Defense Ministry proposes a change of rules for professional personnel

After 12 years of extensive transformations of the army, the Defense Ministry has announced a clearer personnel policy for the armed forced. Following the pattern of NATO, each professional soldier should know his place in the queue, where it ends and the prospects of promotion. Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski is convinced that an unclear personnel policy has for a long time been frustrating for the military. In his opinion, the situation will be clarified thanks to a new act on the service of professional soldiers, which is to reach the Sejm soon after being agreed by the government. According to civilian experts, "This fundamental issue waited for so long to be resolved as we did not know what kind of army we wanted, and the personnel that were dismissed did not want too clear rules and criteria." Former Defense Minister Janusz Onyszkiewicz said, "Even a single financial problem, for example, could distort the target structure of the army and then the Defense Ministry's plan could fail again." (Rzeczpospolita, p. A1) P.W.