Four-Legged Private, Corporal, and Sergeant: Military Ranks Awarded to Dogs in Poland in Recognition of Their Service

In Poland, new four-legged privates received their ranks with military honours near Warsaw in the town of Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, where a Napoleonic fortress bears witness to a long military history. 

The dogs were honoured as part of the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the 2nd Mazovian Engineer Regiment, which was organised in Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki. The regiment follows the traditions of the 2nd Sapper Brigade, which was formed in 1944. It is also the only engineer unit in the Land Forces that has service dogs.

The group of awardees included a German Shepherd, a Dutch Shepherd and two Belgian Malinois. The dogs are Einar, Elliot, Enzo and Amy. They were promoted from private and corporal to sergeant on Friday, as part of a new Polish programme to honour the service of dogs used to detect explosives - a job that is valued for its role in protecting human life.

The Polish Army Chief of Staff, General Wieslaw Kukula, decided last year that dogs serving in the army would be eligible for six military ranks, ranging from private to corporal to sergeant.

The awarded dogs were congratulated by their devoted humans.

‘These ranks are designed to honour the hard work of a dog in service,’ said Lance Corporal Daniel Kesicki, who recently completed a five-month training course with Elliot, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois. ‘For me, it's a symbolic recognition of the dog's service to the country.’

 ‘This is a symbolic gratitude from the entire army to the dogs for the work they do for us and for society,’ said the dog handler platoon commander, Staff Sergeant Pavlo Khvashchevskyi, about the awarding of service ranks to the dogs. In addition to the soldiers, he has 16 dogs under his command.

The canines of the 2nd Mazovian Sapper Regiment have recently joined the Polish military contingent Olympus. The soldiers who formed it have just returned from supporting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris. Their actions were highly praised by Lieutenant General Marek Sokołowski, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, who attended the ceremony in Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki. 

‘It was good to hear from our coalition partners about the training and preparation of the contingent, as well as the professionalism of the handlers and dogs. This group protected, among others, the French President himself,’ the general said.