Why December 21?
Brigade:
This date refers to the most tragic event in the history of the participation of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland in missions outside the country, which took place on December 21, 2011, when five Polish soldiers from the 20th Mechanized Brigade were killed as a result of a booby-trap explosion.
A delegation consisting of wounded veterans of the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade paid tribute to the fallen soldiers from our unit, heroes of peacetime, by lighting candles beneath the commemorative plaque dedicated to Lieutenant Łukasz Kurowski and Corporal Hubert Kowalewski, who died while carrying out combat duties in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
More about the late Łukasz Kurowski
Łukasz Kurowski (born February 14, 1979, died August 14, 2007) was a Polish military commander and second lieutenant of the Polish Army, a participant in the first rotation of the Polish Military Contingent in Afghanistan and the first Polish soldier to die during the stabilization mission in Afghanistan. He was awarded the Commander’s Cross of the Order of the Military Cross and the NATO Meritorious Service Medal (NATO Meritorious Service Medal).
Łukasz Kurowski came from Rybitwy near Gniezno and later lived in Lusowo, also in what was then the Poznań Voivodeship. He graduated from Poznań University of Technology. In 2003–2004, he completed officer training at the Higher School of Land Forces Officers in Wrocław, obtaining the military rank of second lieutenant in the general military corps, in the armored group. He was assigned to his first post—as a tank platoon commander—in the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade named after Gen. Stanisław Maczek in Świętoszów.
At the beginning of 2007, he left for the stabilization mission of the Polish Military Contingent as part of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. He served in the Operational Advisory and Liaison Team of the Polish Battle Group in Gardez. On August 14, 2007, he took part in a patrol of Polish and Afghan forces. The convoy of HMMWV vehicles carrying the soldiers came under fire, followed by an exchange of fire. Despite immediate medical assistance, Second Lieutenant Łukasz Kurowski died of his wounds.
He was posthumously promoted to the rank of lieutenant. On August 16, his body was transported to Poland by military aircraft. The funeral, held on August 18, was attended by Minister of National Defence Aleksander Szczygło, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army Gen. Franciszek Gągor, Land Forces Commander Lt. Gen. Waldemar Skrzypczak, Operational Commander of the Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Bronisław Kwiatkowski, and the Field Bishop of the Polish Army Maj. Gen. Tadeusz Płoski.
More about the late Hubert Kowalewski
Hubert Kowalewski (born August 3, 1981, died February 26, 2008, in Afghanistan) was a corporal in the Polish Army.
He began his military service in 2001 as a tank gunner in the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade in Świętoszów. He applied to join extended-term service and in 2002 was called up as an extended-term soldier. He completed Leopard 2A4 tank crew training in Germany. In 2005, he participated in the fourth rotation of the Polish Military Contingent in Iraq as a gunner. On October 15, 2007, as a senior private, he began serving in the second rotation of the Polish Military Contingent in Afghanistan.
On February 26, 2008, at approximately 3:45 p.m. Polish time, three kilometers from Sharana base in Afghanistan’s Paktika Province, a Humvee carrying soldiers returning from a meeting with the elders of a nearby village, where they had discussed humanitarian aid, hit a mine. One soldier was wounded and two were killed on the spot, including Senior Private Hubert Kowalewski of the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade in Świętoszów.
Posthumously, the Minister of National Defence promoted Senior Private Hubert Kowalewski to the rank of corporal; the President of the Republic of Poland awarded him the Knight’s Cross of the Order of the Military Cross for outstanding service in operations conducted during combat actions, for courage and personal bravery, as well as the Afghanistan Star and Iraq Star; and the commander of the Polish Military Contingent in Afghanistan honored him with the NATO Medal for participation in the ISAF mission.