Eurocrops Commander Recalled, Counter-Intelligence Service Takes Action
In a statement the Polish Ministry of National Defense announced that the commander of the Eurocorps, General Jarosław Gromadziński has been recalled from his post. According to the Polish MoD, the Military Counterintelligence Service (MCS) has begun a control proceeding regarding his access to classified information.
Jarosław Gromadziński is a Polish general, a former commander of the 15th Mechanized Brigade and 18th Mechanized Division. He previously commanded the Polish Expeditionary Force in Syria as well. General Gromadziński is one of the most experienced officers in the Polish Armed Forces with a long history of service from small units up to battalion and division level.
He took command of the European Corps, described as “a multinational, fully deployable and highly autonomous headquarters”, in June 2023 receiving access to the highest level of top-secret information within NATO. Janusz Sejmej, spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense, said: “To ensure the continuity of the functioning of the Eurocorps Command, another officer will be immediately appointed to the position held by Lieutenant General Jarosław Gromadziński.”
It is unknown why the MCS began its investigation and control as the officer underwent verification procedures within the structures of the alliance by foreign intelligence services. Unsurprisingly there has been speculation among Polish military commentators, some of which suggests the general faked combat readiness reports of the 18th Mechanized Division or he acted as a lobbyist for granting South Korean manufacturers arms deals, however, there has been no publicly shared evidence as yet.
General Gromadziński took to X (formerly Twitter) saying: “I would like to assure you that I have nothing to blame myself for. I believe that the inspection procedure initiated by the Military Counterintelligence Service will end positively for me.” According to Onet the General was recalled without prior notice to NATO representatives.
There is speculation that the decision is political retaliation by the present government towards its Law and Justice party predecessors. However, it was under the same government that he was dismissed from his post as a commander of the 18th Mechanized Division and moved to the International Group for Ukraine Support in Wiesbaden.
Cover picture by Claude Truong-Ngoc under CC BY-SA 3.0 License.