 17th Mechanized Brigade; Colonel Artur Kozłowski – Commander of the 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade; Col. Sławomir Lidwa – Commander of the 9th Braniewo Armored Cavalry Brigade; Col. Michał Marciniak – Deputy Head of the Armament Agency; Col. Arkadiusz Mikołajczyk – Coordinator Counselor, General Command of the Branches of the Armed Forces; Col. Tadeusz Nastarowicz – Commander of the 21st Podhale Rifle Brigade; Colonel Grzegorz Potrzuski – Head of the Missile Forces and Artillery Directorate, General Command of the Armed Forces Branches; Col. Michał Strzelecki – Commander of the 6th Airborne Brigade and Col. Marcin Żal – Head of the Planning Division – Deputy Chief of Staff of the Operational Command of the Armed Forces.
The following were appointed to the rank of Rear Admiral of the Polish Army: Commander Andrzej Ogrodnik – Commander of the 3rd Ship Flotilla and Commander Piotr Sikora – Commander of the 8th Coastal Defense Flotilla.
Main photo source: PAP/Leszek Szymanski