__NOTOC__ 18th Reconnaissance Regiment () is a unit of the

Polish Land Forces The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history str ...

and is based in

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

. It was formed from the former 18th Territorial Defense Battalion, which in turn was the former 18th Mechanized Brigade. It is the most recently formed unit of the Polish army, and one of three reconnaissance regiments.18 białostocki pułk rozpoznawczy otrzymał sztandar

History

On 23 April 2009 the Polish Minister of National Defense,

Bogdan Klich Bogdan Adam Klich (born on 8 May 1960 in Kraków) is a Polish politician, diplomat, and former minister of national defence of Poland. He currently serves as Poland Chargé d’Affaires ad interim to the United States. Until November 16, 2007 ...

, announced that the 18th Territorial Defense Battalion would be reorganized to create a reconnaissance regiment. The 18th Reconnaissance Regiment was formed on 1July 2009. On 15October 2009 the 18th Reconnaissance Regiment was authorised to use the standard of the 18th Territorial Defense Battalion until 15August 2010. On 11 November 2010, representatives of the 18th Reconnaissance Regiment, on behalf of the Minister of National Defense

, paid tribute at the grave of the late

ordinary Ordinary or The Ordinary often refer to: Music * ''Ordinary'' (EP) (2015), by South Korean group Beast * ''Ordinary'' (album) (2011), by Every Little Thing * "Ordinary" (Alex Warren song) (2025) * "Ordinary" (Two Door Cinema Club song) (2016 ...

orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

archbishop of the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

, Miron Chodakowski. The delegation was composed of the regimental commander Lieutenant Colonel Chris Lenkiewicz, Major Slawomir Ratyński and Captain Jan Busłowicz. The ceremony took place in the crypt church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary located in Supraśl, near Bialystok. On 30 June 2011, the regiment received its regimental standard from Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski at a ceremony in Kosciuszko Square,

before the monument to Marshal

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

. In late 2012 the regiment was posted to Afghanistan as part of the 12th rotation of the Polish Military Contingent there. It was proposed in 2014 that the model used to form the 18th Reconnaissance Regiment be used to establish further units and form a new reconnaissance brigade to be stationed in North-West Poland. The regiment took part in the Lynx 15 military exercises in December 2015.

Regimental standard

The new standard bears the national colors and emblem, and also expresses symbolic elements associated with the Bialystok coat of arms and contains commemorative badges of merit from the military units formerly stationed there: * 18th Territorial Defense Battalion and prior the former 18th Mechanized Brigade * 18 Infantry Division () * 42 Infantry Regiment im General

Jan Henryk Dąbrowski Jan Henryk Dąbrowski (; also known as Johann Heinrich Dąbrowski (Dombrowski) in German and Jean Henri Dombrowski in French; 2 August 1755 – 6 June 1818) was a Polish general and statesman, widely respected after his death for his patri ...

() * 10 Lithuanian Cavalry Regiment () Prop 10pul

Organization

The regiment has the following component sub-units: * Regimental Command Staff * Command Company * Logistics Company * 1st Reconnaissance Company * 2nd Reconnaissance Company * 3rd Reconnaissance Company * 4th Reconnaissance Company * 5th Reconnaissance Company * 6th Reconnaissance Company

References

{{Białystok Regiments of Poland's land forces Army reconnaissance regiments Military units and formations established in 2009