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Poland Special Operations and Counterterrorist Forces Military 1st Special (Commando) Regiment, subordinated directly to the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces Navy Combat Divers Group Small psychological warfare units each subordinated to the respective military district commands "It remains disputable how to classify the divisional reconnaissance battalions, recce companies of each army brigade and the independent 2nd Reconnaissance Regiment of the Cracow Military District. In terms of their roles and missions all at least partly fit the classification; on the other hand, they orginally belonged to "ordinary" parent army formations." -- Krystian Piatkowski - POLISH SPECIAL FORCES - IN SEARCH OF A NEW POSTURE Ministry of Internal Affairs and Adminstration Grupa Reagowania Operacyjno Mobilnego (GROM) (Mobile Operational Reaction Group) Police Pododdziay Antyterrorystyczne - Anti-terrorist Sub-units POLAND GROM has been reported to have appr. 270 members. Oversight of this unit has recently been transferred from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the Ministry of National Defence. The unit commanding officers have recently been replaced amidst enormous upheaval. This development appears to have been caused by an attempt by certain politicians to use the unit`s surveillance capabilities for the purpose of carrying out illegal phone buggings and suchlike. Currently the complete list of Poland`s special units is as follows: ARMED FORCES: - 1 Special Commando Regiment (1 Pulk Specjalny Komandosów) - 6 Air Assault Bde (6 Brygada Desantowo-Szturmowa) - 7 Coastal Defence Bde. (7 Brygada Ochrony Wybrzeza) - comparable to a USMC unit. - Recon. Battalions - Navy Combat Divers Unit Polish 22nd and 23rd Mountain Infantry Bdes. (22 Brygada Piechoty Górskiej, 23 Brygada Piechoty Gorskiej) - they also receive some Arctic combat training. POLICE: - Antiterrorist Units (Jednostki Antyterrorystyczne - JAT) a.k.a. Antiterrorist Companies (Kompanie Antyterrorystyczne - KAT) - regional SWAT-type CT units under the command of regional police chiefs. Currently appr. 15 of these units exist. BORDER GUARD (Straz Graniczna) 2 CT units with appr. size of 40 men each. STATE PROTECTION OFFICE (Urzad Ochrony Panstwa - UOP) - Poland`s intelligence and counterintelligence service UOP has its own CT unit, used primarily in assaults on drug production facilities, suspected terrorist hideouts, etc., always as part of UOP operations. Does not operate outside Poland. It`s called Wydzia³ Zabezpieczenia Realizacji (WZR - Executive Security Division) and it is a part of UOP`s Directorate of Investigations. GROM: As I said, it is no longer an armed unit subordinate to the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration, but a fully-fledged military unit under MoD control.