On the 20^th anniversary of Poland’s accession to NATO, the 15^th Mechanized Brigade of the Polish Armed Forces organized a ceremonial line-up and an exercise display of tactical and technical capabilities of the Polish Armed Forces and NATO’s Battle Group Poland. The ceremony was attended by Polish state and military leaders headed by President Andrzej Duda. President Duda was accompanied by Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak, the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces Lieutenant General Rajmund Andrzejczak and the General Commander of the Polish Armed Forces Lieutenant General Jarosław Mika. The Republic of Croatia was represented by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Poland Tomislav Vidošević and Defence Attaché to the Republic of Poland Colonel Jugoslav Jozić.

The members of the 3^rd Croatian contingent in NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) participated in all elements of the ceremony as a part of Battle Group Poland. The main event was a tactical exercise carried out by the joint forces of Battle Group Poland and the Polish Armed Forces. The members of the 3rd Croatian contingent participated in the exercise with 122-mm M-92 Vulkan self-propelled multiple rocket launchers. During the exercise, the members of Polish Military Gendarmerie demonstrated an action of evacuating VIPs from a surveillance zone, while soldiers who recently finished the Harpoon course, including one member of the 3^rd Croatian contingent, displayed their capability of effectively using a knife as a combat element in tactical operations. On the occasion of the anniversary, President Duda toured the static display of the exercise participants’ fighting vehicles and met Croatian soldiers, who showed him their main weapon in Poland – the M-92 Vulkan self-propelled multiple rocket launcher. At the end of the ceremony, President Duda presented the Commander of the 3^rd Croatian contingent in eFPBG-USA Captain Željko Trček and the commanders of the American, British and Romanian component of NATO’s Battle Group Poland with Polish state flags as a sign of gratitude.

In north-east Poland, the members of the Croatian Armed Forces are participating in NATO’s peacetime activities which are aimed at attaining and maintaining readiness as well supporting the security of the Alliance and its member states. These activities are primarily devised as joint exercises the objective of which is to increase interoperability among member states. Battle Group Poland is one of four battle groups that represent a specific implementation of NATO’s concept of enhanced forward presence. The aforementioned battle groups are deployed to the Alliance’s northern borders (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland).

Text by PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER OF 3^RD CROATIAN CONTINGENT IN eFPBG-USA

Photo by 3^RD CROATIAN CONTINGENT IN eFPBG-USA

Translation by IVA GUGO