NIK stands in the position that long-term efforts to establish professional military special forces in Poland brought effects. They helped to increase defensive skills and reduce threat response time. The Supreme Audit Office positively evaluates the process of forming military special forces in Poland.
The structure of military special forces involves stand-alone units and subunits composed of professional soldiers. They conduct operations in Poland and abroad in the times of peace, crisis and war. NIK auditors looked among others into implementation of training programmes and soldiers’ equipment.
Statement of NIK President Krzysztof Kwiatkowski
NIK on military special forces
According to NIK, the soldiers representing military special forces are very well prepared to meet their tasks; they are properly trained and equipped. NIK has noted that the replenishment of equipment in 2013 has helped to improve threat response skills in these forces. The NIK findings were confirmed by the results of certification proceedings conducted in 2013 by representatives of the North-Atlantic Treaty, based on which the Polish military special forces were considered as elite among their NATO counterparts.
An absolute majority of irregularities identified by NIK were eliminated during the audit. The remaining ones, the elimination of which would be costly and time-consuming, do not – according to NIK - decrease the auditees’ ability to perform their tasks.
Detailed audit findings will be conferred by NIK to the executive and legislative authorities on confidential basis. Therefore, NIK has reduced its communication addressed to the public to elementary statements and evaluations which are extremely important in the present international circumstances.
Having positively evaluated the Polish military special forces, especially their training level and equipment, NIK has addressed the Minister of National Defence to consider introducing external recruitment to the military special forces. At the moment the candidates to serve in the military special forces are soldiers from other armed forces and uniformed services. NIK stands in the position that the recruitment path may be extended by offering the job to individuals not related to military sector, provided they are properly screened by counter-intelligence services and have required mental and physical skills.
The Polish army is audited by NIK on an on-going basis. In 2012, NIK positively evaluated the professionalisation of the Polish army, confirming that it contributed to the establishment of an efficient and modern army.
Also in 2012, NIK stated that organisational changes in the Military Gendarmerie are going in the right direction as this process helped the MG adapt to new types of threats.
In 2014, NIK will verify the level of preparation of reserve personnel to reinforce our military special forces in case of call-up.. The inspectors will check among others deposits of warfare agents kept by the Polish armed forces and staffing of the armed forces’ aircrafts.
