The Mediterranean star has the largest "territorial range" of commemorative decorations, as it is possible to have participants in respective land and sea quotas operating since 1974 in the areas of the adjacent Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea and in these waters. However, the road from "potentially entitled" to the decision of the president of Poland to grant this Star is long and winding.
The ‘action division’ of the presidential award
The Mediterranean star has so far been the only commemorative mark that has changed its geographical coverage. Established by the decree of the president of the Republic of Poland in 2010, it was intended exclusively for soldiers of Polish military quotas taking part in the “Active Endeavour” maritime operation in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. These included PKW Bielik, PKW Condor, PKW Pulaski, PKW Kościuszko and PKW Czernicki.
With its 2017 regulation, the president of the Republic of Poland enlarged the area of operation by Polish military contingents in which participation authorises to receive this Star. It is referred to as the ‘Mediterranean, Black Sea or Aegean Division’, with the Mediterranean and the Black Sea itself left as an active endeavour area.
Discussion in the Sejm
On 5 December 2021, associate of the 9th Sejm word MP Paweł Szramka sent to the then Minister of National Defence parliamentary enquiry No 4617 on the honour of UNIFIL Mission soldiers with the commemorative Mediterranean Star: ‘Is it possible to apply for the award of that Star to PKW participants in the Lebanese Republic?’. In conclusion answer to this request The Minister of National Defence stated that "in accordance with the current legal state, there are no conditions preventing an initiative from being taken by professional means to request the president of the Republic of Poland to grant the award in question by the competent authority in accordance with the competences". The Minister besides pointed out Decision No 202/MON of 6 July 2012 on the application for a commemorative military award with the word "Star" in the name as the applicable document, which lists the individual commanders/chiefs authorised to initiate the procedure for requesting a Star. In the case of a soldier presently serving in the PKW, the quota commander shall be authorised to initiate this procedure. In the case of soldiers and persons who have ceased their service in the PKW, the commander of the military unit in which they are presently serving, or the head of the Military Recruitment Centre, erstwhile they are already in reserve or at rest.
The content of both the parliamentary enquiry and the Minister's answer leads to 2 conclusions. The first proposal concerns the anticipation of awarding the Mediterranean Star for participation in a continental operation, in this case UNIFIL peace operation in South Lebanon. The second, by analogy, points to the anticipation of broadcasting Stars to participants in another quotas whose areas of activity were located or located in the area listed in the regulation of the 3 seas.
The division of these 3 seas means the countries adjacent to them, i.e. Libya, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Georgia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy or France. In another words, the erstwhile designation for the participants of the Active Endeavour operation in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea has been ‘extended’ to the participants of the quotas operating under land operations carried out in specified a defined area. It is easy to compile a list of Polish military quotas active in operations conducted by global organisations in these countries. These are, for example, PKW UNEF II (1973–1979), PKW UNDOF (1974–2009), PKW UNIFIL (1992–2009 and since 2019), PKW Turkey (from 2021), reflection Group in the European Union reflection Mission in Georgia (2008–2009), PKW Romania (since 2017), PKW Greece (2004), PKW Sophia (2018–2020), PKW Irini (from 2020), PKW Olimp (2024).
The said Observer Group was a Polish military contingent (equipped with six intervention vehicles of somewhat armoured kind of Dzik) due to the fact that the President's decision cited the legal basis for the usage of the military contingent. It was realised that the usage of the name e.g. PKW Caucasus, immediately after the end of the Russian-Georgian War, would unnecessarily rise force in Moscow.
For participants of PKW UNEF II, PKW UNIFIL and PKW UNDOF, it should be stressed that since the amendment in 2023, Article 31 of the Orders and Designations Act has been excluded Stars with time limits for drawing up applications for awards and honours at the end of their participation in the operation.
No follow-up
Following the amendment of the Mediterranean Star Regulation, only 3 quotas are granted to participants outside the Active Endeavour operation: PKW Sophia, PKW Irini and PKW Turkey. However, despite a clear declaration, the ministry did not note that the Mediterranean Star was awarded to participants of PKW UNIFIL. It follows that so far no of the commanders of PKW UNIFIL have requested the award of Mediterranean stars to its subordinates. It can be assumed that there are 2 reasons for this omission: either the commanders of subsequent changes of PKW UNIFIL ‘did not know that they could’ or ‘they knew that they could not’ make a request. On the another hand, the commanders of PKW Irini and PKW Turkey know that they are to apply for the award of Mediterranean stars due to the fact that the participants of these quotas are marked by them. possibly the problem lies as usual in the hierarchical structure of the military, i.e. the individual liable for giving instructions in this respect to the PKW staff before going to the area of action has no current guidelines drawn up by another liable person.
It should be noted here that the Mediterranean Star as a commemorative award should be granted ex officio erstwhile a soldier of a contingent whose area of activity was located in the 3 seas afraid meets the formal requirements set out in the Act and the Regulation. The star is not awarded for merit, but for his blameless service in a military contingent.
Ways out of the stalemate situation
We in Poland have for respective 100 years been distinguishing between 2 ways of getting out of difficult, hopeless and stale situations. average and wonderful. The average way is erstwhile Our woman shields us with her coat from danger. Here you can callback the vows of Lvowski Jan Kazimierz from April 1656 or the article by Stanisław Stroński from August 1920 entitled “The Miracle on the Vistula”. A clear, simple and effective procedure. In turn, we will see a miraculous way erstwhile Poles organize themselves and prepare themselves to effectively defy the threat. It will be akin to the stalemate situation with commemorative marks for the participants of the abovementioned quotas – the Mediterranean Star.
A wonderful way will happen erstwhile the competent individual from the staff department update the guidelines on the application for a designation for participation in the PKW, the commander of the XII PKW change UNIFIL will receive instruction on honours in accordance with the current legal state and the aforementioned information of the Minister of National Defence for the Sejm, and the superiors specified in Decision No 202/MON of 2012 will, by their own service, apply to the president of the Republic of Poland for the award of Mediterranean Stars to erstwhile participants of these quotas, and now their subordinates in active service, in reserve and at rest.
The average way will, in turn, consist in the usage by participants of quotas operating in the past "in the Mediterranean, the Black Sea or the Aegean" of old arabian wisdom about the mountain, which did not want to come to Muhammad and the basic power guaranteed by the General Rules of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland in the form of a written request to the current superior (PKW commander, JW commander, head of WCR), sent through an information strategy or registered in the law firm, to initiate the procedure for the granting of the Mediterranean Star.
This full situation resembles an old Ick schmuck who prayed to the Lord God to win the lottery. Finally, the irritated Creator said to him: “Icek, do not ask me. You give me a chance. You go and buy this fate!’
The choice of how to initiate a procedure, miraculous or normal, should be left to the parties concerned, i.e. the participants in those quotas. To justify the average way, I will remind you that in the past of Poland there was already a commemorative award, Memorial Medal for War 1918–1921, established by the Council of Ministers in 1928. Veterans of that war 8 years after its end besides had to study to the military administration authorities and submit “documents or certified copies stating that the petent corresponds to 1 of the conditions laid down in the Regulation.” And no 1 was surprised.
