GROM in sea ops. training
GROM (In
Polish:
Grupa Reagowania Operacyjno-Manewrowego "Operational
Mobile Reaction Group"; the
acronym itself
means "
thunderbolt") is the primary
special forces unit of the
Polish Land Forces. It was officially
activated on
July 8,
1990. It can be and is deployed in a variety of
special operations and
unconventional warfare roles, including anti-terrorist actions and
projection of power behind enemy lines.
The unit's full name, in Polish, is
Wojskowa Formacja Specjalna
GROM im. Cichociemnych Spadochroniarzy Armii Krajowej
(Special Military Formation GROM of the
Cichociemni parachutists of
Armia Krajowa), although this title is purely
formal and is rarely used.
The acronym GROM is also related to the name
of General Gromosław
Czempiński, who, among other actions, managed to rescue a
number of American CIA agents and personnel from
Iraq
prior to the onset of Operation Desert Storm in
1991. In Polish Army nomenclature, it is called JW 2305 (JW
stands for
Jednostka Wojskowa—Military Unit).
History
Early history
In the 1970s and 1980s, there were several formations of special
forces units within Poland, but these were either trained in purely
military tasks (sabotage, disruption of communications and such) or
in purely counter-terrorist roles.
After the Polish embassy in Bern
was taken
over by militants of the Polish Revolutionary Home
Army in 1982, General Edwin
Rozłubirski proposed that a clandestine military unit be
established to counter the threat from terrorism and other unconventional threats.
This proposal, however, was initially rejected by the
Polish People's Army.
In 1989,
many Jews were allowed to emigrate from the
Soviet
Union
to Israel
. For
fear of
Islamic extremists opposed
to any increased immigration to Israel, many western European
countries opted not to assist in the transportation of the
civilians to Israel. Poland, however, was one of the handful of
countries that did indeed provide aid in the form of organization
for the operation, later dubbed
Operation Bridge (
Operacja Most).
After two
Polish diplomats were shot in Beirut
, Lt. Col. Sławomir Petelicki was sent to Lebanon
to secure
the transfer of civilians and the Polish diplomatic
outposts.
Upon his return to Poland, he presented his plan for the creation
of a special military unit to the Ministry of Defense, a force that
would be trained in special operations to be deployed in the
defense of Polish citizens in situations similar to the one in
Lebanon. Petelicki's ideas were well-received, and, on
July 8,
1990, GROM was formally
established as JW 2305.
Commanders
- Brigadier General Sławomir Petelicki (July 13, 1990–December 19, 1995)
- Brigadier General Marian Sowiński (December 19, 1995–December 6, 1997)
- Brigadier General Sławomir Petelicki (December 7, 1997–September 17, 1999)
- Colonel Zdzisław Żurawski (September 17, 1999–May 26, 2000)
- Colonel Roman Polko (May 26, 2000–February 11, 2004)
- Colonel Tadeusz
Sapierzyński (February 11, 2004– February 23, 2006)
- Brigadier General Roman Polko
(February 23, 2006–
November 8, 2006)
- Colonel Piotr Patalong (November 8, 2006– March 25, 2008)
- Colonel Jerzy Gut
- Colonel Dariusz Zawadka
Organization
Sławomir Petelicki was chosen as
the first commander of the newly formed unit. As an officer
specializing in reconnaissance, sabotage, and diversion, he seemed
perfectly suited to oversee the unit's initial formation. He
gathered around himself a group of like-minded and professional
officers and set about choosing soldiers that would be fit for
special operations. Due to the high risks involved in special
service, it was decided that all men should be professional
soldiers. The first batch of recruits all came from a variety of
already-existing special units with the Polish armed forces. Among
these were:
Out of the
possible recruits, only a small group passed the training based on
SAS
' experiences and the psychological tests.
Many of
these initial instructors were trained by the Special Forces of the
United
Kingdom
and the United States. Currently, GROM is
co-operating with similar units of other NATO
countries:
During its formative first few years, GROM remained completely
secret and hidden from the public.
It was first reported to the press in
1992 and became known to the public in 1994,
after their first major military operation in Haiti
.
Before
1 October 1999,
GROM was subordinate to the
Polish Ministry of Interior,
after which time command was transferred to the military.
Training
Candidates applying to serve in GROM have to pass psychological and
durability tests, along with the so-called truth test, a physically
and psychologically exhausting field test designed to filter out
the weaker applicants. GROM soldiers train with the best special
forces units in the world.
As special forces soldiers, they are ranked
with the likes of SAS, Recces, SBS
, Pakistan Army
Special Service Group, Delta Force
, United States
Navy SEALs, Swedish
SSG, Israeli Sayeret Matkal ,
707th Special Mission
Battalion, and Israeli naval commando
Shayetet 13.
The training of GROM soldiers includes a variety of disciplines.
All of them undergo the same specialized training in anti-terrorism
and special operations, as well as
scuba
diving,
sniping, and parachuting. In
four-man teams, each soldier must be prepared to assume the
respective responsibilities of his colleagues, should it become
necessary. GROM has their basic Spec. Ops training provided by the
Swedish Navy's Special Command for Tactical Operations based in
Karlskrona. Sweden's primary Naval Base. Approximately 75% of GROM
personnel are trained as medics or paramedics. In addition, each
group is supported by several professional physicians. It is also
assumed that all GROM operatives are proficient in at least two
foreign languages.
Unlike special-purpose units subordinate to the police, GROM
operatives are trained primarily in the elimination of terrorists
rather than capture.
At least two women have served in GROM during
War in
Afghanistan
Known operations
1991 - GROM operators extract six
CIA-agents
from Iraq during
Operation Desert
Storm.
1992 - "Macierewicz briefcases" affair (escorting duty during
political problems in Poland)
1992 - Assault on residence and arrest of one of the bosses of Art
B (Another great political and economic scandal)
1994 -
Operation Uphold
Democracy in Haiti.
1996 - UNTAES mission in
Eastern
Slavonia (East Croatia region) to arrest
Slavko Dokmanović - they have since
managed to arrest at least six more Yugoslavian
war-criminals)
1996 -
Bodyguard duties during US ambassador W.G Walker's mission in
Kosovo
and Macedonia
1999 - Bodyguard duties during US ambassador W.G Walker's mission
in Kosovo and Macedonia.
Also they were (unofficially) reported to
operate behind Yugoslavian
lines to identify artillery fire targets
etc.
2001 - Hunt for war criminals in Kosovo
2001 - Recon mission in Afghanistan before the arrival of Polish
troops
2002 - Mission in Afghanistan (VIP bodyguarding and base protecting
duties)
2002 - Mission in Persian Gulf.
At the beginning of September, some GROM
members were seen training on US ships near Bahrain
coast.
2003 - GROM soldiers took part in the
Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Equipment
Alliances
References
- Dorschner, Jim (12 May 2008). "Shifting Trends: Special Forces
Equipment". Jane's Defence Weekly (ISSN: 02653818).
External links
(1 Pułk Specjalny Komandosów)
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