Polish military police specialized units

Military Review,  March-April, 2008  by Boguslaw Pacek

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

In today's Poland, as in most European countries, there is no fear of armed aggression from neighboring states. There is, however, clear and present danger of a terrorist threat. The September 11 attacks on the World trade Center and the Pentagon are indicative of this threat and point to the changed state of affairs at the turn of the new century. Subsequent terrorist attacks in the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and other countries reinforce the notion that in today's world no one can feel completely safe. Consequently, many states have readjusted their defense strategies and adopted a new approach towards terrorism. Creation of specialized units for antiterrorist prevention tasks is one of a variety of measures currently underway by many nations to meet the new security exigencies. In 2004-2005, Poland took the lead in this effort by creating three military police specialized units (MPSUS).

MPSU Force Specifics

In creating Poland's MPSUS, planners made the following assumptions based on NATO requirements:

* Units must be equipped and established at relatively low cost.

* All personnel have to be fully trained and professional.

* Training, equipment, and armament must be adequate for anticipated needs (similar to that of special operations forces and civilian special police units).

* Units must be highly mobile and able to deploy rapidly into a theater of operation.

* Unit employment requires proper legal police authority.

* Organizational structure should allow for modularity.

The MPSUS are fitted with standard and special police equipment, light weaponry (to include machine guns), modern emergency vehicles designed for anticipated needs, and basic vehicles (Land Rovers, Polish-made Boar II armored patrol vehicles, all-terrain command vehicles, and others) for transporting the basic six-man modular unit. Some MPSU sub-units are equipped with smooth-bore shotguns, antitank grenade launchers, and sharp-shooting rifles. Acquisition of electronic weapons is planned. Possession of nonlethal weapons is one important factor that distinguishes MPSUS from regular military units.

Military police specialized unit modularity gives commanders the flexibility to create smaller units that can be tailored to fit a specific mission or operation. As noted, the basic module is a 6-man section, with a platoon of 30 MPs being comprised of 5 such sections. In task organizing an MPSU force for a particular mission, existing elements (section, platoon, company, and battalion) can be used, or several modular components can be mixed together.

Recruitment for these specialized units is accomplished through careful selection of candidates from the territorial MP units, army units, and the Reserves. Selection criteria are delineated in a separate ministerial decision. All candidates must be at least 175 centimeters in height, in good health, and enjoy a good reputation in their area of residence. Candidates must qualify in English, be physically fit, and have the right psychological profile. Although there are many candidates for the specialized units, frequently dozens for one slot, the demanding criteria results in a low selection rate.

One military police specialized unit is already active--at Gliwice, in southern Poland--and it is the only operational NATO unit of such a type. Two of the units are in the training and development phase. The units currently employ a total of 1,500 well-trained, thoroughly professional military police (MP) personnel, but it is expected that the units will soon reach their target number of 2,000 MPs. Poland, as the "lead nation" working alongside the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Croatia, will create more such units, all of which will meet NATO standards.

MPSU Training

Military police specialized unit training is divided into three consecutive six-month periods. Instruction is intended to prepare soldiers in a high tempo environment to perform police-related tasks, to include--

* Conduct patrols.

* Escort convoys.

* Control vehicles and persons.

* Participate in pretrial procedures.

* Secure accident sites and crime scenes.

* Conduct prophylactic and preventative. activities.

* Capture and seizure of perpetrators (including armed criminals).

* Search for extremely dangerous criminals.

* Provide security at VIP functions.

Special MPs must also be trained to undertake tasks to combat terrorism. To prevent or respond to land-based acts of terrorism, such tasks would include intelligence gathering; securing and cordoning off incident scenes, organizing detours, and similar missions; and securing persons and facilities. In the case of airborne acts of terror, MPSUs need to be trained to conduct observation and intelligence gathering, secure aviation-incident sites, perform pretrial processing tasks, and participate in land-sweeping operations and other antiterrorism actions. During epidemic emergencies or the aftermath of biological, radiological, or chemical acts of terrorism, MPSU tasks would be similar, and the three units will train appropriately. To prepare for both such scenarios, training requires MPs to conduct observation and intelligence gathering, secure an endangered facility or area, reorganize and integrate with other forces to deal with threats, and dispatch trial-related responsibilities.