Tadeusz Buk (15 December 1960 – 10 April 2010) was a Polish military figure. He received numerous military and civil awards, including the

Order of Polonia Restituta , image=Polonia Restituta - Commander's Cross pre-1939 w rib.jpg , image_size=200px , caption=Commander's Cross of Polonia Restituta , presenter = the President of Poland , country = , type=Five classes , eligibility=All , awar ...

. Buk was born at

Mójcza Mójcza is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Daleszyce, within Kielce County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Daleszyce and south-east of the regional capital Kielce K ...

. He served as commander of the

Polish Land Forces The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...

until his death in the

2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash On 10 April 2010, a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft operating Polish Air Force Flight 101 crashed near the Russian city of Smolensk, killing all 96 people on board. Among the victims were the president of Poland, Lech Kaczyński, and his wife, Ma ...

near

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

Education

Buk graduated from

Juliusz Słowacki Juliusz Słowacki (; french: Jules Slowacki; 4 September 1809 – 3 April 1849) was a Polish Romantic poet. He is considered one of the " Three Bards" of Polish literature — a major figure in the Polish Romantic period, and the father of m ...

high school in

Kielce Kielce (, yi, קעלץ, Keltz) is a city in southern Poland, and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the ba ...

. In 1984, he graduated from the Academy of Armed Forces Officers in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

Military service

* In 1984, he joined the 29th Medium Tank Regiment in

Żagań Żagań (French and german: Sagan, hsb, Zahań , la, Saganum) is a town in western Poland, on the Bóbr river, with 25,731 inhabitants (2019). The town is the capital of Żagań County in the historic region of Silesia. Previously in the Ziel ...

and served in this unit until 1991. * In 1991, he enrolled at the Faculty of Land Forces of the National Defence Academy in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

. * Between 1993 and 1995, he served, inter alia, in the 18th Battalion Airborne assault and 6 Air Assault Brigade. * From 1995 to 1998, he served in the 25th Air Cavalry Brigade in Tomaszów Mazowiecki. * In 1999, after completing the annual post-graduate command post in the USA, he was appointed deputy commander of his unit. * From 2002 to 2005, he served as commander of the 34th Armoured Cavalry Brigade in Zagan. * In 2004 and 2005, he was deputy commander of

Multinational Division Central-South Multinational Division Central-South (MND-CS), created in September 2003, and supported by NATO, was a part of the Multinational Force Iraq. Headquartered in Camp Echo, it was under Polish command until October 2008, when the last of Poland's t ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. * Between 2005 and 2006, he was deputy director of the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Joint Force Training Centre The Joint Force Training Centre (JFTC) is a NATO headquarters located in Bydgoszcz, Poland, responsible to Allied Command Transformation at Norfolk, Virginia, in the United States. History The Joint Force Training Centre, which started on March ...

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

. * From 2006 to 2007, he was Deputy Commanding General of the

Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan Combined may refer to: * Alpine combined (skiing), the combination of slalom and downhill skiing as a single event ** Super combined (skiing) * Nordic combined (skiing), the combination of cross country skiing and ski jumping as a single event ...

. * On 15 June 2007, Buk was appointed commander of 1st Mechanised Division of Warsaw. * On 25 July 2007, he took command of the IX amendment NEC and Multinational Division Center-South in Iraq * On 15 September 2009, he was appointed by President

Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010. Before his tenure as president, he pre ...

to commander of the Army. * On 10 April 2010, he died in the presidential plane crash near

Awards and decorations

* Commander's Cross of the

(2010, posthumously) * Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2005) * Commander's Cross of the Order of the Military Cross (2008) * Silver Cross of Merit * Bronze Cross of Merit * Iraq Star * Silver Medal in the Service of the Armed Forces of the Fatherland * Silver Medal of Merit for National Defense *

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

, Commander Degree (2008) * Commemorative medal of the Multinational Division Central-South * Badge of Merit for the Polish Veterans' Association and Former Political Prisoners (2008)

Military promotions

* 15 August 2004: promoted to the rank of brigadier general. * 10 July 2007: promoted to the rank of major general.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buk, Tadeusz 1960 births 2010 deaths People from Tomaszów Mazowiecki Polish generals Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Order of the Military Cross Recipients of the Silver Cross of Merit (Poland) Victims of the Smolensk air disaster