The Marshal’s Office of Westpomeranian Voivodeship, the Office of the President of Szczecin as well as Multinational Corps Northeast and 12th Mechanized Division organised a joint celebration of the Polish Independence Day held at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels on 8 November 2011. The event was conducted under the aegis of the Permanent Representative of Poland to NATO.
The main idea of the celebration was to present Szczecin and the region, including the military formations stationed there, to the multinational community of the NATO Headquarters (HQ), diplomats and all the other honourable guests invited for the event. A perfect opportunity in this regard proved to be the Polish Independence Day celebrated cyclically at NATO Headquarters.
A number of coordination meetings were held prior the event with the highlight being a joint news conference held in Baltic Barracks on 3 November 2011. It was only one of many examples of excellent civil-military cooperation in practice.
On the eve of the event, the host of the celebration, the Permanent Representative of Poland to NATO H.E. Ambassador Bogusław Winid invited the four delegations for dinner at his premises.
More than 600 guests, including the NATO Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero and the Chairman of the Military Committee Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, ambassadors of NATO and partner nations and many other diplomats, members of the NATO HQ and guests took part in the celebration on 8 November. Each of them was welcomed in person by the Permanent Representative of Poland to NATO, H.E. Ambassador Bogusław Winid, Polish Military Representative to NATO Military Committee and UE Major General Janusz Bojarski, Vice Marshal of the Westpomeranian Voivodeship Mr Andrzej Jakubowski, President of Szczecin Mr Piotr Krzystek, MNC NE Commander Lieutenant General Rainer Korff and the 12th Mechanized Division Commander Major General Marek Tomaszycki.
The celebration was officially inaugurated by Ambassador Winid who addressed the guests. Then, Mr Andrzej Jakubowski and Mr Piotr Krzystek also took the floor. Afterwards, everyone could try some regional specialties and approach four promotion tables which presented the Westpomeranian region, Szczecin, Multinational Corps Northeast and the 12th Mechanized Division respectfully. Beyond leaflets, booklets, albums and magazines, the guests could come into possession of small gadgets reminding of the four organizations.
For those who wanted to learn more about the Westpomeranian region, Szczecin, Multinational Corps Northeast and the 12th Mechanized Division, several exhibitions were prepared, including a photo exhibition presenting Szczecin from a bird’s view. Many guests found the display of gingerbread decorated with regional symbols especially interesting.
A highlight of the day was a lottery. Already while entering the celebration hall, each guest received a ticket with a number. Then, as the celebration was ongoing, selected tickets were drawn and the winners received various gifts presented by the Vice Marshal of the Westpomeranian Voivodeship Mr Andrzej Jakubowski, the President of Szczecin Mr Piotr Krzystek, the MNC NE Commander Lieutenant General Rainer Korff and the 12th Mechanized Division Commander Major General Marek Tomaszycki.
The musical setting of the event was provided by the Military Band from Szczecin which performed a short recital drawing attention of all the gathered guests. Blue and green fabric which together with white are the colours of Szczecin, filters and lamps throwing blue and green light and an outdoor exhibition presenting a panorama of Szczecin created an exceptional atmosphere of the event.
„It has been one of the best celebrations I had a pleasure to participate in and to coordinate during my four years spent in Brussels. The involvement of the Multinational Corps Northeast, 12th Mechanized Division, the city of Szczecin and the region were really important,” said Ambassador Winid. Also heads of the four delegations were fond with the celebration. “The celebration of the Polish Independence Day was an excellent opportunity to present the cooperation between the authorities of Westpomeranian Voivodeship and Szczecin, and military units in the region. This event assumed a twofold symblism in the context of commemoration of 11th November and participation of the Polish Armed Forces in NATO peace keeping missions, the overriding aim of which is the independence of nations,” said the Vice Marshal of Westpmeranian Voivodeship Mr Andrzej Jakubowski. “It was about showing that beyond the NATO Corps in Szczecin we also have the 12th Mechanized Division and 12th Mechanized Brigade, one of the best units in Poland. It was also about showing Szczecin as an interesting place which is worth visiting,” emphasized the President of Szczecin Mr Piotr Krzystek. „This undertaking is an example of excellent civil-military cooperation and wonderful outcomes this cooperation brings,” added the MNC NE Commander Lieutenant General Rainer Korff. Also the Commander of the 12th Mechanized Division Major General Marek Tomaszycki positively assessed the celebration: “Judging from the number of the guests, I can boldly state that it was a very successful undertaking.”
For Multinational Corps Northeast delegation, a visit to the NATO Headquarters and meeting highest NATO officials provided also some additional opportunities to discuss the Corps’ related issues in the context of the ongoing NATO reform. Among other things, the MNC NE Commander Lieutenant General Rainer Korff, the MNC NE Deputy Commander Major General Ryszard Sorokosz and the MNC NE Chief of Staff Brigadier General Morten Danielsson had a meeting with Danish, German and Polish Military Representatives to NATO.
