The artillerymen’s fire activity test was the NAWAŁA-14 Fire Control Exercise, conducted on 4–5 December this year by the regiment commander, Colonel Andrzej Lorenc. Nearly three hundred artillerymen gathered at the foot of Presidential Hill on the morning of 4 December for the formation marking the start of the exercise. Following the exercise’s inauguration by the deputy exercise director, Lieutenant Colonel Paweł Świtalski, the regiment command post staff and the exercising firing battalions began the practical implementation of the planned activities. During the preparatory stage, tasks were assigned to subordinate units at the command post of the 23rd Artillery Regiment, and the activities were synchronized.
At 6:30 p.m., the first shots were fired by the 122 mm WR-40 Langusta launchers. The artillerymen of the 3rd Rocket Artillery Battalion, commanded by Major Piotr Kobyłecki, were the first to carry out their fire missions. After completing the assigned task, the firing batteries moved to successive firing-position areas, carrying out missions with live ammunition in both nighttime and daytime conditions. At the same time, the crews of the 152 mm DANA self-propelled howitzers of the 1st Self-Propelled Artillery Battalion, commanded by Major Dariusz Kramarski, conducted firing. The Automated TOPAZ Fire Control System was used during the firing, supporting the commander’s work and enabling the use of weapons to be optimized.
The training plan included a range of tactical and fire missions, whose execution was assessed by exercise-control personnel. Alongside conducting fire operations, the units carried out tasks related to combat support. The participants had to respond to a series of simulated incidents and complex situations. Their actions and response times were assessed.
During the training, 12 live-fire missions were completed, including six at night. All projectiles hit their targets with the required accuracy. The battalions’ high level of training was also demonstrated by the times in which the units maneuvered within the firing-position area and achieved firing readiness. As part of integrating the artillery units of the 11th Lubusz Armoured Cavalry Division, a self-propelled artillery battalion and a support company from the 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade also took part in the training. In addition, a Fly-Eye unmanned aerial vehicle from the 23rd Artillery Regiment and an Mi-2 helicopter from the 1st Aviation Brigade of the Land Forces were used to observe targets and assess the effects of fire.
The training plan meant that the celebrations of “Artillery Barbórka,” held on 4 December, were enhanced by the sound of gun and rocket artillery fire from the 11th Lubusz Armoured Cavalry Division. After completing their tasks, the participants assembled for a military ceremony to mark Rocket and Artillery Forces Day. The commander of the 11th Lubusz Armoured Cavalry Division, Major General Jarosław Mika, and the division’s Chief of Rocket and Artillery Forces, Colonel Mirosław Misior, took part in the fire missions and the artillery holiday celebrations.
The military ceremony was attended by a large group of artillerymen and former regiment soldiers, as well as commanders of units and institutions cooperating with the regiment. After ceremonial orders were read, Colonel LORENC honored the soldiers who had achieved the highest results in training activities. The winners of this year’s titles of “Officer, Non-Commissioned Officer and Private of the Year” and “Masters of Fire” were then honored. “People are truly great thanks to the institutions that remain after them” – with these words of Napoleon, I express my respect for the artillery units and formations covered in glory, whose traditions are maintained by the 23rd Artillery Regiment… The achievements of our predecessors are not only an obligation, but also a duty to promote good military and artillery traditions,” said the regiment commander, Colonel Andrzej Lorenc.
At the end, the commander of the Bolesławiec artillerymen thanked the soldiers for their commitment and training results to date. The commander of the “Black Division,” Major General Jarosław MIKA, also addressed military greetings to the artillerymen. The military ceremony concluded with a parade of the units and artillery equipment that had taken part in the Fire Control Exercise.
Capt. Remigiusz Kwieciński
