The Colonel Franciszek Sadowski Land Forces Training Centre in Drawsko ( pl, Centrum Szkolenia Wojsk Lądowych Drawsko im. płk. dypl. Franciszka Sadowskiego), commonly known as the Drawsko Training Ground ( pl, Poligon Drawski) is a training and proving ground located approximately southwest of

Drawsko Pomorskie Drawsko Pomorskie (until 1948 pl, Drawsko; formerly german: Dramburg) is a town in Drawsko County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland, the administrative seat of Drawsko County and the urban-rural commune of Gmina Drawsko Po ...

West Pomeranian Voivodeship The West Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as the West Pomerania Province, is a voivodeship (province) in northwestern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Szczecin. Its area equals 22 892.48 km² (8,838.84 sq mi), and in 2021, it was i ...

. The training ground was established on 2 February 1946. Aside from being used by the Polish Army, it is also used by all member states of

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 ...

History

The unit originated in Jelenino, a village near Szczecinek and was created on 2 February 1946 as the Command of the Artillery Proving Ground ( pl, Komenda Poligonu Artyleryjnego). The unit was moved on 12 January 1949 to Oleszno, where it currently lies. The base was then changed to both a proving and training ground. Eventually, the name of the ground changed to the 2nd District Artillery Training Ground ( pl, II Okręgowy Poligon Artylerii). Many military events happened and happen in the area, most notably "Odra - Nysa 69", "Tarcza 76" and "Tarcza 88". In October 2000, the V Corps of the United States participated in a field exercise codenamed "VICTORY STRIKE". More than 2 thousand soldiers participated in the event.

Settlements located in the area

The training ground's area itself is located in Drawsko County, on the border of

Gmina Kalisz Pomorski __NOTOC__ Gmina Kalisz Pomorski is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Drawsko County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. Its seat is the town of Kalisz Pomorski, which lies approximately south of Drawsko Pomorskie ...

and

Gmina Drawsko Pomorskie __NOTOC__ Gmina Drawsko Pomorskie is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Drawsko County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. Its seat is the town of Drawsko Pomorskie, which lies approximately east of the regional ...

. The settlements on the area are: *

** Głębokie ** Prostynia ** Jaworze ** Borowo ** Czertyń *

** Oleszno (headquarters) ** Ziemsko ** Żołędowo ** Dzikowo **

Konotop Konotop ( uk, Конотоп ) is a city in Sumy Oblast in northeastern Ukraine. Konotop serves as the administrative center of Konotop Raion. Konotop is located about 129 km from Sumy, the oblast administrative center. It is host to Ko ...

Commanders

The commanders of the area were and are: * Maj. (1946–1950) * Lt. Col. Jan Sementz (1950–1962) *

Brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

. Gen. Leon Dubicki (March–September 1962) * Lt. Franciszek Raban (1962–1964) * Brig. Gen. Józef Kolasa (1964–1966) * Lt. Jan Bodylewicz (1966–1974) * Lt. Franciszek Sadowski (1974–1979) * Lt. Jan Matejuk (1988–1996) * Lt. Jan Krupa (1996–1998) * Lt. Robert Jabłoński (1998–2001) * Lt. Antoni Budkowski (2001–2004) * Lt. Michał Wałęza (2004–2010) * Lt. Marek Gmurski (2010–present)

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drawsko Training Ground Military training areas Proving grounds Drawsko County Polish Land Forces 1946 establishments in Poland Buildings and structures in West Pomeranian Voivodeship