Roman Polko (born November 8, 1962, in

Tychy Tychy (Polish pronunciation: ; ) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, approximately south of Katowice. Situated on the southern edge of the Upper Silesian industrial district, the city borders Katowice to the north, Mikołów to the west, Bie ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

) is a retired Polish army special forces officer, acting chief of Biuro Bezpieczeństwa Narodowego (Bureau of National Security), former commander of " JW GROM", doctor of military science studies, speciality: management. Polko graduated from the"

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko (; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, and military leader who then became a national hero in Poland, the United States, Lithuania, and ...

Land Forces Military Academy" in

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

. He served in a reconnaissance unit in Dziwnów, then in the " 1st Special Commando Regiment" in Lubliniec, as commander of commando groups. From 1992 until 1994 he took part in the

UNPROFOR The United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR; also known by its French acronym FORPRONU: ''Force de Protection des Nations Unies'') was the first United Nations peacekeeping force in Croatia and in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and ...

peace mission in former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. In 1994 Polko began to study at the " National Defence University in Warsaw", after that he served in the position of a senior operation officer in the " Czerwone Berety" (Red Berets) in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. He also finished

Ranger School The Ranger School is a 62-day United States Army small unit tactics and leadership course that develops functional skills directly related to units whose mission is to engage the enemy in close combat and direct fire battles. Ranger training w ...

and Pathfinder Course in USA. In 1999 Polko became popular commander of the "18th Landing-Assault Battalion" from

Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; ; , ; ) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 166,765 as of December 2022, making it the List of cities and towns in Poland#Largest cities and towns by population, 22nd largest city in Poland, and an a ...

, which was a part of the Polish military contingent in the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

KFOR forces in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. Polko was assigned as commander of the Polish contingent. From May 26, 2000, until February 11, 2004, he was commander of the special forces unit " GROM". He commanded the GROM unit behind enemy lines in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, during the

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

. In 2006 Polko returned to active duty, on February 23 again became commander of GROM. Since March 2006 brigadier general (

generał brygady Brigadier general ( Polish: ''generał brygady'' , abbreviated ''gen. bryg.'') is the lowest grade for generals in the Polish Army (both in the land forces and in the Polish Air Force). Depending on the context, it is equivalent to both the moder ...

). On September 7, 2006, Polko was nominated for the post of deputy chief of Biuro Bezpieczeństwa Narodowego (Bureau of National Security). In August 2007 he became acting chief of National Security Bureau, because previous chief was nominated for the post of minister of internal affairs. On August 15, 2007, Polko was promoted to major general (

generał dywizji Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an Division (military), army division. The rank originates from the General officer#French Revolutionary system, French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. The ran ...

). He is an active sportsman, taking part in marathons, ski and parachute instructor (master class). At the 19th Pol'and'Rock Festival he was invited to speak at the "Akademia Sztuk Przepięknych" (eng. "Academy of (very) Beautiful Arts").

Honours and decorations

: Silver Cross of Merit : Armed Forces in Service for the Country Medal (Silver) : Medal for Merit for the Country Defense (Gold) : US Commendation Medal BAR

Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

(United States Army) : United Nations 'In The Service Of Peace' Medal – UNPROFOR : NATO medal for Kosovo ribbon

NATO Medal for Kosovo Service : Legion of Merit ribbon

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

(United States)

External links

* http://www.grom.mil.pl/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Polko, Roman Polish generals People from Tychy 1962 births Living people Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Cross of Merit (Poland)

Honours and decorations

See also

External links