Roman Polko (born November 8, 1962, in

Tychy Tychy (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Tichau; szl, Tychy) 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 boders Katowice to the north, ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

) is a retired Polish army special forces officer, acting chief of Biuro Bezpieczeństwa Narodowego (Bureau of National Security), former commander of "

JW GROM JW GROM (full name: ''Jednostka Wojskowa GROM im. Cichociemnych Spadochroniarzy Armii Krajowej'', English: ''Military Unit GROM named in honour of the Silent Unseen of the Home Army'') is a Polish special forces unit and forms part of the Spe ...

", doctor of military science studies, speciality: management. Polko graduated from the"

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish military engineer, statesman, and military leader who ...

Land Forces Military Academy" in

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

. He served in a reconnaissance unit in Dziwnów, then in the " 1st Special Commando Regiment" in

Lubliniec Lubliniec (german: Lublinitz) is a town in southern Poland with 23,784 inhabitants (2019). It is the capital of Lubliniec County, part of Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999); previously it was in Częstochowa Voivodeship (1975–1998). Geograp ...

, 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 Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav War ...

peace mission in former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. In 1994 Polko began to study at the "

National Defence University in Warsaw The National Defence University of Warsaw ( – AON) was the civil-military highest defense (military), defence academic institution in Poland, located in Warszawa–Rembertów. In 2016 it was succeeded by the War Studies University. The National ...

", after that he served in the position of a senior operation officer in the " Czerwone Berety" (Red Berets) in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. He also finished

Ranger School The United States Army Ranger School is a 62-day 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 wa ...

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

Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; cs, Bílsko-Bělá, german: Bielitz-Biala, szl, Bjylsko-Bjoło) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 168,319 as of December 2021, making it the 22nd largest city in Poland, and an area of . It is a ...

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

KFOR forces in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. 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 Grom may refer to: Military * JW GROM, a Polish special forces unit * ORP ''Grom'', several ships of the Polish Navy * Grom (missile), a Polish anti-aircraft missile * A Yugoslav/Serbian version of the Kh-23 (AS-9 'Kyle') air-to-surface missi ...

". He commanded the GROM unit behind enemy lines in

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 the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

, during the Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2006 Polko returned to active duty, on February 23 again became commander of GROM. Since March 2006

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

(

generał brygady Generał brygady (, literally ''General of a brigade'', 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 mod ...

). 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 Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

(

generał dywizji Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

). He is an active sportsman, taking part in marathons, ski and parachute instructor (master class). At the 19th

Pol'and'Rock Festival Pol'and'Rock Festival, formerly known as Woodstock Festival Poland, ( Polish: ''Przystanek Woodstock''; "Woodstock Station"; English-language materials often referred to it simply to the ''Woodstock Festival Poland'') is an annual free rock music ...

he was invited to speak at the "Akademia Sztuk Przepięknych" (eng. "Academy of (very) Beautiful Arts").

Honours and decorations

Silver Cross of Merit The Cross of Merit () is a Polish civil state decoration established on 23 June 1923, to recognize services to the state. History At the time of its establishment in 1923, the Cross of Merit was the highest civilian award in Poland. It was aw ...

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

Commendation Medal (United States Army) : ONZ Medal w Służbie Pokoju UNPROFOR BAR

United Nations 'In The Service Of Peace' Medal - UNPROFOR : NATO Medal w Służbie Pokoju i Wolności BAR

NATO Medal for Kosovo Service : Legion of Merit ribbon

Legion of Merit (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