Kwasniewski praises efforts of armed forces on National Day of the Military

During the National Day of the Military, celebrated on the anniversary of the historic victory of the Polish Army over the Soviets in 1920, Comm ander-In-Chief of the Polish army, President Aleksander Kwasniewski, said in Warsaw's Belweder Palace, "This holiday is the best opportunity to express gratitude [to the military] for those efforts increasing the trust of society at large in the armed forces and earning them the respect, befitting a responsible partner, of its allies." For the first time in history, the President submitted a nomination for the rank of four-star General to Czeslaw Piatas, the Chief of General Staff of the Polish Army. The Pre sident, during his speech at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, also mentioned that the modernization of the Polish army would be continued, "although this is a difficult task, especially in such an unfavorable budgetary situation." President Kwasniewski also said that the world no longer perceives Poland as the "sick man of Europe" but as "a reliable partner and a responsible ally." (Zycie, p. 3) P.W.