Illinois Adjutant General meets with Polish Commander

Story by Col. Christopher Lawson, Illinois National Guard Public Affairs

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SPRINGFIELD, IL (03/12/2014)(readMedia)-- WARSAW, Poland – Brig. Gen. Daniel Krumrei of Springfield, Ill., Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard, traveled to Warsaw this week for the annual Adjutant General Planning Conference to discuss future plans, training opportunities and exercises with the Polish State Partnership Program (SPP).

"The essence of this cooperation is to build a plan to meet the needs of our nations, state and senior military officials," said Krumrei. "Lieutenant General Tomaszycki, Commander of Polish Operational Command, and I agreed to focus our cooperation activities in the near future on global force development and crisis management."

Tomaszycki commands the operational command that oversees all Polish military missions, international security, homeland security, domestic response and international peacekeeping operations in Poland and around the world. In addition to meeting with Tomaszycki, Krumrei met with senior military officials of the European Command March 9 to synchronize and coordinate with the regional commanders to ensure unity of effort with all commands.

"This partnership supports the combatant commander and the senior military leaders of Poland," said Maj. Douglas Coop of Jacksonville, Ill., director of the State Partnership Program for the Illinois National Guard. "Our cooperation is a two-way street and gives us an opportunity to share the best practices and lessons learned which ultimately improves the overall capabilities, readiness and effectiveness of our organizations."

This partnership was established as part of the National Guard Bureau's SPP, which was originally created to assist Poland and Eastern European countries with military transformation and acceptance into NATO. This partnership has grown to develop other partnerships around the world.

Brig. Gen. Daniel Krumrei of Springfield, Ill., Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard walks with Lt. Gen Tomaszycki, Commander of Polish Operational Command to discuss future plans, training opportunities and exercises with the Polish State Partnership Program for the annual Adjutant General Planning Conference in Warsaw, Poland, March 11. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Maj. Douglas Coop, Joint Force Headquarters)

Brig. Gen. Daniel Krumrei of Springfield, Ill., Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard autographs a book during the annual Adjutant General Planning Conference to discuss future plans, training opportunities and exercises with the Polish State Partnership Program in Warsaw, Poland, March 11. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Maj. Douglas Coop, Joint Force Headquarters)