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Brigadier General Sławomir Petelicki (13 September 1946 – 16 June 2012) was the first
commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...
of the Polish special forces unit GROM from July 13, 1990, until December 19, 1995. Later, he was the head of the Foundation of Former GROM Soldiers.


Biography

Sławomir Petelicki was born September 13, 1946 in Warsaw. In 1969 he graduated from the Law Faculty of the Warsaw University. The same year he joined the I Department (Intelligence) Ministry of Internal Affairs of
People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...
and, until 1990, he served at various posts in the intelligence service. On various posts in Polish embassies abroad he was responsible for counter-intelligence. Since 1973 a military advisor at the Polish consulate in
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. Upon his return to Poland he continued his service in the economical intelligence. After a brief stay in
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between 1983 and 1987, where he served as the head of the Polish intelligence in the embassy in
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, he returned to Poland where he was assigned to the
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as the commanding officer of all the security services guarding Polish embassies and consulates. Apart from his intelligence service, Petelicki was also an active member of special forces. He gained extensive experience in reconnaissance and diversion. Very little is known of the missions he was part of, apart from the missions to North Vietnam in 1971 and to
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the following year. In 1990 Petelicki was assigned to a newly formed, then top secret JW 2305
special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
. Initially consisting only of himself, the unit was soon expanded to become GROM. For the first several years the unit remained completely secret. It was first reported to the press in 1992 and became known to the public in 1994, after their first major military operation in
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. Dismissed on December 19, 1995, Petelicki remained unassigned. Between May 14 and June 13 of 1996, Petelicki was the deputy Prime Minister for fighting organized crime. On December 7, 1997 he was again assigned as the commanding officer of the GROM unit. On August 15, 1998, the ''Day of the Polish Army'', he was promoted by president Aleksander Kwaśniewski to the rank of brigadier general. On September 17, 1999 he finally gave up the command of GROM and retired. Thereafter, he headed the Foundation of Former GROM Soldiers, which helps veterans to meld into society. In his later years he openly criticized the Polish Government and condemned Polish president Bronisław Komorowski. He was considered a hero by various right-wing groups because of similarities in their beliefs. He also accused Polish
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Donald Tusk of high treason.


Death

On June 16, 2012, Petelicki's wife found his body lying next to his car parked in the garage of their apartment block in Warsaw. According to the police, Petelicki died from a self-inflicted gunshot to his head. Apart from the bullet entrance and exit wounds in his temples, no other injuries were found on his body, and security cameras did not record the presence of any other people in the garage at the time of his death, leading the police to conclude that Petelicki had committed suicide. He has left no suicide note.


Awards

During his military career, Sławomir Petelicki was awarded with some of the most notable military medals, including the following: * Order of Polonia Restituta, Commanders' Cross (1995) * Order of Polonia Restituta, Officers' Cross * Order of Polonia Restituta, Knights' Cross *
Cross of Merit for Bravery The Cross of Merit for Bravery ( pl, Krzyż Zasługi za Dzielność) is a Polish medal awarded for selfless bravery in the defense of law, national borders, and the life and property of citizens in especially difficult circumstances. It was esta ...
(1995) * Golden Cross of Merit * Silver Cross of Merit * Golden Medal of Merit for National Defence * Silver Medal of Merit for National Defence * Officer of the
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 ...
(USA) * Army Commendation Medal (USA) * Air Assault Badge (USA) In addition, Petelicki was an honorary member of the
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and
10th Special Forces Group The 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (10th SFG (A), or 10th Group) is an active duty United States Army Special Forces (SF) Group. 10th Group is designed to deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions: unconventional warfare (UW), foreign in ...
s of the American " Green Berets" and a bearer of the Golden GROM Badge with Wreath. During his career he accomplished
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,
sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...
and diver training. He also gained the I dan in Judo and was a specialist in helicopter landing. Popular among the journalists and mass media, Petelicki was also awarded with the title of ''Gentleman of the Year 2000'' by the ''Gentleman'' monthly.


See also

* Polish Army


References


External links


Picture of Petelicki with the commander of Delta ForcePicture of Petelicki as general in 1999
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petelecki, Slawomir 1946 births 2012 deaths Polish generals Officers of the Legion of Merit Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) Suicides by firearm in Poland