After two years of service, Major General Ryszard Sorokosz, the Deputy Commander of the Multinational Corps Northeast (MNC NE) ended his tour of duty at the Headquarters. The farewell ceremony took place at Baltic Barracks on 30 January 2012.
For General Sorokosz, the end of tour of duty as the MNC NE Deputy Commander coincided with the end of 37-year service in the Polish Armed Forces. “Those two years spent in the Multinational Corps Northeast were the culmination of my long military road. I had a really good time here,” said General Sorokosz. “It was a pleasure and a tremendous honour to serve with you,” he also said and thanked the MNC NE Commander, the Headquarters’ personnel as well as his family for their support and understanding. In fact, General Sorokosz has decided that it was the right moment to end his military career and devote his time to the family.
A considerable number of people took part in the farewell ceremony held at Baltic Barracks in Szczecin. Beyond the closest co-workers and the MNC NE staff, also the invited guests participated in the event – representatives of the uniformed services, local authorities, clergy, representatives of the cultural and educational circles as well as General Sorokosz’s friends and supporters.
“I take today’s opportunity to thank you for your loyalty and your remarkable effort and influence on the positive development of our proud multinational community; for work and engagement done in this HQ,” said the MNC NE Commander Lieutenant General Rainer Korff. “Your permanent support and your positive attitude have been one of the pillars of our success during the preparation, conduct and evaluation of the different exercises and tasks the HQ had to fulfill,” General Korff added. For all those merits, already a few days ago, General Korff awarded General Sorokosz with the Corps Medal of the Multinational Corps Northeast, the Corps’ highest award. Moreover, for General Sorokosz’s service for developing Polish-German cooperation in the military sphere, General Korff, on behalf of the Minister of Defence of the Federal Republic of Germany, awarded General Sorokosz with the Cross of Honour of the Bundeswehr in Gold.
Major General Marek Tomaszycki, the Chief Training of the Land Forces, thanked Major General Ryszard Sorokosz on behalf of the Commander of the Polish Land Forces, and expressed the highest respect and appreciation for his long standing military service. Citing General Stanisław Sosabowski that one is a soldier for a lifetime, General Tomaszycki wished General Sorokosz creative activeness in his civilian life, success and personal satisfaction from the well completed duty.
Major General Ryszard Sorokosz spent 37 years in the Polish Armed Forces. He graduated from the Officer’s College of Armour in Poznań, Military Academy of Armour in Moscow as well as the National Defence Academy, from which he acquired his PhD. He started his military career as a platoon leader. His tour of duty included command and staff positions on different command levels, starting with platoon, through company, battalion, regiment, brigade, division, ending up with the Polish Land Forces Command and Multinational Corps Northeast. He was Deputy Commander of the 3rd rotation of the Polish Contingent in Iraq.
Photos by Marian Cihon, SVK CIV
