In January, 15 generals left the Polish Armed Forces, a move that has sparked intense debate about the current government’s approach to the military. According to Michał Jach, former chairman of the Parliamentary National Defense Committee (SKON), this is a direct result of policies affecting the army.
“I know that additional generals remain in the so-called personnel reserve. In theory, they should be awaiting reassignment to new positions, but I fear that their service will likely not be extended. By shrinking the corps of generals, the government is seriously weakening the army and Poland’s military security,” Jach told Niezalezna.pl.
Former Minister of National Defense Mariusz Błaszczak expressed his concern on social media, calling the situation “a total purge in the Polish Army.”
“As many as 15 (!) generals have left the service this year. Many were forced to take off their uniforms for political reasons – for the December 13 coalition, they were ‘ideologically incorrect.’ Never before has politics infiltrated the Polish Armed Forces so deeply as under the current government!” wrote Błaszczak.
As an illustration, the leader of the PiS parliamentary club shared a list of the generals who officially retired on January 31.
“The Polish Army has become a PR tool for Tusk’s team. There are no key contracts, recruitment momentum is slowing down, and the budget is not being executed. Instead, we have marketing-driven projects like ‘Eastern Shield,’ ‘European Dome,’ or ‘Operation Gear,’ which look good in PowerPoint slides but do not genuinely enhance Poland’s security,” Błaszczak added.
As a result, the number of active-duty Polish generals has decreased from 147 to 132.
Poland’s Military Below NATO Standards
According to NATO standards, there should be one general for every 1,000 soldiers. Given the current size of the Polish Armed Forces, the country should have around 200 generals.
“Even before, we had significantly fewer, and now, we are losing even more, often for political reasons,” Jach commented in his interview with Niezalezna.pl.
“I know that other generals remain in the personnel reserve. In theory, they should be waiting for reassignment, but I fear that their service will not be renewed. By reducing the general corps, the government is seriously undermining the army and Poland’s military security,” he added.
Jach also accused the current administration of neglecting national defense.
“It is clear that Poland is being governed by people who do not care about our country’s security. They speak loudly about protecting the eastern border, but their decisions regarding the armed forces contradict those words. The government’s assurances are nothing more than propaganda,” he said.
Military Contracts Delayed or Cut
The former head of the Parliamentary National Defense Committee also pointed to issues with defense contracts, which are either being delayed or scaled back from previously agreed framework agreements.
“Many times, we have heard claims that certain equipment is not a priority and that we do not need as much as originally planned. This has led to cuts in strategic contracts, such as the case of the Borsuk armored fighting vehicles, where only a little over a hundred are now planned instead of 1,400. Such an approach prevents the development of Poland’s defense industry, which had been prepared for large-scale orders that met the actual needs of the army. Instead, only symbolic portions of those contracts are being fulfilled.
Now, there are even reports suggesting that 96 Apache attack helicopters are considered ‘too many’ for the Polish military’s needs. This directly impacts our security and defense capabilities,” Jach concluded.