Here, you will find the English versions of the cover stories and other articles of editor's choice published each month in Polska Zbrojna magazine. If you want to be updated on every new article in this section, sign up for our newsletter (below). Enjoy reading!
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Arrange an orderly withdrawal, jump away from the enemy and reorganize own units; then halt the march of the Red Army at the gates of the capital and lead an attack from the Southern Wing – a successful outcome of that plan bordered on a miracle. However, “miracle” is not a good word to describe what happened near Warsaw in the middle of August 1920. |
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With Norman Davies about Józef Piłsudski’s risky move and drawing conclusions from the 1920 victory, talks Piotr Korczyński. |
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The main tasks of the military chemical forces include detection, identification and elimination of all kinds of contamination. Recently, however, it was not a chemical threat that put them in the state of readiness, but the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. |
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Six thousand Polish and American soldiers took part in Exercise Allied Spirit 2020, linked to Exercise Defender Europe 2020. |
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In Lombardy, they struggled for the lives and good health of patients with COVID-19 disease. Later, rich in experience, they went on expert missions to Slovenia and the United States. |
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The coronavirus pandemic has simply confirmed what everybody was theoretically aware about: effective functioning of this or other institution is not enough to deal with this crisis. Each of us is equally responsible for the safety of the entire community. |
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On the exposed rocks of the Monte Cassino hill, medics had to work miracles to save lives of wounded soldiers. |
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Artificial intelligence is no longer science fiction, but reality that each of us deals with one way or another. In the army, it is now necessary to use self-learning algorithms on a wide scale. |
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With Jarosław Mokrzycki on how the army is already preparing for challenges awaiting them a decade, two, or even three decades from now, talks Krzysztof Wilewski. |
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With Polish Minister of National Defense, Mariusz Błaszczak, on the engagement of the armed forces in the fight with COVID-19 and activities undertaken to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, talks Magdalena Kowalska-Sendek. |
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Millions of dollars were invested by Americans in 2019 to improve infrastructure of Polish military training fields. As part of Exercise Resolute Castle, the engineering detachments modernized roads and shooting ranges, and erected new buildings. |
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Some people save human life, others protect it. They all, however, are passionate about what they do, and are great professionals of broad and long-earned experience.
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They train together, they exercise and meet challenges together. The army operationally supports other uniform services during various crisis situations and such events as NATO summit. |
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With Mariusz Błaszczak, the Minister of National Defense, on NATO’s eastern flank, increasing defense expenditures and the number of reserve personnel, talk Paulina Glińska and Tadeusz Wróbel. |
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In August 1941, on the press market in Nowy Targ appeared a weekly for Wehrmacht soldiers, Germans and Volksdeutsche. It was the Poles whot published the weekly – to provoke ferment in enemy ranks. |
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With Rajmund T. Andrzejczak on the vision of the Polish Armed Forces in 2035 and the multi-domain joint operations concept talks Krzysztof Wilewski. |
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Wives of veterans decided to take part in a photo shoot, using it as a way to tell their stories. The result of that project is an amazing calendar. |
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In the 21st century, the most important weapon are no longer missiles, tanks or fighters. It is information. Present-day technologies allow for quite accurate forecast of the probability of attack or war outbreak. |
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With Piotr Sikora about minehunters of new generation, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and remotely-controlled platforms operating on sea surface talks Łukasz Zalesiński. |
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With Jędrzej Czerep on the chances of reaching stabilization in multi-ethnic Sudan, and the spirit of Maidan among people protesting against dictatorship in Khartoum, talks Małgorzata Schwarzgruber. |
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Celebrated in the Polish Way, with Hope On Christmas Eve, soldiers on the front found it hard to spot the first star in the flashes of explosions and the glow of fires. Celebrating Christmas was equally difficult for their families left in the occupied country, or for captives and prisoners in POW and concentration camps. |
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Polish soldiers have returned to Iraq to help its citizens rebuild the state’s defense capabilities. |
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Who Leaves Traces on the Internet? Are pictures taken on military training field and posted by soldiers on social media dangerous to the army? It appears that even quite insignificant data we publish online can pose threat.
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They Train Together, They Fight Together The soldiers of the Commando Special Forces Group (Jednostka Wojskowa Komandosów – JWK) have been stationing in Afghanistan for over a dozen years. Four years ago, they started training the Afghan Police National Mission Unit (NMU). According to the mandate of the “Resolute Support” mission, they also support their partners in combat. |
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With Justyna Gotkowska about the EU defense pillar, NATO-bis and transatlantic tensions talks Małgorzata Schwarzgruber and Tadeusz Wróbel. |
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Filmmakers often ask the army for support. Recently, seamen from Gdynia helped with making a film about the mysterious disappearance of the most famous Polish submarine. |
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When the 27th Volhynian Home Army Infantry Division was created in January 1944, it was joined by... a battalion of the German Hilfspolizei, made up of Polish volunteers who wanted to obtain weapons and uniforms from the Germans. |
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November 7, October 28, or, after all, November 11? Why are we celebrating regaining independence on this particular day?
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Only in Poznan you can see a unique collection of historic tanks, cannons and self-propelled guns. |
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National defense capabilities cannot rely exclusively on soldiers in active service. The outcome of a task often depends on the engagement of reservists. |
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With Łukasz Kulesa on who is to blame for the failure of the Treaty on Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) and the problems connected with arms control, talk Małgorzata Schwarzgruber and Tadeusz Wróbel. |
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They can lead people and act under the pressure of time, they know foreign languages, often have expertise in fields where specialists are hard to find. Former soldiers are a real catch on the labor market.
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In August 1944, during the Warsaw Uprising, Lieutenant Johannes Groenewald from South Africa was flying over the city with supply drops. His aircraft was shot down over the territory of occupied Poland and he spent six months among the insurgents.
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Rescue Like You Would in a War Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have changed military medicine. Now, the uniformed medics’ knowledge is more and more often used in the civilian environment.
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With American soldiers serving at the military hospital in Landstuhl on the differences between the work of a medic and a paramedic, and on the specific character of work on missions, talks Michał Zieliński. |
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Piotr Korczyński talks with Józef Kłyk about the Silesian western, experiences from the “Hubal” movie set, the Silesian uprisings, and the dramatic fate of the Silesian people during World War II. |
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With Norbert Bąk on what you can see from 10,000 meters above ground and the spirit of cooperation on board AWACS talks Łukasz Zalesiński. |
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Piotr Korczyński and Tadeusz Wróbel talk with Janusz Odziemkowski, Jerzy Kirszak and Jakub Polit about all scenarios of September ‘39. |
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An aviation pioneer, one of the first military pilots, an engineer and inventor; the first person in history to fly an aircraft over the Arctic. |
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With Marcin Piotrowski about the allies and adversaries of Iran, his political ambitions, military potential and internal situation talks Tadeusz Wróbel.
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With Ewa Ponińska on the Warsaw Uprising and the daring operation, for which she received the Virtuti Militari, talks Małgorzata Schwarzgruber. |
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Why buy bombers, fighters and air support machines for various branches of the armed forces, if we can equip them with one multirole aircraft? This is the exactly the aim of the modernization program executed in the US Army, which has led to the development of the F-35 Lightning II. |
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Polish soldiers are returning to Lebanon. This operation, however, is very different from the mission they took part in ten years ago.
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A dozen or so complex missions, tens of hours spent in the air – Polish F-16 fighter pilots trained in Spain. |
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Patryk Kugiel – about a radical change of alliances in South Asia, the eternal conflict over Kashmir and the potential nuclear war – talks to Tadeusz Wróbel.
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A Wave of Alliances |
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Navy ships and air force maneuvers, redeployment of troops and equipment, airborne assault drills – NATO has never before marked its presence on the Baltic Sea so intensively. It is a reaction to Russia’s increasingly aggressive policy. Has the small water area enclosed by the Danish straits become the new geopolitical hotspot? |
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With the JW GROM medics – on how parachute jumping to a wounded operator is only the beginning, and how medical assistance in the special forces is provided – talks Ewa Korsak. |
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In Mirosławiec, the locals don’t complain on the presence of the American. They breathe life into this small town – economically and socially. |
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Air-Landing Outside Comfort Zone The goal of such exercises as Exercise Immediate Response 2019 is not only to test how logistics works in NATO structures. It is also the most faithful imitation of a battlefield. |
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Soldiers of allied armies are interested in our country’s history. They say that it helps them understand Poles better, but also makes them aware of why they have been deployed to Poland. |
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This run honors soldiers who died on missions. |
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Conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria, and Ukraine proved the usefulness of drones in the army. It seems that their importance on the modern battlefield will continue to grow. |
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With Wojciech Górecki about the Russian-Chinese game, Moscow’s strategy and about preventing burano talks Małgorzata Schwarzgruber. |
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They win people over. They inspire, motivate, set objectives. They are present not only in the military, but also in politics, business, and sport.
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Don’t Be Stupid, Don’t Get Killed With Antoni Łapiński about dramatic moments at Monte Cassino and the winning streak of Polish soldiers talks Piotr Korczyński. |
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You Don’t Get to Choose Your Tasks Here The F-16 fighters are the stars of the 8th rotation of the Polish Military Contingent Orlik (PMC Orlik) . The mission has been a success due to the hard work of many people, not only pilots. |
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Despite the ousting of the Islamic State from its last controlled territory in Syria, the Jihadists have not been defeated there. This is not only about sleeper cells but also about the Al-Qaeda emirate in Idlib Governorate. |
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Although they Perish, the Memory of them Remains Thanks to combatants, we can boast multidimensional, colorful history, say Special Forces soldiers. They also add that although they may be generations apart, they are all connected by the love of their fatherland. |
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Małgorzata Schwarzgruber talks to Łukasz Fyderk about the black-and-white game and three-way alliances in the Middle East. |
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Life Enchanted in Museum Display Case Until her death, she waited for her beloved husband to come back home. His name was on the list of the Katyń massacre victims. Years later, the Military Policy major identified an officer’s badge found in the mass grave in Kharkov.
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There are many legends surrounding SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) courses organized in the USA. Americans who serve in elite units share some facts about them. |
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Why did Turkish soldiers suffer a terrible defeat although they were equipped with one of the best and most modern combat tools? |
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With Grzegorz Kostrzewa-Zorbas about the weakness of the Alliance in time of security, its power – in time of threat, and the world without NATO talks Małgorzata Schwarzgruber. |
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Brunssum, or welcome to the Netherlands You’ll find that the most difficult part is to admit, “I want to go”. If you manage, your life will turn upside down in an instant. A new home, a foreign language. But once everything falls into place, you become aware that you are at the heart of NATO. And this is an experience you’ll find difficult to compare with any other. |
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When the North Korean army moved towards Seoul on June 25, 1950, the world held its breath. This was great news for the Polish authorities in exile – there was hope for the renunciation of the communist dictatorship in Poland. |
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Poland joined NATO on March 12, 1999. However, fighter pilots celebrate the anniversary a little later. |
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A Biting and Tracking Commando They will descend from a helicopter, jump with parachutes, and take part in high-risk operations. Combat dogs have been introduced to service by the Commando Military Unit (CMU). |
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Step ahead in a different world Paratroopers from Bielsko-Biała left for their first NATO mission only three months after Poland had joined the North Atlantic alliance. They set off to Kosovo as part of the international peacekeeping force KFOR. |
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Sun Tzu argued already at the turn of the 6th and 5th century BC that the key to victory is to enter the enemy’s mind. However, thanks to breaking the monopoly for the official flow of information and galloping technological development, the role of information warfare has never been as significant as it is currently. |
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With Marta Kowalska on why disinformation is more important than fake news, and on what is behind Russian propaganda talk Magdalena Kowalska-Sendek and Robert Sendek. |
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Hunt for “the Butcher of Vukovar” When Jacques Paul Klein was commanding the UN mission in Slavonia, he personally selected GROM soldiers to take part in an extremely important operation. |
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Although it is hard to believe, Polish Mi-24 pilots have trained on the simulator of the said helicopter for the first time in 2018. |
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When Maj. Mieczysław Pruszyński recalled people of various nationalities with whom the soldiers of the Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade were cooperating during World War II, next to Australians, New Zealanders, Indians, Frenchmen, Englishmen and Afrikaners, he mentioned the Foreign Legion as a completely a separate "nation". It is a part of the French army, but it shaped its soldiers according to its own military traditions. What makes the legionaries a separate military nation? |
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With Konrad Konefał on final tests of the ORP Ślązak patrol vessel, and on how building a new ship to serve in NATO forces will help the shipyard obtain contracts in Poland and abroad, talks Łukasz Zalesiński. |
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They say each of us has a soul of a warrior. |
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Will NATO increase its military presence on the Black Sea? |
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Those Who Were Supposed to Fight Went To Fight With Bogusław Polak about the phenomenon of people who won themselves a piece of homeland talked Łukasz Zalesiński. |
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Patagonia Does not Forgive Mistakes When you take part in one of the hardest races in the world, you have to be certain you can endure the worst weather and take on the biggest challenge. |
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“Projekt Wojownik” (Project Warrior) is more than martial arts training. It is also about psychological support and integration within veteran environment. |
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An inspiration for the scriptwriters of the excellent The Dirty Dozen war movie was the story of the actual military unit, which was formed partially by the group of Polish soldiers.
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The year of 2018 will be historically remembered as the one which confirmed – with extreme might – the reality of a thesis that the Near and Middle East are the core of world geopolitics – regardless of whatever currently is going on in Europe, South Asia or the Far East. |
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With Łukasz Fyderek on complicated political, economic, military and cultural conditions influencing international relations talks Tadeusz Wróbel.
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For the ORP “Gen. K. Pułaski” frigate, it has been one of the most crucial tests for a decade: launching missiles, a six-week training in the Royal Navy’s center, and the participation in NATO Trident Juncture 2018 Exercise. |
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With two sisters - Krystyna Olchowa and Ludwika Torowskaya – about Wola Massacre, about their service as runners in Warsaw Uprising, their nightmare of Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination and concentration camp, and about the years spent in the Soviet Union talks Anna Dąbrowska. |
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Athens Flying Week in Greece has ended the season of international military air shows in Europe. Meanwhile, the Polish pilots have already received invitations for the next year from the organizers of shows from all over the world. |
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This year’s “Trident Juncture” is the biggest NATO exercise since 2002. Poles took part in this great test of the defensive capabilities of the Alliance. |
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With Mateusz M. Kłagisz on political unrest in Iran and rivalry for the title of the most important player in the region talks Robert Sendek.
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Idlib Governorate is the last Syria’s territory of significance which is controlled by rebels. Taking it over may take months and cost thousands of victims.
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With Andrzej Reudowicz on the preparations for NATO exercises and response to threats which result from the changing international situation talks Łukasz Zalesiński. |
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Prof. Andrzej Chwalba, Dr. Dariusz Fabisz and Prof. Janusz Odziemkowski debate over the problems while forming the Polish Army, about eliminating the autonomy inside the army, or boosting the morale of soldiers. |
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Film Frames from the War Front After the outbreak of World War I in 1914, alongside soldiers the first cameramen went to the front. Some of them were Poles. |
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With Jan Mela on how his physical disability did not end his physical activity, and how to overcome the limitations that are in your head talks Paulina Glińska. |
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The injured and wounded soldiers of the world meet at the Invictus Games Sydney 2018. For the first time, with the Polish Invictus Team. |
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Sometimes motivation and determination can help overcome physical limitations. |
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Rhonda Lee Crew tells Michał Zieliński about her personal battles won long before she decided to compete in the Invictus Games. |
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With the soldiers of the Polish Military Contingent in Latvia on the day-to-day cooperation with fellow troops of different nationalities talks Magdalena Miernicka. |
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The Zawisza Czarny Brigade versus the 17th Mechanized Brigade? The fratricidal battle took place during the Namejs-18 manoeuvres, one of the largest that has taken place in Latvia so far. |
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Łukasz Zalesiński discusses with Władysław Szarski about why Admiral Józef Unrug suddenly forgot the German language and bought a ship for the Polish navy. |
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I want to take the army out of the comfort zone Maciej Chilczuk and Marcin Górka talked with Rajmund T. Andrzejczak on the readiness of soldiers for changes, the introduction of the slogan "speed is key" in the army and a new model of commanding. |
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The United States of America Have It Their Way President Donald Trump approved the way the US Department of State had implemented his administration’s plan to intensify the US arms export sale. |
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They would run night and day to honor independent Poland – a very special relay race by soldiers and employees of the Territorial Defense Force, who ran 1,100 km along the Queen of Polish Rivers – the Vistula River. |
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Raid on Fraustadt in 1939: Polish tankettes invading German town.
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Małgorzata Schwarzgruber talks with Ziemowit Budko about sport competition for the disabled. |
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Adrenaline, speed and dreams coming true "Rattler" first sat at the controls of the F-16 ten years ago, "Goose" and "Stag" are at the beginning of their careers. They are split by their aerial generation. They are combined by the pride of being F-16 pilots.
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Łukasz Zalesiński talks to Andrzej Fałkowski about the meanders of military diplomacy and difficult negotiations during NATO summits.
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I Still Remember My First Flight… With Jerzy Główczewski, the last living Polish fighter pilot who fought in WWII, talks Piotr Korczyński.
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They were very intense two weeks. Filled with exercise, training, but also massages and rehabilitation treatments from early morning to late afternoon. Injured veterans met at the Training and Fitness Centre in Mrągowo, where they exercised under the professional supervision of coaches, who also train Polish paralympians. They played sitting volleyball, trained archery, practiced discus throwing and shot put, they rowed, swam and cycled. |
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Polish seamen wrote a splendid chapter in the history of warfare from the first shots of WWII fired on the coast until the last battles of the Atlantic Campaign in the spring of 1945. However, not much is said about their participation in the Warsaw Uprising.
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With Michał Baranowski on the detachment of US troops in Poland, and on the unity of Allies talks Małgorzata Schwarzgruber. |
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“Poland, the USA, Great Britain, Romania and Croatia – troops of these states’ armies must work together like fingers of one hand, always ready to make a fist and strike,” says BrigGen Jarosław Gromadziński, commander of the 15th Mechanized Brigade, about the cooperation of soldiers of Allied armies. The Brigade is the unit that cooperates with NATO Battle Group Poland (BGPOL) that has been stationing in our country for over a year. |
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At 9:30 on January 12, 2017, a column of vehicles of the American Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) crossed the German-Polish border at the crossing in Olszyna. The soldiers were welcomed by the then commander of the 11th “Lubuska” Armored Cavalry Division, MajGen Jarosław Mika. Thus Operation Atlantic Resolve began, which aimed at strengthening the eastern flank of NATO. The 3rd ABCT was deployed in Żagań and nearby towns: Świętoszów, Skwierzyna, Bolesławiec, as well as at Camp Karliki of the Żagań training area. |
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Injured veterans who want to take part in Invictus Games in Sydney have been working on their physical fitness for several months now. Official presentation of 15 competitors took place during central Veteran Day celebrations in Kielce. |
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With the soldiers of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment serving in the NATO Battalion Combat Group on endurance, character and making friends talks Michał Zieliński.
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