The Polish army loses the architect of its transformation
(B2) The Polish Chief of Staff, Franciszek Gagor, who died in thepolish presidential plane crash, on April 10, 2010, was a man convinced of the necessary Polish presence in international missions.
Very early on, while Poland was still part of the communist bloc, he went on an international mission to the Middle East, to which he remained very attached, making several stays there. He will also be one of the architects of the reform of the Polish army aimed at transforming it from a territorial force to an external projection force, in charge more particularly of the training and planning of peacekeeping forces.
An armored man
Born in Koniuszowa near Nowy Sącz in 1951, Franciszek Gagor was assigned in 1973 to the 2nd tank regiment, where he served in several positions until 1978. He then moved to the college of mechanized infantry officers in Wroclaw as instructor responsible for the preparation and training of Polish contingents designated to take part in peacekeeping operations (until 1988). Head of the peacekeeping division at the general staff (1993), he became director of the peace operations and arms control office in 1994 then director of the foreign military affairs department (1996-1999). Promoted to brigadier-general in 197, he was appointed, in 1999, head J3 of the directorate of operations at the staff of the Polish armed forces, where he remained until 2003. He then moved to Brussels as Polish military representative to NATO and the EU (2003-2006). Then was appointed Chief of Staff (CEMA).
Processor of the Polish army
Close to the Americans - decorated with the Legion of Merit by President Bush - he ensured a continuous commitment of the Poles first in Iraq (1) then in Afghanistan (Iraqi Freedom et Enduring Freedom). But he is also an architect of Polish military involvement in EU operations, notably for EUFOR Chad, where Poland played a major role, by commanding the northern sector (Iriba). He was also decorated for this role with the badge of Commander of the Legion of Honor in December 2008 by the French CEMA, General Georgelin on the occasion of the meeting of the chiefs of staff of the countries of the Weimar triangle (France-Germany-Poland).
Peacekeepers in the Middle East
Gagor served very early, and several times, in the forces of the blue helmets of the United Nations deployed in the Middle East. Principal interpreter in the UNEF II mission, responsible for supervising the ceasefire between Egypt and Israel (1976), he also served on several occasions in the United Nations forces responsible for monitoring the disengagement from the Golan (Israeli conflict - Syria): as an officer (1980-1981, then commander of the Polish battalion (1985-1986), deputy chief in charge of logistics (1989-1990) and finally commander of the UNDOF (August 2003 - January 2004).
Iraq and Kuwait
Gagor is the second in command of the Polish military contingent engaged in Operation "Desert Storm" led by an international coalition under the leadership of the USA. He was then the deputy commander of United Nations observers (UNIKOM) responsible for monitoring the ceasefire between Kuwait and Iraq (1991-1992). He returned there in 2003 as Commander-in-Chief.
(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)
(1) NB: it should be remembered that with the British and the Australians, the Polish forces were the only ones to be part of the "first entry forces" during the US offensive in Iraq in 2003.
