In the first days of September, a soldier from the 23rd Silesian Artillery Regiment in Bolesławiec took part in an expedition to the highest mountain of the Dark Continent. The goal? To test his abilities and prove to himself that fulfilling a dream—in this case, reaching Africa’s highest peak—requires only determination, strength of character and faith in one’s own abilities.
The goal was achieved and the mountain conquered. As Master Warrant Officer Maciej Nastalski admits, when he stood on the summit of Kilimanjaro, he felt enormous satisfaction, similar to that he experienced while climbing Ljuboten together with soldiers of the PKW KFOR during the contingent’s 28th rotation. At that time, the Polish soldiers were united on the summit by the Polish flag.
This time, he reached the summit carrying the Regiment’s flag, because despite the civilian nature of the expedition, which involved Poles from various parts of the country, as long as one wears the uniform, one is always a soldier.
Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest mountain and one of the highest isolated massifs. It consists of three peaks that are remnants of three volcanoes:
- Uhuru on the Kibo volcano—5,895 m above sea level
- Mawenzi—5,150 m above sea level
- Shira—3,940 m above sea level