Page 29 - Cormorant Issue 20 2017

Krakow airport and eagerly checked into the local Ibis hotel. With the twin rooms consisting of only a 10cm gap between the beds, it was time to get better acquainted with room buddies before heading out to experience the cultural side of the city!
However, any minor complaints about the hotel very quickly evaporated the next day when the group arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the infamous WWII Nazi concentration and extermination camp. A truly harrowing and unforgettable experience for which you cannot truly prepare; captured succinctly by the inscription on the International Monument:
“For ever let this place be
A cry of despair
And a warning to humanity Where the Nazis murdered About one and a half million Men, women and children Mainly Jews
From various countries of Europe”
A long, re ective and very quiet coach journey ensued, taking the group to Warsaw where we would stay for the remainder of the Exercise.
The next two days were split between the British Embassy, the Warsaw Uprising Museum and historic tour of the city. Embassy briefs included: UK and Polish perspectives across diplomatic, military
and economic levers of power; an analysis of the strategic in uence of 20th century Polish history;
and perspectives of the strategic future for Poland, given by British and Polish journalists. These briefs provided valuable insights into the volatile history
of Poland and how this has shaped culture and perceptions. We gained a clear understanding of the economic challenges, centred around developing a more high-tech economy; the demographic challenges, with its rapidly ageing population; and the energy challenges, with its high dependency
on Russian gas. We were left in no doubt that the Poles view Russia as a very signi cant military threat, which is understandable for a country that has been positioned between great powers throughout its long history. Despite virtually all its trade being with the
EU, the country as a whole is largely Eurosceptic. Unsurprisingly, fostering a strong alliance with the US and NATO is seen as vital to their national interests.
The Uprising Museum and historic tour of Warsaw reinforced the briefs and provided the palpable context, helping to better understand the origins of the Polish strategic mindset. Having been almost completely destroyed during WWII, Warsaw has been largely rebuilt using original photographs from the period. The uprising had been timed to coincide with the Soviet Red Army advance. However, having stopped short of the Vistula river the uprising became protracted, lasting 63-days and resulting in the death of thousands of resistance ghters and civilians in the process.
On the nal morning, we were very privileged to be hosted by the Polish tier 1 special forces unit, GROM. An extremely amiable unit, we were given insights into their history and capabilities, as well as the opportunity to get our hands on some of their more interesting equipment.
Overall, the RSE 1 to Poland provided a valuable opportunity to immerse ourselves into a different strategic culture and to gain rare insights into Polish perspectives on defence and security related issues. With the evenings largely free, it also provided
ample opportunity to forget about essay writing and Cormorant Hall lectures, as well as the chance to fully experience Polish night time culture!
A big thank you must go to Commander Adrian Balhetchet for organising a fantastic, educational and truly memorable RSE.
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A long,
re ective and very quiet
coach journey ensued... ◆◆◆