Yesterday, 16 April, Poland celebrated the ‘Feast of the Engineering Forces’ when the spotlight is trained on its elite military sappers.
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Press Release, Warsaw, 16 April 2024: [auto-translated] Every year, on 16 April, Poland celebrates the Feast of the Engineering Forces. For years, sappers have been an elite among the soldiers of the Armed Forces, they are characterized by their high competence and courage.
The Engineering Forces not only build, but also effectively deter and destroy the aggressor’s potential. They build fortifications and fortifications, cleanse areas of explosives and dangerous materials that threaten civilians and the military. Specialists who perform tasks even in the most extreme conditions, which they proved by helping in the flood-damaged Slovenia, where they rebuilt two bridges.
It is worth noting that sappers react not only to modern threats, but also effectively cope with the remains of previous armed conflicts. Every day, serving in 46 sapper patrols and groups, they risk their lives by taking up and transporting dangerous materials.
Any Allied training in which a crossing of a wide water obstacle (a river, a lake) is planned features a demonstration of engineering skills. The ferry crossing during the last DRAGON 24 exercise demonstrated the flexibility and mobility of the sappers, who efficiently and safely transported across several thousand soldiers and their equipment to the other side of the Vistula.
The Day of the Engineering Forces is a celebration of soldiers dedicated to the Homeland, determined and competent specialists without whom it is difficult to imagine the modern battlefield.
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Dear Sappers, Engineers: Today’s holiday is a great opportunity to thank all those who, over the past years, often at the risk of life, have eliminated traces of war past in the country and abroad. I thank you soldiers and employees of the Ministry of National Defence for their commitment, great contribution to the implementation of many engineering specialised tasks aimed at ensuring the safety of the country.
I give thanks to all the supporters and friends of the Engineering Forces who support us every day. I wish you satisfaction, satisfaction with achievements, satisfaction and health to the veterans, to the remnant and a lot of health. May we always be guided by the sapper motto: ‘Sometimes to destroy, often to build, always to serve.’
Praise be to the Sappers!
Brig Gen. Marek WAWRZYNIAK, Head of the Military Engineering Board
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