US Special Operations Commander visits the NSB
Friday, 9 December 2011. Minister Koziej played host to Admiral William H. McRaven, Commander of the US Special Operations Command.
The meeting was dedicated to the perspectives of cooperation between the American and Polish special forces and NATO Special Operations Headquarters. Head of the NSB thanked for the American assistance in developing the newest type of the armed forces in Poland. He also informed Admiral McRaven that the role of the special forces is included in all priority areas of main directions of the armed forces development specified by the President’s decision.
Admiral McRaven emphasized that this is his first visit abroad after assuming his current position as the US Special Operations Commander. Describing his experiences in cooperating with Polish special forces in Iraq and Afghanistan as very positive, he underlined their professionalism and high level of training. Despite considerable budget cuts, American Department of Defense plans to continue development of special forces, equipping them with modern reconnaissance, command and signaling systems. Minister Koziej confirmed that similar steps have been taken in Poland, and therefore, American experiences of integrating special forces with the remaining types of the armed forces will be very helpful. He also said that Poland recognizes broader long-term role of the special forces in ensuring the country’s security and emphasized the need to include this issue properly in the preparations for 2012 NATO summit in Chicago.
Closing the meeting, Admiral McRaven expressed his interest in familiarizing with the principles of Polish security strategy, which will be drawn up basing on the conclusions of the National Security Strategic Review carried out by the NSB.