Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz presented the appointments to Brig. Gen. Mieczysław Gurgielewicz and Colonels Cezary Kiszkowiak, Robert Kasperczuk and Daniel Błotko during a ceremony in Warsaw on Wednesday, state news agency PAP reported.
The four officers previously commanded Territorial Defence Force brigades in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Those units have now been reorganised into the new Border Defence Component, which the government announced on Tuesday.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said the new commanders would oversee border protection, work closely with the Border Guard, manage military infrastructure and fortifications, supervise logistics facilities and cooperate with local authorities and civilian communities to strengthen regional preparedness.
"Your great mission will be to protect the border, cooperate with the Border Guard, manage infrastructure, fortifications and warehouses, and work with local communities to ensure the highest level of readiness," he said.
He added that the new brigades would have a different structure from the Territorial Defence Force (WOT).
Professional soldiers account for about 10 percent of personnel in territorial defence units, with the remainder serving as volunteer reservists. In the new border defence brigades, the share of professional troops will increase to 20 percent, he said.
"This is not just a change of name; it is a different philosophy of operation," Kosiniak-Kamysz said, adding that the new formation would assume responsibility for military fortifications, logistics depots and drone and counter-drone systems.
Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk said the Border Defence Component would play a central role in Poland's Eastern Shield programme, a large-scale project to reinforce the country's eastern border with fortifications, surveillance systems and other defensive infrastructure.
"The threat coming from the East is not accidental; it is real and tangible," Tomczyk said, describing the programme as critical to Poland's national security.
The concept for the Border Defence Component was approved by the defence ministry in October last year as part of efforts to strengthen protection along the country's eastern and northeastern borders.
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Source: IAR, PAP