Polish military officers leave in their hundreds under new defense minister

Reports of Polish Army officers leaving the service keep popping up. Now, they have been joined by General Jerzy Gut, responsible for special forces.

During the reign of Antoni Macierewicz in the Ministry of Defense most of the top commanders have changed within the last 18 months.

The list of all the names of the highest rank officers of the Polish Army, who resigned, applied for a discharge or were dismissed, is long. It includes about 30 generals and over 200 colonels. According to the Ministry of Defense, in the General Staff 90 percent of officers in positions of command were changed, and in the General Command of the Armed Forces – 82 percent.

It is always a pity when someone as experienced, with such a great military resume, leaves – comments Marek Magierowski, the director of the presidential press office – Most of these changes are actually dismissals or resignations from the officers, so it is difficult to stop them by force in the army – he adds.

According to Magierowski, until these resignations and the personnel changes do not lead to destabilisation of the situation in the army, the situation is under control and president Duda as the head of the armed forces has no reason for concern.

Magierowski also says that this “wave” does not concern the president for the time being, who remains in constant contact with the defense minister Antoni Macierewicz.

Some of the commanders who have left the Polish Army are:

• General Mieczysław Gocuł – former Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army. Formally, the first soldier of the country and the highest rank commander of the Polish Armed Forces. He was responsible for the overall planning of the use of the army.
• General Mirosław Różański – former Commander General of the Armed Forces Types (DGRSZ). He was responsible for preparing the troops for the war and their management in time of peace.
• General Adam Duda – former Chief Inspectorate of Armaments. He was responsible for the purchase of new weapons for the army, which in the era of conducting the extensive Technical Modernisation Programme made him a very important specialist.
• General Janusz Bronowicz – former Inspector of the Army in DGRSZ. As a subordinate to gen. Różański he managed land armies in time of peace.
• General Ireneusz Bartniak – former Chief of Staff in DGRSZ. He collaborated with General Różański and was responsible for general planning exercises, arms purchases and various other military preparations for war in time of peace.
• Admiral Marian Ambroziak – former Navy inspector in DGRSZ, another associate of General Różański. He was responsible for the Polish naval forces in peacetime.
• General Jerzy Gut – still Commander of the Special Forces Component of DGRSZ. This means that he is responsible for the Polish special units on missions abroad and in case of war.
• General Piotr Patalong – former Inspector of Special Forces in DGRSZ. He was responsible for the preparation of special forces for war by, among others, organising training and purchases of arms. He was the equivalent of general Gut, but in time of peace.
• General pilot Tomasz Drewniak – former Inspector of Air Force in DGRSZ. Responsible for aviation in peacetime. Another associate general Różański.

This list is not exhaustive. It includes only the highest rank officers in the most exposed positions. A number of other generals retired or were dismissed, not to mention the much larger group of colonels, who also said goodbye to their functions and uniform since the end of 2015.