The military should be utilized in the time of peace in the last resort, erstwhile there are no another forces and means, and it must be utilized wisely," stressed president Marcin Ociepa at the session of the Parliamentary Subcommittee on Social Affairs in the military. The subject of the gathering was actions carried out by soldiers of the Polish Army in areas affected by the flood.
The Subcommittee on Social Affairs in the Military, chaired by Members Marcin Ociepa (PiS), the Chair of the Subcommittee, and Agata Wojtyszek (PiS), deputy chair of the Subcommittee, present heard information from the Minister of National Defence about the actions carried out by soldiers of the Polish Army in the affected areas of south-western Poland. On behalf of the head of the MON Władysław Kosiniak-Kamish, the information was submitted, among others, by Brig-Gen Arkadiusz Mikołajczyk, General Counsellor of the General Staff of the Polish Army, and Brig-Gen Grzegorz Barabieda, Deputy Commander of the Territorial Defence Forces. Meanwhile, the National safety Bureau represented cadmium. Jarosław Piłewski, manager of the BBN Armed Forces Department.
Brig. Gen. Mikołajczyk informed Members that on 12 September – in accordance with the decision of the Minister of National Defence – the General Staff of the Polish Army developed and issued an order to initiate the process preparation and direction of armed forces to cities and towns where floods are likely to occur. – The forces of 2 1000 WOT soldiers were concentrated on the basis of 4 military task groups in Wielkopolska, Lower Silesian, Silesian and Lesser Poland Voivodeship, and the forces of 200 engineering troops in 5 engineering detachments with specialized equipment in specified towns as Kłodzko, Wrocław, Brzeg, Opole and Gliwice – the general calculated and added that eight helicopters were separated for operation. Currently, as he pointed out, 25 1000 579 soldiers participate in the action.
Members of the Ociepa and Wojtyszek, after proceeding a study containing details of the participation of soldiers in the fight against the flood, asked them to supplement the information with precise deadlines for the voivodes to send their first requests for assistance to the armed forces in threatened areas. Brig. Gen. Grzegorz Barabieda, 1st Deputy Commander of the Territorial Defence Forces, revealed that he was the first to apply for the Małopolskie Voivodeship – on 12 September at 19.24 p.m. The first applications were submitted by: Opolskie Voivodeship (13 September at 12.14), Wielkopolska (13 September at 13.23), Lower Silesian (14 September at 15.15), Silesian (14 September at 15.32), Lubuski (16 September at 11.19) and West Pomerania (19 September at 10.37).
The generals stressed that together with representatives of another services, soldiers evacuated more than 4.5 1000 people from threatened areas. They besides praised the excellent cooperation between all services. – It was a full mobilization, not just troops, not just territorial defence troops. We as the Polish Army are soldiers, we wear the same uniforms. Cooperation between different types of armed forces and all uniformed services has been well organized. It was visible at all step," said the Brig-Gen. Grzegorz Barabieda besides praised the excellent cooperation at various levels with administrative authorities.
In conclusion, the subcommittee president recalled that the primary task of the armed forces is to defend the homeland. – The military should be utilized in the last hotel in a time of peace, erstwhile there are no another forces and means, and it must be utilized wisely. Although the example of another democratic countries shows that all countries, in the event of natural disasters, tend to go to the military, due to the fact that they do not keep specified forces and resources as would let them to face large-scale natural disasters themselves," said Marcin Ociepa. He besides added that it is natural in specified situations to usage military aid and very well that it is. He stressed that it is part of territorial defence troops, which are peculiarly predisposed to dealing with natural disasters. "Because these people come from local communities, these are teachers from those schools that have been flooded, these are employers and workers of these establishments, these are doctors from these hospitals," the MP said. He besides recalled the motto of the territorialists – "Always ready, always close" – and emphasized that it fits in with the expectations of the local community.
