During the farewell ceremony for soldiers departing on a mission to Kosovo, held on Friday, 13 May, at Piłsudski Square in Bolesławiec, the commander of the 23rd Silesian Artillery Regiment, Colonel Paweł Świtalski, spoke: “The task of forming and preparing the contingent forces in Kosovo fell to the Regiment for the second time. The contingent received—in short, I do not want to boast—the highest possible rating. This proves that the effort put into training was not wasted. The Swedish diplomat and former UN Secretary-General Dag Hammerskjöld spoke these memorable words: ‘Peacekeeping is not a job for soldiers, but only soldiers can do it.’”
He added: “Soldiers, I would like to thank you once again for your commitment, availability and the effort you have put into training. A difficult and important challenge lies ahead of you: over the coming months, you will carry out a highly responsible stabilisation task in one of Europe’s most volatile areas. I deeply believe that you will perform it well.”
“I did not expect the 23rd Artillery Regiment, on the basis of which another rotation of the Polish military contingent is being formed, and the soldiers of other units comprising this contingent to raise the standard so much,” emphasized Major General Jarosław Mika. “Soldiers, remember one thing: there is no such thing as a safe mission. You are going to carry out your duties in a country that is only now building its democracy and identity. You are there to help with this. I wish you a very safe and peaceful mission. But be careful at every step. Colonel Jarosław Radzimierski, everyone is to return home in one piece, healthy and happy.”
The soldiers serving on the mission were blessed by the chaplain of the 23rd Artillery Regiment, Lieutenant Paweł Antkiewicz. The ceremony ended with a parade by the Regiment’s subunits.
The first soldiers will be sent to the mission area on Tuesday.
The core of the contingent, whose formation and preparation were assigned to the 23rd Silesian Artillery Regiment, consists of soldiers from the Bolesławiec unit. The Polish KFOR contingent will be commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Jarosław Radzimierski, who commands a self-propelled artillery battalion in the 23rd Artillery Regiment.
The XXXIV rotation of the Polish Military Contingent KFOR also includes soldiers from units of the 11th “Lubuska” Armoured Cavalry Division from Żagań, the Special Military Police Unit from Mińsk Mazowiecki, the 1st Pomeranian Logistics Brigade, the Centre for Preparation for Foreign Missions, the Central Psychological Operations Group, the 9th Warmian Reconnaissance Regiment, as well as other training units and centres. The contingent comprises 243 soldiers and civilian military employees.