Sławomir Petelicki

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Sławomir Petelicki
GROM
Battles/wars
AwardsPolonia Restituta 3rd Class Polonia Restituta 4th Class Polonia Restituta 5th Class Cross of Merit for Bravery Gold Cross of Merit Silver Cross of Merit Gold Medal of Merit for National Defence Silver Medal of Merit for National Defence Legion of Merit (USA) Army Commendation Medal (USA)
Spouse(s)Agnieszka Petelicka

GROM from July 13, 1990, until December 19, 1995. Later, he was the head of the Foundation of Former GROM Soldiers.[1]

Biography

Sławomir Petelicki was born on September 13, 1946, in

New York. Upon his return to Poland he continued his service in the economical intelligence. After a brief stay in Sweden between 1983 and 1987, where he served as the head of the Polish intelligence in the embassy in Stockholm, he returned to Poland where he was assigned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
as the commanding officer of all the security services guarding Polish embassies and consulates.

Apart from his intelligence service, Petelicki was also an active member of special forces. He gained extensive experience in reconnaissance and diversion. Very little is known of the missions he was part of, apart from the missions to North Vietnam in 1971 and to China the following year.

In 1990, Petelicki was assigned to a newly formed, then top secret JW 2305

GROM. For the first several years the unit remained completely secret. It was first reported to the press in 1992 and became known to the public in 1994, after their first major military operation in Haiti
. Dismissed on December 19, 1995, Petelicki remained unassigned.

Between May 14 and June 13 of 1996, Petelicki was the deputy

Prime Minister for fighting organized crime. On December 7, 1997, he was again assigned as the commanding officer of the GROM unit. On August 15, 1998, the Day of the Polish Army, he was promoted by president Aleksander Kwaśniewski to the rank of brigadier general
. On September 17, 1999, he finally gave up the command of GROM and retired. Thereafter, he headed the Foundation of Former GROM Soldiers, which helps veterans to meld into society.

In his later years, he openly criticized the Polish Government and condemned Polish president Bronisław Komorowski. He was considered a hero by various right-wing groups because of similarities in their beliefs. He also accused Polish premier Donald Tusk of high treason.

Death

On June 16, 2012, Petelicki's wife found his body lying next to his car parked in the garage of their apartment block in Warsaw.[2] According to the police, Petelicki died from a self-inflicted gunshot to his head. Apart from the bullet entrance and exit wounds in his temples, no other injuries were found on his body,[3] and security cameras did not record the presence of any other people in the garage at the time of his death, leading the police to conclude that Petelicki had committed suicide.[2] He has left no suicide note.[3]

Awards

During his military career, Sławomir Petelicki was awarded with some of the most notable military medals, including the following:

In addition, Petelicki was an honorary member of the

GROM Badge with Wreath. During his career he accomplished parachute, sniper and diver training. He also gained the I dan in Judo
and was a specialist in helicopter landing. Popular among the journalists and mass media, Petelicki was also awarded with the title of Gentleman of the Year 2000 by the Gentleman monthly.

See also

  • Polish Army

References

  1. ^ "Generał Sławomir Petelicki nie żyje. Policja: To prawdopodobnie samobójstwo" (in Polish). Wyborcza.pl. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
  2. ^ a b Czuchnowski, Wojciech; Kolińska-Dąbrowska, Małgorzata (2012-06-18). "Policja: Śmierć Petelickiego to było samobójstwo" [Police: Petelicki's death was a suicide]. Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). Agora SA. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  3. ^ a b Karaś, Katarzyna (2012-06-19). "Prokuratura ujawnia: Petelicki miał przestrzeloną głowę" [Prosecutor's office reveals: Petelicki had his head shot through] (in Polish). Polskie Radio SA. Polska Agencja Prasowa. Retrieved 2012-06-20.

External links