ILLINOIS NATIONAL GUARD, POLAND PARTNERSHIP THRIVING, MARKS 20 YEARS

Story by Staff Sgt. Bryan Spreitzer, Task Force White Eagle Public Affairs Liaison

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Sgt. Major Lester Edwards, and Polish Land Forces Brig. Gen. Marek Sokolowski share a laugh and a moment on Sokolowski's Name Day.

GHAZNI PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN (07/12/2013)(readMedia)-- It looks like any average day in Afghanistan as troops from multiple nations stand around a table planning operations with the Afghan National Security Forces to create conditions for lasting peace. But the sight of Polish Land Forces and Illinois National Guardsmen of the Bi-Lateral Embedded Staff Team (BEST) A11 has greater meaning than what meets the eye.

The Republic of Poland and the Illinois National Guard have done this for 20 years, and for the past 10 years, they have done it every day, 24 hours per day, seven days per week in Iraq and Afghanistan. July 14 marks the 20th anniversary of the strategic partnership forged between the Republic of Poland and the Illinois National Guard as a part of the National Guard Partnership for Peace Program, now called the State Partnership Program.

Sparking the program 20 years ago was a request from the Latvian government for help developing a military based on the National Guard's citizen-soldier model. Army Gen. Colin Powell, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Army General John Shalikashvili, then European Command (EUCOM) commander, embraced the concept as a way to build partnerships with non-NATO countries in the region as they established democratic governments and market economies.

"What we tried to do was take those Eastern European nations that were formally part of the Warsaw Pact and bring them closer to the West and eventually integrate them into NATO, which we've successfully done," said U.S. Rep. Bill Enyart of Illinois. Enyart is the former adjutant general of the Illinois National Guard.

Illinois and Poland were the fifth state-country partnership established based on the mutual interests and similarities of urban centers, geography and economic pursuits.

"Chicago is the largest Polish city population, second only to Warsaw Poland." said Col. Christopher Lawson of Springfield, Ill., Deputy Commander of Task Force White Eagle in Ghazni, Afghanistan. "Our partnership was developed through mutual guidance from the European Command and the Polish Ministry of Defense to indoctrinate Polish Forces into NATO training standards, professionalize an all volunteer force, build expeditionary capacity, and enhance civil-military cooperation for domestic operations and support."

The Illinois National Guard and the Republic of Poland did just that. Illinois provided Polish forces with pre-deployment, peacekeeping training before missions to Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. They delivered F-16 Falcon fighter jets and C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft; provided training on how to recruit volunteer Soldiers; and assisted in preparation for national security events like the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago and the 2012 EUROCUP in Poland. Illinois National Guard Soldiers have co-deployed with Polish forces on every deployment to Afghanistan and Iraq.

"For 20 years Illinois Guardsmen have partnered with their Polish counterparts for domestic response exercises and preparations for war," said Brig. Gen. Daniel Krumrei, Illinois National Guard Adjutant General. "Our brotherhood of arms has been forged during our co-deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and while our partnership has received national praise, it's the personal relationships we truly value. The Soldiers and Airmen of the Polish Armed Forces have been and always will be part of this Illinois National Guard family."

Lawson said the partnership is what 21st century international stability looks like; partnered democracies from different beginnings helping other nations find peace, opportunity and freedom. It is a shared responsibility of the free world to help bring peace to struggling and embattled regions of the world and it is always better to assist with a friend, said Lawson.

In August, during Polish Land Forces day in Warsaw, the Illinois National Guard and the Polish Land Forces will celebrate the 20th Anniversary of their partnership.

US Army photo by Col. Christopher Lawson Task Force White Eagle / Sgt. Major Lester Edwards, Task Force White Eagle Senior Enlisted Adviser, and Polish Land Forces Brig. Gen. Marek Sokolowski share a laugh and a moment on Sokolowski's Name Day. Every day Soldiers from Bilateral Embedded Staff Team A11 learn about their counterparts and forge friendships during their time together.

US Army photo by Capt. Simon Wlodarski Task Force White Eagle/ U.S. and Polish Soldiers on foot prepare to enter Forward Operating Base Sultan, an U.S. Army Corps of Engineer (USACE) project to give the Afghan National Army a state of the art facility. Polish Task Force White Eagle Soldiers provided security for the Task Force Afghanistan National Security Forces Development team as well as USACE and civilian contractors.

Hard at work in the tactical operations center (TOC), Master Sgt. Marccus Cox, US Task Force White Eagle night battle captain and Capt. Marek Majcher, Polish Task Force White Eagle Battle Captain check information during night operations.

US Army photo by Staff Sgt. Bryan Spreitzer Task Force White Eagle/ Hard at work in the tactical operations center (TOC), Master Sgt. Marccus Cox, US Task Force White Eagle night battle captain and Capt. Marek Majcher, Polish Task Force White Eagle Battle Captain check information during night operations. Previous to deploying, neither Soldier had experience in a TOC, but now they are completely comfortable with the duties that they are assigned.

U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Bryan Spreitzer Task Force White Eagle/ Maj. Jesse Wright, Task Force White Eagle US Plans and Operations Officer, Maj. Marcin Markievicz, Polish Task Force White Eagle Plans and Operations Chief, and Capt. Slawomir Malik, Polish Task Force White Eagle Plans and Operations Officer discuss details of an upcoming operation. The officers in the Plans and Operations shop work side by side day in and day out to accomplish the mission of Task Force White Eagle in Afghanistan.