Latest news with #Strzelecki
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
The Ukraine war is showing Polish paratroopers that light infantry skills still matter, general says
NATO militaries are watching the Ukraine war and using the conflict to inform training. A top Polish general said he's learning that light infantry skills are still very important. "It must be developed better," Brig. Gen. Michal Strzelecki told BI. In a war where tanks struggle to move without drawing the attention of a drone, missions sometimes fall more to small, agile, light infantry units. That's one of many lessons that NATO militaries are taking from the Ukraine war. A top Polish general overseeing the country's paratroopers said that a big takeaway is that light infantry skills, like those brought by airborne forces, still matter. Brig. Gen. Michal Strzelecki, commander of Poland's 6th Airborne Brigade, told Business Insider that he is seeing in Ukraine "a kind of refreshment of the light infantry skills." Light infantry troops are rapidly deployable forces. They can move quickly and fight without the support of heavy armored vehicles, like tanks or infantry fighting vehicles. These troops are often lightly armed and equipped for versatility and swift, flexible operations that include surprise attacks and raids. For airborne forces, missions can involve insertion operations from planes or helicopters. US and other NATO forces used highly mobile light infantry for remote patrols and small-unit engagements during counterinsurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Ukraine war, as a large-scale conventional fight, is very different from America's post-9/11 conflicts, but the war is showing that there is still a role for lighter infantry forces and a need for those skills in big potential future fights. For instance, mobile light infantry units operating between strongpoints played an invaluable role in helping defend Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region during the early days of the full-scale invasion. Light infantry was also involved in urban warfare operations around the eastern city of Bakhmut. And in multiple instances, airborne and air assault brigades have conducted successful night assaults, small-unit ambushes, and rapid strategic deployments. Speaking on the sidelines of the Lively Sabre 25 exercise in southern Finland last week, Strzelecki said fighting in Europe has been historically heavily focused on maneuver warfare, "which requires a lot of, let's say, mechanized units, armored units." Tanks played a prominent role in both World War I and World War II, supporting dismounted infantry forces by delivering an armored punch to break through enemy lines. During the Cold War, Soviet armored assets were a major concern for NATO and factored into how allies developed their own armored capabilities. And amid the conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s, tanks and other armor again found themselves useful in the European theater. Strzelecki said that the Ukraine war shows that the skills of light infantry units have not been forgotten. "It must be developed better, and this is what we are doing in the 6th Airborne. We are very focused on [those kinds] of operations." "We are light infantry, airborne infantry. So that's why we have to be focused on that," he added. The scarred battlefields of Ukraine have been far less permissive for tank and armor operations than some other conflicts. Not only have the Soviet tank designs struggled, but so have top Western tanks like the American Abrams and German Leopards. Heavy Russian defenses during Ukraine's 2023 counteroffensive derailed Ukrainian efforts to breach enemy positions with armor and mechanized or motorized infantry assaults. Forces sometimes abandoned their vehicles and took the fight to the enemy on foot. Light infantry assaults saw mixed results. The situation for armored assets has only become more difficult with time and the growing proliferation of uncrewed systems. The Ukraine war has been defined by the heavy use of drones, enabling near-constant surveillance and atypical strike options. This is a difficult operating environment for armored vehicles. Thousands of these combat vehicles have been damaged and destroyed, with many taken out by small drones strapped with explosives. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
7 days ago
- General
- Business Insider
The Ukraine war is showing Polish paratroopers that light infantry skills still matter, general says
In a war where tanks struggle to move without drawing the attention of a drone, missions sometimes fall more to small, agile, light infantry units. That's one of many lessons that NATO militaries are taking from the Ukraine war. A top Polish general overseeing the country's paratroopers said that a big takeaway is that light infantry skills, like those brought by airborne forces, still matter. Brig. Gen. Michal Strzelecki, commander of Poland's 6th Airborne Brigade, told Business Insider that he is seeing in Ukraine "a kind of refreshment of the light infantry skills." Light infantry troops are rapidly deployable forces. They can move quickly and fight without the support of heavy armored vehicles, like tanks or infantry fighting vehicles. These troops are often lightly armed and equipped for versatility and swift, flexible operations that include surprise attacks and raids. For airborne forces, missions can involve insertion operations from planes or helicopters. US and other NATO forces used highly mobile light infantry for remote patrols and small-unit engagements during counterinsurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Ukraine war, as a large-scale conventional fight, is very different from America's post-9/11 conflicts, but the war is showing that there is still a role for lighter infantry forces and a need for those skills in big potential future fights. For instance, mobile light infantry units operating between strongpoints played an invaluable role in helping defend Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region during the early days of the full-scale invasion. Light infantry was also involved in urban warfare operations around the eastern city of Bakhmut. And in multiple instances, airborne and air assault brigades have conducted successful night assaults, small-unit ambushes, and rapid strategic deployments. Speaking on the sidelines of the Lively Sabre 25 exercise in southern Finland last week, Strzelecki said fighting in Europe has been historically heavily focused on maneuver warfare, "which requires a lot of, let's say, mechanized units, armored units." Tanks played a prominent role in both World War I and World War II, supporting dismounted infantry forces by delivering an armored punch to break through enemy lines. During the Cold War, Soviet armored assets were a major concern for NATO and factored into how allies developed their own armored capabilities. And amid the conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s, tanks and other armor again found themselves useful in the European theater. Strzelecki said that the Ukraine war shows that the skills of light infantry units have not been forgotten. "It must be developed better, and this is what we are doing in the 6th Airborne. We are very focused on [those kinds] of operations." "We are light infantry, airborne infantry. So that's why we have to be focused on that," he added. The scarred battlefields of Ukraine have been far less permissive for tank and armor operations than some other conflicts. Not only have the Soviet tank designs struggled, but so have top Western tanks like the American Abrams and German Leopards. Heavy Russian defenses during Ukraine's 2023 counteroffensive derailed Ukrainian efforts to breach enemy positions with armor and mechanized or motorized infantry assaults. Forces sometimes abandoned their vehicles and took the fight to the enemy on foot. Light infantry assaults saw mixed results. The situation for armored assets has only become more difficult with time and the growing proliferation of uncrewed systems. The Ukraine war has been defined by the heavy use of drones, enabling near-constant surveillance and atypical strike options. This is a difficult operating environment for armored vehicles. Thousands of these combat vehicles have been damaged and destroyed, with many taken out by small drones strapped with explosives.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Thursday event offers opportunity to meet Scranton School Board candidates
Voters will have a chance Thursday to meet the candidates for Scranton School Board before casting their ballots in Tuesday's municipal primary election. The Greater Scranton Martin Luther King Commission is sponsoring Thursday's meet-the-candidates event, which will run from 6-8 p.m. in the fifth-floor Rose Room of the University of Scranton's Brennan Hall. It will feature a Q&A session where members of the MLK Commission will ask questions of the candidates and give audience members an opportunity to ask additional questions, organizers said in an email. Heather Rhodes, Greater Scranton MLK Commission vice president, said the community has approached the commission over the years seeking information about candidates for the Scranton School Board. 'As a non-partisan group, we collectively decided to give the people the opportunity to learn who the candidates are and what they intend to do for our students if they are elected by hosting a 'Meet the Candidates' event at the University of Scranton,' Rhodes said in a statement. 'We are providing a platform where parents and members of the community may have the opportunity to submit questions or share personal anecdotes for the candidates to consider. This fosters the principle that voters will be equipped with vital information to make informed decisions on May 20th.' A total of six primary candidates for Scranton school director are vying to advance to November's municipal election, when four seats on the nine-member school board are up for grabs. They include incumbent school Director Danielle Chesek, recently appointed Director Jenna Strzelecki, former Director Carol J. Cleary and fellow candidates Julien M. Wells, John Howe and Joe Brazil. Chesek, Strzelecki, Wells, Howe and Brazil are all cross-filed, meaning they'll appear on both Democratic and Republican primary ballots seeking both Democratic and Republican nominations to advance to November. There are four Democratic and four GOP nominations to be won Tuesday, respectively, meaning a candidate could hypothetically finish outside of the top four in one party's primary and still secure enough support in the other's to earn a spot on the November ballot. Cleary, who isn't cross-filed, seeks only a Democratic nomination. She was previously appointed to fill a vacant seat on the school board in January 2022 and served until December 2023, following an unsuccessful run for a full term. Chesek won election to the school board in 2021, currently serves as the board's vice president and seeks a second term. Board members appointed Strzelecki late last month to fill the vacancy created by former Director Katie Gilmartin's resignation. She's serving the remainder of Gilmartin's term, which expires in December. That seat is on the ballot this year, with Strzelecki seeking election to a full four-year term. Brazil is the school district's retired former chief information officer. Light refreshments will be served at Thursday's MLK Commission-sponsored event. School directors serve without compensation.
