Direction Romania

– On the mission, our main task will be to gather forces with allies to effectively deter possible opponents on the south-east flank of NATO – explains Colonel Damian Ćwierkiewicz, commander of the 18th PKW Romania shift. Over the next six months, his soldiers will take part in respective exercises. – The most crucial thing is ‘Scorpions Legacy’ – a large global venture to which we will join the full company – the officer announces. However, Poles will besides join 10 smaller exercises. – Here the scale of our commitment will be different – from plutonium to company. Sometimes we will halt at the separation of the medical component – says Colonel Kwierkiewicz.

The contingent he commanded for the mission was prepared for months. The general test was the exercise conducted in December ‘Dunaj ’25/2’. “The motorised company had to confirm its tactical and logistical autonomy, as well as its ability to operate within a multinational brigade,” explains the commander of the 18th shift. The saturation of subdivisions with drones besides became an crucial element, resulting in training and preparation for the missions of their operators. In Romania, unmanned aircraft will be utilized primarily to conduct the diagnosis.

Distribution decision multinational forces in Romania fell in 2016, during the Alliance Summit in Warsaw. The troops were sent there as part of the TFP, meaning NATO's advanced presence (of the latent Forward Presence). They were to show the unity and readiness to defend the territory of all allies. Poland joined the mission in 2017.

Currently in Romania, the service is slow ending with the seventeenth change in the Polish contingent, which is besides made up by soldiers 17 The Wielkopolska Mechanized Brigade. – During the six-month mission, the most crucial for us were exercises carried out in the framework of allied cooperation. They focused on interoperability and fast response. In fresh years, peculiar emphasis has been placed on the flexibility of action, as well as the ability to adapt to the rapidly changing safety situation of the region – explains Lt. Lt. "We were leaving with the presumption of maintaining advanced operational readiness and strengthening NATO presence on the east flank. And these goals have been achieved – the officer concludes.