As tradition dictates, former soldiers, friends and supporters of the once-elite commando unit gathered at the monument to the Fallen Soldiers of the First Independent Commando Company and the Deceased Soldiers of the 62nd Special Company.
The soldiers’ roll call was preceded by the second Cross Commando race for the Brown Bear statuette. This year, the increasingly popular race attracted more than 300 participants from across the country, who competed over a difficult and varied 8.5-kilometre course.
The race was held in several categories, including the most difficult one, in which participants had to complete the designated route carrying weapons, in full military uniform and with a 20-kilogram backpack. This reproduced standard No. 13, which soldiers of the 62nd Special Company carried out during their service.
Every participant received a commemorative medal upon completing the race, while the winners of the individual categories received Brown Bear statuettes and material prizes.
The main point of the celebrations was a ceremonial roll call of the generations of soldiers, during which the history and achievements of the unit were recalled and fallen and deceased soldiers were commemorated.
The commandos’ meeting on the anniversary of the unit’s establishment has become a tradition and attracts an increasing number of former soldiers and supporters of the 62nd Special Company “Commando” each year. This year’s celebrations were attended, among others, by the former commander of the Special Forces, retired Brigadier General Marek Olbrycht, generals Janusz Ornatowski, Antoni Skibiński and Bronisław Peikert, commanders: Colonel Sławomir Drumowicz of Military Unit AGAT and Colonel Wiesław Kukuła of the Special Forces Commando Unit. The General Command of the Branches of the Armed Forces was represented by Colonel Sławomir Owczarek, deputy head of the WRiA Board; the 11th Lubusz Armoured Cavalry Division by Brigadier General Maciej Jabłoński, commander of the 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade; and the 23rd Artillery Regiment by its commander, Colonel Paweł Świtalski.
The “maroon berets” accompanied the development of the city and region for 27 years. This was underscored by the participation of Cezary Przybylski, Marshal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, as well as the Bolesławiec county governor and the mayor of Bolesławiec.
Among the numerous representatives of institutions cooperating with the Association, the ceremony was attended by Krzysztof Kułacz, director of the KGHM Polska Miedź Foundation.
The vice-president of the Association of Former Soldiers of the 62nd Special Company “Commando”, Bogdan Fiałkowski, honoured the association’s most distinguished members with gold, silver and bronze badges of the 62nd Special Company “Commando”, and the commanders of units and heads of institutions cooperating with the Association with commemorative gorgets.
This year’s “Commando Rally” was all the more special because, thanks to the efforts of the “Commando” veterans’ community and veterans of the 62nd Special Company, the military standard of the elite unit finally found an honoured place in the Hall of Tradition of the Special Forces Commando Unit in Lubliniec—the successors to the achievements and rich legacy of, among others, the Bolesławiec commandos.
Colonel Wiesław Kukuła, Commander of the Special Forces Commando Unit, who attended the ceremony, emphasised the close ties with the soldiers’ community of the 62nd Special Company, referring to the traditions of the Polish Armed Forces’ special units inherited by his unit.
The ceremonial roll call ended with the laying of flowers at the monument commemorating the fallen and deceased soldiers of the First Independent Commando Company and the deceased soldiers of the 62nd Special Company. It was followed by the traditional parade of the generations of “Bolesławiec maroon berets”—soldiers of the special company.
After the ceremonial roll call, participants had the opportunity to view specialist equipment presented by soldiers of the 9th Warmian Reconnaissance Regiment, as well as historical equipment presented by the Historical Reconstruction Group of the 1st Independent Commando Company from Swarzędz and Świdnica.
The meeting concluded with a gathering of members of the Association of Former Soldiers of the 62nd Special Company, after which the commandos visited the graves of deceased comrades buried in the Bolesławiec cemetery.
Capt. Remigiusz Kwieciński