IS THERE A NEED TO DEFFER VETERANS RIGHTS?

Transcription

1 PUBLICATIONS Commented by Lt Gen. ret. PhD MIROSŁAW RÓŻAŃSKI IS THERE A NEED TO DEFFER VETERANS RIGHTS? July Publication within the project of the TRATPOINTS Foundation.

2 Commented by Lt Gen. ret. PhD Mirosław Różański, Publication within the project of the TRATPOINTS Foundation. Commented by Lt Gen. ret. PhD Mirosław Różański IS THERE A NEED TO DEFFER VETERANS RIGHTS? The engagements in Iraqi Freedom and Afghan operations are well known. It is pointed out as the evidence of our international engagement and reliability in NATO and towards the coalition members. Casualties of the operations are mentioned many times. With respect to veterans of the operations it is unfair, however, to omit earlier affords and casualties suffered by Polish soldiers. The very first fathers of the Polish Constitution, the third such an act in the world, described armed forces duties by permanently valid statement: Armed forces are obliged to the nation to guard the borders and common serenity what means they are to be its most solid shield. HISTORICAL SKETCH: Polish Armed Forces engagement in the creation of the multinational security. Referring to contemporary tasks of the Armed Forces, included in the National Security Strategy, which respond to the current threats, the motto of the first Polish Constitution remains valid when the Polish Armed Forces expeditionary operations are considered. We are proud of our national motto for our and your freedom, which was firstly written on the dekabrists banner in Warsaw in January 1831 and used by Józef Bem at the Spring of Nations. This proves Poland s readiness for military engagements in both stabilization and security processes over previous years. From the end of World War II to the Polish engagement in the IRAQI FREEDOM operation, it was believed that armed forces are designated to defend the country and it was little said about our international engagement. As a consequence we often do not appreciate either the scale or the value of Polish participation in maintaining international peace. In years about Polish troops took part in 65 operations abroad. Since 1953 a Polish soldier has taken part in every second peace keeping operation. Throughout the years Poland has sent its troops under United Nations (UN), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and European Union (EU) flags as well as creating temporary coalitions. The beginning of Polish engagement in peacekeeping operations dates back to 1953 when the armistice in Panmunjom (Korea) was declared and the supervision over its agreements was entrusted to representatives of four countries: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland and Sweden under the banner of the Neutral Nations Supervision Commission (NNSC). International Commission for Supervision and Control (ICSC) in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia realized in and Observer Team for Niger (OTN) in were the next international operations in which Polish soldiers participated. In 1973 the quality change of our participation in operations abroad started. UN requested Poland to send over 800-personnel military contingent to the Second United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF II) in Egypt. Polish troops were responsible for medical support and class I (drinking water and rations) supply to all other troop contributing nations (TCNs) as well as for demining activities. Since then the Polish Armed Forces have entered the so called second generation of the peacekeeping activities. Logistics became the Polish specialty for many years. This mission ended in The next challenge presented by UN was to send Polish troops in 1974 to Golan Heights as a part of the United Nations Disengagement and Observer Forces (UNDOF). Up to 1993 the Polish contingent was responsible for the logistics support. Due to the increased destabilizing activities in Syria and Palestinian Hamas actions, the Polish battalion took over operational activities which included the cease fire supervision in the area of responsibility (AOR) and the control over the number of troops in the restricted zone on the Syrian side. In accordance with the Polish government decision, the participation in the operation was terminated in In , a Polish logistics battalion, responsible for central storage facilities and service support for all units located in the northern part of the AOR, served as a part of the UN Transition Assistance Group (UN- TAG) in Namibia. Additionally, 20 Polish officers served as the members of the observers group UN Guard Con-

3 Commented by Lt Gen. ret. PhD Mirosław Różański, Publication within the project of the TRATPOINTS Foundation. tingent in Iraq (UNGCI). The Iraqi invasion against Kuwait in 1990 resulted in the immediate UN response. As a part of the DESERT STORM Operation Poland directed two navy ships - ORP Wodnik and ORP Piast - adjusted two fulfill a role of floating hospitals. Decisive actions led to stability restoration in the region in There was a Polish Military Contingent (PMC) within UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Its task was to ensure a comprehensive logistics and medical support as well as humanitarian activities for local population. After the conflict between Hezbollah (Lebanon paramilitary group) and Israel the size of PMC was increased by additional maneuver company. Its task was to patrol the AOR, secure and convoy the UNIFIL personnel and, maintain an observation post (so called post 4-30). A new phase in Polish engagement in UN peacekeeping operations was a participation in a peace enforcement mission in Yugoslavia. Since 1992 the Polish contingent as a part of UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR) conducted operational activities supervising the AOR, protecting key installations and escorting humanitarian convoys. Based on UN Security Resolution, in 1995 UNPROFOR was replaced by UN Confidence Restoration Operation (UNCRO). Polish contingent was tasked to supervise the armistice and monitor borders among Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Yugoslavia. For two years ( ), after the Red Khmers regime was abolished, a Polish battalion as a part of UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) took part in activities to ensure a free election there. It secured water and fuel supply, demining and explosives disposal as well. Soldiers protected refugees and provided safety in the AOR. After the Warsaw Pact was dissolved on 1 July 1991, what formally occurred in Prague, Poland joined the Partnership for Peace (PfP) program in In December 1995 NATO started its peacekeeping operation (Implementation Force IFOR) in Bosnia & Herzegovina. The 16. Air Assault Battalion was detached to the operation from Poland. It was a part of the Nordic Polish Brigade within a U.S. division. When the mandate of the mission was concluded in 1996 Poland was invited to take part in the Stabilization Forces (SFOR). Polish troops were directed to fulfill tasks in peace enforcement activities. In 2004 PMC SFOR was reshaped into PMC Europe Forces (EUFOR). In the same year Poland detached to KFOR an operational battalion, which is a part of the international task force east, created, additionally to the Polish unit, by American subunits and Greek battalion. The key objective of PMC KFOR is to monitor and enforce international agreements in the AOR. It consisted of patrolling, demining and shows of force to ensure safety in the AOR. In response to the 9/11 terrorists attacks in New York and Washington, in 2002 the Multinational Antiterrorist Coalition Forces led by the U.S. started ENDUR- ING FREEDOM operation in Afghanistan, in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. Asked by the U.S. we directed a contingent of over a 100 personnel, mainly engineers, to take part in this operation. In 2003 NATO initiated International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. At the beginning the Polish engagement was symbolic with just 2 officers to maintain the Kabul airport control tower and HUMINT (Human Intelligence) group. In 2007 our engagement was increased by a combat battalion group (400 soldiers). The next years brought subsequent decisions to increase PMC ISAF and finally it became the biggest challenge for Polish Armed Forces. In the time of the most intense Poland s engagement in Afghanistan, 2600 of Polish soldiers and civilian employees stayed there and, additionally, 400 reserve component was maintained back in the country. The Polish contingent was one of the largest among 40 coalition states. From the quality perspective, another new area of Polish Armed Forces engagement was the participation of PMC Orlik in the Allied operation called Interim Air Policing to monitor the airspace of Baltic states: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Since 2016 Polish Air Force has been taking part in operation against ISIS. Moreover, Poland declared its contribution in the sea operation in the Mediterranean Sea named ACTIVE ENDEAVOUR. The purpose of it is to patrol and monitor the area, escort civilian vessels and protect assigned sea ports and areas against mine threats. In the period of Polish submarines served in the Mediterranean Sea five times. Currently, Polish ships are permanently a part of the Standing NATO Maritime Group. In 2003 Poland joined the first European Union military operation CONCORDIA. It lasted 6 months and 17 Polish soldiers took part in it. After EU took over the responsibility from NATO in Bosnia & Herzegovina in 2004, Poland detached a company together with service support elements and a Military Police (MP) subunit to the operation. The next operation under the EU umbrella was PMC created from the MP Special Forces and sent to Congo. For six months in 2006 Polish soldiers protected international forces command posts, airports in N Dolo and N Djili in Kinshasa, ensured security for both the

4 Commented by Lt Gen. ret. PhD Mirosław Różański, Publication within the project of the TRATPOINTS Foundation. UN and EU personnel and cooperated with the police mission EUPOL. A huge logistical challenge for Polish Armed Forces was to dispatch a 400 personnel contingent to the Republic of Chad in the middle of Africa. The objective of the operation was to ensure stability in the AOR and create conditions to initiate infrastructure reconstruction programs and to incent refugees to come back to Sudan. In the first half of 2010, Poland for the first time stayed in the combat alert period, together with partners from Germany, Lithuania, Latvia and Slovakia, as a part of the EU Battle Group. Poland was the lead-nation in the components preparation phase. Yet another group of the Polish military engagement is a participation in allied operations. In Polish special forces unit GROM together with American troops took part in the Haitian operation UPHOLD DEMOCRACY. One of the PMC task was personal protection of the special UN representative for Haiti, Lahdara Brahimi. VETERAN (from Latin VETERANUS, VETERIS OLD) A SOLDIER WHO TAKES PART IN AN OPERATION ABROAD. IN POLAND A VETERAN STATUS MAY BE GIVEN TO A SOLDIER OR AN OFFICER WHO SERVED ABROAD FOR AT LEAST 60 DAYS. What is a threat from the legislative initiative to differ veterans? The Ministry of Defense prepared an amendment to the Act about veterans who served abroad (dated 19Aug2011, DzU No 205, pos. 1203). Changes are mainly for participants of Iraqi and Afghan operations who have a status of victim veterans with at least 30% of health lost. The changes concern primarily: Free re-adaptation coordination holiday; Cover for medical expenses; Additional holidays; Access to local sport and transportation infrastructure. On this stage it is to say that the system is chaotic and ad hoc improved without clear purpose what really is to be achieved. In all operations starting from Sinai about thousand Polish soldiers served. There are 17 thousand people with the veteran status and about 700 with a victim veteran status, including a few tens still in military service (70) and almost 70 out of the armed forces with at least 30% of health lost. These numbers do not match. The question is: why? To obtain a veteran status, to some extent, has a humiliating meaning for a soldier. He / she has to deliver, among other documents, a court confirmation that he / she has not been sentenced. What is a connection with the fact that he or she has taken part in an operation? For instance, it might happen that he / she was sentenced for something that was a negative effect of his / her military experience abroad. Everyone who served abroad is entitled to a veteran status and should get an ID to confirm this immediately after stepping back on the mother s soil. Veterans do not have any special privileges or rights. It is enough to say that local authorities do more for veterans than the state institutions, e.g. discounts on local transportation means, use of sport and entertainment facilities. And now (in 2017) the government wants to grab these initiatives for itself. The disadvantage of the veteran institution is its dispersion and organizational fragmentation. There is no one organization which fights / takes care of veterans issues. (In Canada it is the ministry.) This fragmentation makes their activities less effective. Every of these organizations fights for a little different things combatants are elders, what means people with issues resulting from age, chronic illnesses and low pensions. In this group a number of sufferers is less and less. Victim veterans from the last combat operations are in a very difficult situation because there has not been proper medical conditions for them, including recovery period as well as making their lives more comfortable. However, the last legislative activities in the area of veterans do not give much hope for improvement. The legislation is done in a hasty way, full medical rights, including not-refunded provisions, were to refer initially only to those with at least 80% health lost later it was corrected to those with 30% and over. All that proves that activities are initiated to achieve a positive image effect only. Just the fact that unlimited medical provisions concern only those with at least 30% health lost can be seen as a stigmatization of others. How to move closer to optimal solutions? It would be fairer, full of care and humanity towards those who have served their country to have a range of provisions and support adequate to ensure just life, considered in a holistic way. It should be contemplated: 1. What is the connection between the level of health lost and soldier s life? 2. Will he or she come back to military service? 3. Does he / she work and what the salary is? 4. What is the cost of his / her medical treatment? 5. How many children does he / she have and if his wife / her husband is employed (can he or she be)?

5 Commented by Lt Gen. ret. PhD Mirosław Różański, Publication within the project of the TRATPOINTS Foundation. 6. Does he / she require the all-day support? 7. What are the conditions of his / her living and if he / she can move? It means that the comprehensive assessment of his / her status is important. A soldier who lost e.g. 25% of his / her health may have limited employment abilities. This implies a low income (or lack of it) and to have medical care might be a solid burden for his /her family. How, in such conditions, is he / she supposed to make a decision about medical treatment? What about those with little health lost, who thank to scientific progress might be cured completely but the treatment is not covered? Should the Ministry of Defense participate in such a process? The statement that a soldier has got a compensation and it should be utilized for treatment is a misunderstanding in my opinion. To sum up, I assume that the proposed regulations have demagogic character only, calculated to improve the image of the Ministry of Defense and the government as a whole, among unaware people. M.R

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