US Army expands base in Poland’s Powidz
The Polish defence minister on Wednesday cut the ribbon on an expansion of the US Army base in Powidz, western Poland, and said that the military complex “will strengthen the security of Poland and the whole eastern flank of NATO.”
Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak (front row, second from left) and the US ambassador to Poland, Mark Brzezinski (front row, second from right), attend the launch of a new NATO Long-Term Equipment Storage and Maintenance Complex at the US Army base in Powidz, western Poland, on Wednesday, April 5, 2023. PAP/Jakub Kaczmarczyk
Mariusz Błaszczak, who is also a deputy prime minister, unveiled a new equipment storage facility at the Powidz base during a ceremony on Wednesday morning, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The newly built NATO Long-Term Equipment Storage and Maintenance Complex (LTESM-C) is set to house several thousand pieces of military hardware, including tanks and technical-support vehicles, as well as infantry fighting vehicles and artillery systems, according to officials.
Thanks to the new facility, allied troops arriving in Poland on support missions will be issued the necessary equipment in the space of a few days, rather than weeks, the PAP news agency reported.
’Strengthening the security of Poland and the entire eastern flank of NATO’
Błaszczak said: “The strategic partnership with the United States and Poland’s active membership in the North Atlantic Alliance are the pillars of our homeland’s security. Today we are launching another investment in strengthening the security of Poland and the entire eastern flank of NATO.”
He added: “Thanks to this infrastructure, US forces will be able to support Polish forces within days. This base is also a way to deter an aggressor and an expression of NATO solidarity.”
He said the new facility would be part of Poland’s system of national security, based on the principle of “defence and deterrence.”
‘Historic moment’: US envoy
Meanwhile, the US ambassador to Warsaw, Mark Brzezinski, who also attended Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting event, noted that the US Army last month launched its first permanent garrison in Poland.
Brzezinski said that, through joint efforts, Poland and the United States were implementing the 2020 bilateral Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, strengthening NATO and their defence capabilities.
The US envoy stated that building interoperability between Polish and US forces was a priority for Washington, the PAP news agency reported.
He reiterated that America would defend „every inch” of NATO territory.
‘Poland is safe and secure’
The US ambassador also said that the new equipment storage facility at Powidz represented NATO’s biggest investment in infrastructure in 30 years.
Brzezinski said its launch was “a historic moment” and a signal that “Poland is safe and secure,” according to the PAP news agency.
In addition to the newly unveiled LTESM-C complex, work is also under way on a new Munition Storage Area (MSA) at the Powidz base, according to officials.
Both projects are part of the planned expansion of the Powidz base, under the 2020 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between Poland and the United States, the PAP news agency reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, polskieradio24.pl
