Representatives of the following German government institutions
and military units took part in the meeting: the Federal Office for Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support, the Bundeswehr Logistics Center, the 1st Armored Division, the 4th Logistics Control Center and the Materiel Base in Zeithain.
The Polish side was represented by officials from the Land Forces Inspectorate of DGRSZ, the Tank and Automotive Service Directorate of the Armed Forces Support Inspectorate (IWspSZ), the 11th Lubusz Armored Cavalry Division (11LDKPanc) and the 43rd Military Economic Detachment (43WOG).
The meeting was coordinated and chaired by Major Piotr Ordyński, while soldiers of the 10BKPanc Support Team reporting to him were responsible for its organization and proceedings.
During the working session, the participants discussed and summarized the previous six months of logistical cooperation between Polish and German institutions, presented and agreed on plans and directions for further cooperation, and set the date of the next meeting.
At the end of the working session, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Różyński of IWspSZ presented the organizational structure, units and organizational cells of the Polish Armed Forces responsible for the operation of German equipment and maintaining its technical readiness.
The second part of the visit by the German delegation and guests from Polish Armed Forces institutions and units included a visit to the 10BKPanc Tradition Hall and a demonstration of Leopard 2A5 and Leopard 2A4 tanks, as well as the AGPT simulator used by the Leopard Training Center.
During the visit to the Tradition Hall, Major Wiktor Kotlarz of the civil-military cooperation section introduced the guests to the rich history of the units whose traditions are inherited by 10BKPanc and presented the brigade’s recent history, with particular emphasis on its soldiers’ participation in peacekeeping missions in Kosovo, Iraq, Chad and Afghanistan.
At the end of the visit to the Tradition Hall, Major Piotr Ordyński, on behalf of the brigade commander, Colonel Maciej Jabłoński, thanked Captain Hans Jürgen Hoffmann of the 4th Logistics Control Center in Sondershausen, who was retiring, for many years of cooperation in providing logistical support for the operation of German equipment operated by 10BKPanc. Major Dariusz Martyński also conveyed thanks on behalf of the commander of 43 WOG.
After moving to the technical equipment park, the guests from Germany were handed over to instructors from the Leopard Training Center, who introduced them to the armored equipment in service with the brigade and to the simulators used to train 10BKPanc tank crews. Paradoxically, many of the German guests had their first opportunity to examine the construction of German Leopard 2A4 and 2A5 tanks in such detail. As they noted, the equipment demonstration was highly interesting for them because most of them are logisticians who serve and work in military offices and institutions and do not have daily contact with the combat equipment used by the Bundeswehr.
The meeting concluded with a luncheon organized by 43 WOG in Świętoszów.
Text: Major Piotr Ordyński
Photos: Katarzyna Przepióra
