Poland in NATO

The soldiers and equipment of the 21st Podhale Rifles Brigade will move from Rzeszów to the training ground in Orzysz on the roads of the following provinces: Podkarpackie, Lubelskie, Mazowieckie, Podlaskie and Warmińsko - Mazurskie. Transports will be organised according to the regulations currently in force in order to cause as little disruption for the traffic as possible. Some track-laying vehicles will be moved by railway.

Throughout 2020, the 21st Podhale Rifles Brigade is on duty as a Land Brigade of NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF). The autumn series of trainings, including participation in cyclically organized exercises, has been planned for many months and is the next stage of training after obtaining the confirmation of the ability to act in the elite high readiness forces.

Prior to the deployment abroad, the soldiers of the 21st Brigade will conduct exercises at the training ground in Orzysz. Then they will move to Lithuania where at the turn of October and November two exercises will be held: Brilliant Jump II 20 and Iron Wolf 20. Brilliant Jump is organized every two years by the Allied Joint Force Command in Brunssum (the Netherlands) and Iron Wolf  is a national exercise organized by the Lithuanian Iron Wolf Brigade with the participation of NATO Allies.

The exercises with the participation of the Polish Army are aimed at fulfilling our Allied obligations and testing the procedures for the transfer of troops forming the NATO Response Force, including NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) and their readiness to cooperate with Allies in a joint defence operation on the territory of NATO member states.

From August 2019, the 21st Podhale Rifles Brigade is part of the 18th Mechanized Division. Its formation is one of the key elements in the process of strengthening and expansion of the defence potential of the Polish Army. The newly formed tactical union will meet all NATO standards and will be ready to be used as part of the Alliance. The Polish Army is systematically trained to maintain operational capabilities and a high level of combat readiness.

Poland attaches great importance to the transparency of military activities and cares about building trust and security in our region. Therefore all member states of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe have been notified about the planned relocation of troops and their participation in the Brilliant Jump and Iron Wolf exercises.

The Polish Army returns to active participation in previously planned Allied and multinational exercises after a period of less intensive training, caused by the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, soldiers remain aware of the epidemic situation and follow recommendations to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

***
The core of the VJTF in 2020 is comprised of Poland’s 21st Podhale Rifles Brigade, supported by units from Poland’s 12th Mechanized Division, the 3rd Transport Aviation Wing, Military Police, as well as logistics experts and CBRN specialists. The spearhead also includes soldiers from 12 countries of the alliance.

***
On September 18, at the training ground in Nowa Dęba, the Minister of National Defence observed an exercise of units of the 18th Mechanized Division, which was organized for the land forces. The Polish Air Force also carries out autumn training in accordance with the national training plan and in cooperation with Allies. Polish fighters jets take part in a recurrent exercise Astral Knight conducted by the USA in the central and northern part of our country, as well as abroad – Tobruq Legacy and Ramstein Alloy training and some other domestic.

 

Ministry of National Defence