‘One-sentence message’
The American message regarding the transfer of soldiers from the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team from Texas to Poland was extremely short, including neither explanation nor justification. “It was a brief, one-sentence message sent through routine military channels in an informal manner,” said one of the people in the circle of the Chief of the General Staff.
“What happened at headquarters is a typical organizational mess,” said another of the people close to the General Staff. “The law on the protection of classified information stipulates that only the head of an institution may read classified correspondence. However, workarounds are necessary for the institution to function and maintain continuity,” this person said.
“It is well known that the chief of staff is often away and is a very busy person. That is why he should authorize others to read classified correspondence so that it is reviewed several times a day, and not just when the chief finds the time to do so,” this person said.
In this instance, the delay in reading correspondence meant that the civilian leadership of the ministry of defense learned that the rotation of U.S. troops to Poland had been suspended from the American media late Wednesday evening.
“I don’t know what system of communication between the chief of staff and the defense minister is currently in place, or how often he briefs the minister,” said Gen. Mieczysław Cieniuch, who served as Chief of the General Staff from 2010 to 2013 and is now retired. “In the past, on important matters, the chief of staff had access to the minister around the clock. On day-to-day matters, however, he briefed the minister once a week,” he said.
“If the information from the Americans arrived on Monday, then the Chief of Staff should have been briefed on it by Tuesday at the latest,” Gen. Cieniuch said. “The whole problem lies in how this information was classified within the General Staff. In my opinion, it should have been classified as very important and urgently delivered to the minister of defense, because such information has not only a military but also a political dimension,” he said.