JW GROM


JW GROM is one of Poland's premier special missions unit.
The unit's other name is Jednostka Wojskowa 2305. GROM operators gained the nickname of "The Surgeons" due to their extensive medical training and knowledge and their surgical ability to coordinate and execute special operations. GROM was originally modeled on NATO's tier one special operations units such as the US Army's 1st SFOD-D, the US Navy's SEAL Team Six and the British Army's SAS.

History

Early history

GROM, which stands for Grupa Reagowania Operacyjno-Manewrowego, which also means "thunder", is one of the five special operation forces units of the Polish Armed Forces. It was officially activated on July 13, 1990. It is deployed in a variety of special operations and unconventional warfare roles, including anti-terrorist operations and projection of force behind enemy lines.
The unit was named after the Silent Unseen - Poland's elite World War II special-operations unit.
In the 1970s and 1980s, there were several formations of special forces units within Poland, but these were either trained in purely military tasks or in purely counter-terrorist roles. After the Polish embassy in Bern was taken over by a group of four Polish emigrants calling themselves Polish Revolutionary Home Army in 1982, General Edwin Rozłubirski proposed that a clandestine military unit be established to counter the threat from terrorism and other unconventional threats. This proposal, however, was initially rejected by the People's Army of Poland.
In 1989, many Jews were allowed to emigrate from the Soviet Union to Israel. Poland was one of the handful of countries that provided aid in the form of organization for the operation, later dubbed Operation Bridge. After two Polish diplomats were shot in Beirut, Lt. Col. Sławomir Petelicki was sent to Lebanon to secure the transfer of civilians and the Polish diplomatic outposts.
Upon his return to Poland, he presented his plan for the creation of a special military unit to the Ministry of Interior, a force that would be trained in special operations to be deployed in the defense of Polish citizens in situations similar to the one in Lebanon. Petelicki's ideas were well received, and on June 13, 1990, GROM was formally established as JW 2305.
Sławomir Petelicki was chosen as the first commander of the newly formed unit. As a Polish intelligence officer from Służba Bezpieczeństwa specializing in sabotage and subversion, he seemed perfectly suited to oversee the unit's initial formation. He gathered around himself a group of like-minded and professional soldiers, functionaries and set about choosing soldiers that would be fit for special operations. Due to the high risks involved in special service, it was decided that all men should be from professional service. The first batch of recruits all came from a variety of already-existing special units within the Polish Armed Forces. Among these were:
Out of the possible recruits, only a small group passed the training. Many of these initial instructors were trained by the Special Forces of the United States and the United Kingdom. Currently, Jednostka Wojskowa GROM is co-operating with similar units of other NATO countries.
During its formative first few years, JW 2305 remained completely secret and hidden from the public. 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.
Before October 1, 1999, JW 2305 was subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, after which time command was transferred to the Minister of National Defence, until 2007. Since 2007 JW GROM is under the command of Dowódca Wojsk Specjalnych.

War on Terror

A 40-man GROM element deployed to Afghanistan in early 2002.
For the 2003 invasion of Iraq, GROM formed the part of the core of the Naval Special Operations Task Group, along with US Navy SEALs, British Royal Marines and attached US Psy Ops and civil affairs teams. On March 20, 2003, US Marines from 1st F.A.S.T. Company and GROM operators assaulted the KAAOT Oil Terminals, whilst US Marines from 1st F.A.S.T. Company and US Navy SEALs from SEAL Team 8 and 10 seized the MABOT oil terminal, both terminals were seized with no casualties and explosives which were found on the terminals were made safe by GROM and SEAL operators. A mixed team of 35 GROM operators and 20 US Navy SEALs from SEAL Team 5 seized the Mukatayin hydroelectric dam, 57 miles northeast of Baghdad. Iraqi troops guarding the dam surrendered without a fight, there were no casualties to the team, providing a Tier-1 counterterrorism unit for the task force. Along with Task Unit Raider, both units became the task force's primary direct action assets, operating in conjunction on multiple occasions.
A GROM sniper aided Det One's in its first "real" mission - a close target reconnaissance operation - in which the sniper apprehended the target,. GROM's early success in Iraq made it a valuable contributor to CJSOTF-AP. In September 2004, US Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle was temporarily assigned to GROM's Combat Team B in Baghdad for a week. The CIA reportedly found GROM snipers useful due to their low rules of engagement threshold. In 2007, US Army Special Forces, Polish GROM conducted Operation Jackal against insurgents in Diwaniyah.
In 2007, GROM and JW Komandosów were deployed to Kandahar under direct US Command. They weren't restricted by any national caveats-the only restriction placed on them was regarding cross-border operations into Pakistan. Along with Direct Action successes, they were considered very effective in training and mentoring Afghan National Police units.

Training

Candidates applying to serve in JW GROM have to pass psychological and durability tests, along with the so-called truth test, a physically and psychologically exhausting field test designed to filter out the weaker applicants. GROM soldiers train with the best special operation units in the world.
The training of GROM soldiers includes a variety of disciplines. All of them undergo the same specialized training in anti-terrorism and special operations, as well as frogman, sniping, and parachuting. In four-man teams, each soldier must be prepared to assume the respective responsibilities of his colleagues, should it become necessary. JW GROM receives basic special operations training from the Swedish Navy's Special Command for Tactical Operations based in Karlskrona, Sweden's primary Naval Base. Approximately 75% of GROM personnel are trained as medics or paramedics. In addition, each group is supported by several professional physicians. GROM soldiers are trained in capture or kill methods.

Organization

Command and support staff in Warsaw
Most of unit's operations remain classified, the known ones are listed below.

Handguns