Participation of units and troops of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland in crisis situations

Ensuring security is one of the fundamental existential goals of nations. It is among the most important needs of every human being. Without satisfying the need for security, we can hardly speak of the existence, survival, development and ordinary everyday functioning of society. A world full of possibilities and diversity can also be a cruel world, creating a sense of threat. The implementation of state tasks in the field of national security depends, among other things, on effective crisis management. The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland, as the ex-ecutive agent of the crisis management system, take an active part in counteracting and combating crisis situations. The purpose of this work is to characterize the crisis management system in Poland, present the legal bases and procedures for the use of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland in crisis situations and analyze the legitimacy and effectiveness of the use of military units and troops in this type of incidents.


Introduction
The modern world faces more and more threats. Natural disasters, terrorism, influx of immigrants, contamination, cybercrime, armed conflicts and hybrid wars increase the scale of threats, their effects and the number of forces and resources involved in overcoming a crisis.
Crisis situations may arise in every country. Ensuring effective protection during their occurrence requires the cooperation of many state entities and bodies responsible and adapted to combat such events.
The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland are a basic element of the defense system of the state, which is intended to ensure the security of its citizens and the inviolability

Crisis management as a basis for providing security
The implementation of state goals in the field of national security depends on its organization, the legal system in force in the state, the organization of the state management system, social needs in the field of security and, above all, effective crisis management. In order to thoroughly discuss the crisis management system in the context of the participation of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland in crisis situations, it is necessary to define the basic concepts. The crisis management system is defined as "an internally coordinated and creating a whole a dynamically developing system of subsystems pursuing the goal set together" [1]. The designated and, at the same time, main goal of the crisis management system is to reduce the impact of crisis factors on the functioning of the state.
The concept of crisis is multidimensional. This means that it can be perceived and defined in various ways. According to Bogdan Nogalski, a crisis may be defined as "a process of adverse events, a breakthrough between development phases, or a decision-making problem" [2]. Crises may be of a different nature and degree of severity depending on the circumstances, thereby constituting a special decision-making situation, which can be described by the following three dimensions: -fast decision making, -degree of predictability -surprise, unpredictability, -concerns resulting from an uncertain situation -fear, randomness, high level of danger [3].
Therefore, a crisis is a situation in which often difficult and yet rational decisions should be made in the shortest possible time. A surprise and fear of the unknown, of the problem that must be solved in an optimal manner, are disadvantages to those involved in combating the crisis.
Threats that cause a crisis situation can be divided into two groups: -caused by the forces of nature, -caused by human activity [1].
The first group of threats includes various types of natural disasters such as fires, floods or hurricanes, while the second -technical failures as well as social and terrorist events.
In order to effectively fight a crisis, effective and rational management is required during its occurrence. The system striving to find a way out of this type of events must be focused on combating them at the earliest possible stage. According to Michael Regester and Judy Larkin, most problem situations can be predicted well before they occur and managed effectively. The crucial thing is to see the problem and be willing to solve it [4].
A crisis management system should form an inseparable part of the management system of a given organization, system, structure or state and serve to prepare and then ensure their efficient functioning during a crisis. Therefore, before defining the term "crisis management" it is worth presenting the definition of management first. According to Eugeniusz Nowak, management means "the process of planning, organizing, leading and controlling the work of organization members and using all available resources of the organization to achieve its goals" [1].
As Michael Regester and Judy Larkin write, "every crisis has a seed of success and the roots of failure. The discovery of the seed of potential success, its cultivation and harvest is the essence of proper crisis management. However, the essence of improper crisis management is to bring the bad situation even worse" [4].
In a broad sense, crisis management covers all aspects of management before emergence, during and after the crisis. In the traditional form, crisis management places particular emphasis on the broadly understood response to changes in the environment, neglecting somewhat pre-crisis and post-crisis activities. However, this is too narrow thinking, which reduces the management efficiency. For the effective fight against a crisis, it is necessary to search for ways that can reduce the size and scale of losses before a crisis and introduce systems for early information on the potential crisis occurrence. Effective crisis management, therefore, consists in defining such methods of action that allow for: -reducing the number of sources and potential dimensions of a crisis and reduce its consequences, or enable avoiding a crisis, -improving actions taken at the initial stage of a crisis situation, -improving undertakings aimed at combating a crisis, -ensuring the effectiveness of activities related to the post-crisis reconstruction of the system [5].
Aneta Zelek defines crisis management as "conscious, deliberate decision making aimed at closing a crisis process" [3]. In this sense, crisis management is a decisionmaking process whose primary goal is to get out of the current, unfavorable state that has existed in a given system, structure or organization.
Pursuant to the Act on Crisis Management of April 26, 2007, crisis management understood in the context of ensuring public safety is "the activity of public administration bodies, being an element of national security management, which consists in preventing crisis situations, preparing to take control over them through planned actions, reacting in case of crisis situations as well as reconstructing infrastructure or restoring its original character" [6].
Crisis management deals with both mastering and overcoming a crisis as well as preparation for its potential occurrence. Consideration of possible crisis situations usually allows preventing them or at least reducing their negative effects [7]. In this context, crisis management can be defined as a tool for identifying, analyzing emerging problems and managing these problems [4].
The existing rules for the functioning of the national crisis management system in Poland were developed as a result of conducted studies and theoretical analyzes on crisis management, experience in preventing and combating crisis situations as well as conclusions resulting from normative acts.

The crisis management system in Poland
Crisis management in Poland in the context of national security is characterized by the following principles: -the principle of the primacy of the territorial system -placing a special emphasis on the horizontal organization of power bodies, which is built on a three-tier power division (poviat, voivodeship, country), -the principle of one-man management and responsibility for maintaining the system's readiness -based on changing the significance of collegial bodies from decision-making to advisory, whose main task is to assist the manager in making effective decisions, -the principle of adequacy of character and size of a threat -which means that the appropriate level of public administration responds to a specific threat, -the principle of universality of crisis response -involving inclusion in crisis management of all entities operating on a given area, i.e. citizens, services, inspections, guards, non-governmental organizations, etc., -the principle of directing and bearing responsibility by one-person authorities that exercise administrative power, i.e. a commune head, staroste, voivode, minister, prime minister [1].
The crisis management system in Poland is multi-level and consists of the following components: -crisis management bodies, -consultative and advisory bodies competent in initiating and coordinating activities undertaken in the field of crisis management, -crisis management centers that maintain 24-hour readiness to take action [8].
At every level of public administration there is a team suitable for a given territory, whose tasks include, among others: -monitoring the current situation, -preparation of emergency response plans, -crisis response and coordination of the reconstruction process [9].
Teams perform their tasks not only during the crisis, but also in normal states by undertaking forecasting, planning, analytical and other activities necessary to fulfill tasks imposed on relevant bodies.
Identification of potential threats and estimation of their occurrence is carried out as part of the prevention of crises occurrences. Emergency response plans, and the most important element -the main plan, are drawn up at the preparation phase at the national, voivodeship, poviat and commune levels. While emergency response procedures and the so-called functional attachments are developed during the development of emergency response plans based on the experience and results of exercises conducted. Crisis response procedures define a set of actions in case of crisis situations [1].
In the event of a crisis situation, all documents and instruments created during the preparation phase are used, and through applying the procedures contained therein, specific actions aimed at combating the crisis and the maximum reduction of its effects are implemented. As a result of the identification of high risk of a crisis event, crisis management bodies and consultative and advisory bodies' works begin; they initiate and coordinate activities of designated entities, including the Armed Forces. At the moment of crisis crisis management teams that coordinate activities of entities responsible for fighting crisis situations carry out the action.
Having coped with a crisis event, projects related to reconstruction and return to the state from before the crisis are launched and conclusions to improve the functioning of the crisis system are drawn up.

Legal basis for the use of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland in crisis situations
Tasks of the Armed Forces, methods and modes of their use in crisis situations have been determined by legal regulations contained in the following normative acts.
The basic document of strategic importance, which contains information on the use of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland in crisis situations, is the 2014 National Security Strategy of the Republic of Poland. This strategy presents a number of objectives and the resulting tasks assigned to the military, which include, inter alia: -monitoring of radioactive, chemical and biological contaminations in the country, -conducting search and rescue operations, -providing assistance to civil entities and the society in responding to crisis situations and elimination of their consequences, -improvement of the national monitoring, notification and warning system on threats and elimination of the effects of natural disasters and catastrophes, -improvement and development of the national crisis management system [11].
For the purpose of effective implementation of the above-mentioned tasks, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland have to maintain means and measures to threats to adequately respond to emergencies. The strategy indicates the National Reserve Forces as a formation which is to play a special role in the implementation of crisis -related tasks and which requires reform in order to strengthen its real possibilities of action [11].
One of the most important legal documents regulating the use of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland in crisis situations is the 2007 Act on Crisis Management. The Act stipulates that the Minister of National Defense is part of the Government Crisis Management Team. In the aforementioned Act, we read that "if in a crisis situation the use of other forces and measures is impossible or may prove insufficient, unless other regulations provide otherwise, the Minister of National Defense may, at the request of a voivode, put a troop or unit of the Polish Armed Forces at the disposal of the requesting party, together with charging them with the conduct of crisis management tasks [...]" [6].
Another normative act regarding this issue is the Act on the Universal Duty to Defend the Republic of Poland of 1967, as amended. Article 3 reads: "the Armed Forces may also take part in combating natural disasters and eliminating their consequences, terrorist activities, search and rescue operations and saving human life [...]" [12]. Article 60 of the aforementioned Act, stipulates that "Calling for military exercises, called up within immediate notice to appear, can be implemented to engage military units in combating natural disasters and eliminating their consequences" [12].
The Act on the State of Natural Disaster of 2002 clarifies the methods of initiating the use of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland as part of the crisis system. Article 18 of this Act reads: "During the state of natural disaster, if the use of other forces and means is impossible or insufficient, the Minister of National Defense may put troops or units of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland at the disposal of the voivode at whose territory the natural disaster has occurred, along with directing them to perform tasks related to counteracting effects or removing the natural disaster" [9].
The 2002 Act on the State of Emergency determines the possibility of using the Polish Armed Forces during the state of emergency by the President of the Republic of Poland on the request of the Prime Minister in order to "restore the normal functioning of the state if the forces and measures used so far have been exhausted" [13].
The Act on the State Fire Service of 1991 provides for the use of Military Fire Protection as part of crisis management. The provisions of the Act and the regulation drawn up on the basis of this Act stipulate that the Military Fire Protection "organizes and conducts rescue operations during the fight against fires and the elimination of other local threats in areas under the management (use) of the Armed Forces" [14].
In the field of emergency medical services, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland may participate in crisis situations on the basis of the Act on the National Medical Rescue Service of 2006, which imposed on the Armed Forces the obligation to include military medical rescue teams and air search and rescue groups subordinated to the Ministry of Defense in the medical rescue system, and cooperate with entities that are components of the emergency response system [15].
As part of radiological support, civilian entities are supported by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland, mainly by chemical troops, whose primary task in this respect is to monitor the radioactive contamination risk. The principles and methods of this support were set out in the Act on Atomic Law of November 29, 2000.

Introduction procedures and tasks implemented by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland in crisis situations
Introduction of the Armed Forces to crisis actions can be carried out in three ways. The first mode is the basic operational procedure, which consists in submitting a voivode's request to the Minister of National Defense for deployment of forces and measures to support civil structures in the framework of counteracting a crisis situation. While formulating such an application, the voivode can consult the competent regional military administration body in the given region in order to concretize expectations regarding support for civil entities [16].
The second mode of introducing the Armed Forces to emergency actions is the descriptive procedure of action. It consists in directing the Armed Forces to crisis actions based on a direct decision of the Minister of National Defense or on the orders of the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces. In such a case, the legal basis to initiate the prescriptive procedure is the motion of the Minister of Internal Affairs or the Plan for the use of troops and units of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland in the event of crisis situations [16].
The third way is the emergency activation, which is used in exceptional and urgent local crises. In this mode, the military unit commander takes, exceptionally, decisions on the use of the Armed Forces and then reports the fact to the direct superior [16]. The

Forces and measures of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland intended for use in crisis situations
The Crisis Management Plan of the Ministry of National Defense is the basic document of the strategic level regulating the use of forces and measures of the Polish Armed Forces in crisis situations. The document specifies task performers and resources that can be used for crisis management, procedures for their activation, rules for coordination between them and the organization of logistic and medical support. In order to specify tasks carried out by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland, the Plan specifies the guidelines relating to their use in the following areas: -carrying out anti-terrorist activities and maintaining public order, -isolation of the dander area, protection, saving lives and health, and evacuation at endangered construction objects and monuments, -search and rescue operations, -situations requiring the use of specialized equipment, as well as clearing the area of explosives and dangerous military objects, and their disposal, -monitoring and assessment of effects of non-military threats, -elimination of chemical and radioactive contamination, -reconstruction and repair of damaged technical infrastructure and ensuring the permeability of communication routes, -anti-epidemic, sanitary and hygienic activities, providing medical assistance and elimination of contamination and biological infections, -evacuation of people and property and protection of the area during nonmilitary threats, -protection and conservation of critical infrastructure facilities used by the Ministry of National Defense [18].
According to data from the Crisis Management Plan of the Ministry of National Defense, the Polish Armed Forces can detach a total of about 9,600 soldiers and 1,200 equipment units to support public administration bodies in crisis situations.
The following formations are detached from the Polish Armed Forces to implement crisis management tasks: -engineering rescue battalions, -biological reconnaissance teams, -chemical and radiological emergency teams, -air rescue groups, -ground search groups, -explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) patrols [19].
In order to combat non-military threats, including, first of all, catastrophes and natural disasters, soldiers of the National Reserve Forces may be directed by the military administration to perform tasks as part of the crisis assignments.
In accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of National Defense, the fifth branch of the Armed Forces, the Territorial Defense Forces, is responsible, inter alia, for carrying out tasks related to the participation of units and troops in combating natural disasters and elimination of their effects, property protection, participation in search and rescue operations and rescue or protection of health and human lives, participation in the implementation of tasks in the field of crisis management and cooperation with other authorities and entities in matters related to state defense [20].
The Territorial Defense Forces are prepared to carry out tasks in times of peace, crisis and war. The role of this type of the Armed Forces is to help and support the local community in each of these three states. The main purpose of soldiers of the Territorial Defense Forces in the field of crisis management operations is to complement the work of public services such as the Police, Fire Brigade or health service through the use of specialist competences. Light infantry companies, which are supposed to appear in every poviat, will be profiled according to the area under their responsibility. There are plans to create at least four profiles: general, municipal, water and mountain. Profiling will be related to the soldiers' specialist skills and the equipment of units, which will also be used during the performance of crisis-related tasks.
The Territorial Defense Forces are to be equipped with drones with thermal-imaging heads, which will be used in search and rescue operations. Soldiers' rescue skills and keeping medical backpacks at their homes are to accelerate the first aid to those injured in crisis situations. The engineering companies are to have equipment that will enable, among other things, rubble clearing, preparation of fortifications and water treatment. All trucks are to be equipped with ploughs to remove snow in winter. Light infantry units will also have high-capacity power generators and flat-bottomed boats. In addition, within the framework of this branch of Armed Forces, there will be teams for the reconnaissance of biological, chemical and nuclear contamination. The Psychological Support Group is planned at each brigade headquarters, with a personnel be able to provide care and psychological assistance to victims in crisis situations [21]. The implementation of the above plans will increase the possibilities and effectiveness of actions carried out by the Armed Forces in the event of emergencies.
Within the framework of supporting public administration bodies in crisis situations, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland may currently use the following equipment units: -PTS amphibious vehicles (Floating Self-Propelled Transporters), -excavators, -bulldozers, -water tanks, -field kitchens, -field power plants, -boats, -low-bed trailers, -off-road trucks, -off-road cars, -sanitary vehicles, -buses, -helicopters and planes, -vessels.

Examples of the use of troops and units of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland in crisis situations
An example of the use of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland in crisis actions is the implementation of the tasks by troops and units during the so-called "flood of the millennium". In July 1997, the continuous rainfall caused the rising water and flooding of many cities throughout the country. The disaster brought 56 deaths and financial losses estimated at 12 billion zlotys [22]. Troops of the Polish Armed Forces were directed to fight the disaster. The Armed Forces equipped with specialized equipment, such as floating self-propelled transporters, successfully carried out rescue operations and evacuation of people from the areas under threat. During the flood, soldiers also performed tasks related to providing the necessary logistics support in hard-to-reach places for the civilian population, and took part in the reconstruction of the road and bridge infrastructure. It is estimated that during the "flood of the millennium", 25,747 soldiers participated in the rescue operations, and including those kept ready and available for immediate action in military districts there were in total 47,000 soldiers [23]. In this regard, tasks of troops and units of the Polish Armed Forces were directed at supporting the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, ensuring safety in the air space, assistance in maintaining order, maintaining readiness to conduct rescue operations, implementation of crisis management operations and counteracting potential acts of terrorism.
During the European Football Championships in 2012, over 3,000 soldiers were involved in securing the event and 9,500 soldiers were maintained in readiness to react in the event of an emergency [25]. There were performed 19 F-16 aircraft missions, 42 Mi-24 helicopter flights, 3 CASA-295M aircraft flights, 9 transport helicopter flights, 2 AWACS missions, 11,170 Military Police patrols, 51 Mine Clearance Patrol interventions, and 23,700 accommodation places were provided for the Police officers and Border Guards [26].
During the Summit of NATO member states, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland together with other public services watched over the security and logistics of 2,000 delegates. This undertaking involved securing 2,600 convoys, checking 20 hotel bases where representatives of allied states stayed, patrol tasks and 24/7 observation of air space on the part of the Armed Forces.
Over 2,500 soldiers took part in securing the World Youth Day (WYD), which took place in 2016 in Krakow. During this event, the Polish Armed Forces secured air transport for the Pope and the Vatican delegation. The Armed Forces built a helicopter-landing pad and ensured the functioning of a field hospital to evacuate the injured in an emergency. The soldiers checked the meeting area in terms of security, secured communication routes during the WYD, ensured safety of land and air transport, and carried out passive anti-terrorist actions, such as patrolling and scanning the meeting area by sharpshooters and snipers [27].
The above-mentioned mass events took place without serious incidents affecting the safety of their participants. The effectiveness of the tasks carried out by the soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces and the cooperation of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland with the officers subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration have been assessed at a very high and professional level.

Conclusions
The aim of this work was to present basic information related to crisis management, characterization of legal bases and historical examples of the Armed Forces' participation in crisis situations and an attempt to assess the legitimacy of using the Armed Forces as part of crisis actions.
The following conclusions can be drawn from the analysis of the above issues: -the implementation of crisis tasks by the Polish Armed Forces is based on too large amount of legal acts, which may cause inaccuracies in the scope of interpretation and application of specific provisions in practical operation during crisis actions, -the goal ought to be to simplify the rules of using the Armed Forces in crisis situations by delegating powers to make decisions regarding the use of units and troops to lower levels of command, -the possibilities and scope of use of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland as part of crisis management are comprehensive, which enables their utilization in a wide range of crisis-related activities, -units of the Polish Armed Forces have often proved themselves in the practical conduct of crisis actions, which confirms the legitimacy of their use in such activities, -continuous training and exercises in the implementation of tasks in crisis situations should be sought, including an element of coordination between civil entities and military units to improve the functioning of the national crisis management system, -equipment intended for the implementation of crisis tasks should be constantly modernized or replaced with new, more modern one, -the scale of contemporary crisis threats, in particular related to terrorism, indicate the need to continue the preparation of units and troops of the Polish Armed Forces to perform tasks under crisis conditions, and to organize international cooperation regarding solutions in dealing with this type of threats.