Gość: Lukasz z USA
IP: 206.198.5.*
17.06.03, 18:50
story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030614/ap_on_re_eu/polishing_an_army_3
I am a US Fulbright scholar who is in Poland for the year studying exactly
this - military modernization. Here are a couple of points:
"Poland's defense reform is being pushed along by a growing number of
officers trained at U.S. military academies, including the top commanders of
ground forces and the air force."
Reality - Poland stopped sending its soldiers to US military academies in
1997 (although the US offered to pay for the expense 100%) and the graduates
(all of 13 who I know and interviewed) are ignored and passed over for
promotion and used mainly for translation purposes because they
think "differently". Three have since dropped out and went into the civilian
sector as protest.
"Other Cold War vestiges have faded as Poland meshes its standards and
military planning with NATO"
On the surface, perhaps, but the mentality of the old generals in the General
Staff at the Ministry of Defenes still remains old school. A retired Polish
general told me that about half the generals still think in Cold War
mentality. A Polish Professor told me that a month ago he was teaching a
background course about Poland to visitng US army officers and they told him
that they were surprised at the remaining vestiges of Cold war mindset in the
Polish upper ranks.
As for GROM, they are indeed very impressure, although, sadly, the Polish
Ministry of Defense is cannabolizing them; their funding was slashed (causing
many experienced soldiers to leave) and further efforts are planned to limit
them (mostly due to jealously I believe).
Lastly, the English language problem is much more bigger than portrayed in
the article.Currently, Poland cannot even fill its open slots for staff at
NATO headquarters becuase it cannot find enought eligible officers who know
enough English.
Anyway, that is just the info from behind the scenes.
