Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / The end of the Cold War and the September 11th 2001 attacks changed the strategic environment of the world. New socio-political realities increased the use of armed forces. The War on Terror brought the necessity of expeditionary warfare even to countries whose security doctrine had been so far exclusively focused on territorial defense. Poland is one such country. Throughout Polish history, there have been no expeditionary operations. New requirements after 1999 generated the necessity for reforms in Armed Forces of Poland. Since expeditionary warfare has never been practiced by Polish Army before, the reform process needs to be strongly coordinated with such military forerunners as the US Army. The thesis presents a study of contemporary war and its effects on force structure. It also shows how the US Army has reacted to the changing character of warfare. Such reforms as the Stryker Brigades, Army XXI and "Army After Next" program are analyzed in order to assess which of these solutions can be used in Polish Army reforms. The current capabilities of the Polish Army are also assessed in order to judge the background for military reforms in Poland. Finally a recommendation for reforms in Polish Army is made. / Captain, Polish Army

Independent Poland ceased to exist in 1795 and the various insurrections to restore the Polish state were thwarted by the Germans, Austro-Hungarians, and Russians. During the First World War, Polish statesmen called upon the thousands of Polish immigrants in the United States to join the Polish Army in France, a military force funded by the French government and organized by the Polish Falcons of America and Ignacy Paderewski, the world-famous Polish pianist. Over 20,000 men trained in Canada and fought in the final months of the war on the Western front. While in France they were placed under the command of General Jozef Haller and became known as Haller’s Army. At the conclusion of the war, the Allied leaders at the Paris Peace Conference decided to send the soldiers to Poland to fight in the Polish-Soviet War to stop the western advance of the Bolsheviks. When the war ended, the United States government, with the influence of Secretary of State Robert Lansing, funded the return of the soldiers to their homes in the United States. This dissertation focuses on questions of the relationships among foreign policy, nationalism, and immigration and investigates forced recruitment, dissatisfaction with the cause of Polish independence exacerbated by difficult wartime conditions, nationalism among immigrant groups, ethnic identity, and anti-Semitism.