Armor crew checking terrain on maneuvers.
Courtesy Polish Information Agency, Warsaw

Trainees moving in camouflage on field exercise.
Courtesy Polish Information Agency, Warsaw

In mid-1991, the Warsaw Pact ceased to function as a military alliance, ending the dominating role of that organization in Polish national defense. Poland's approach to national security changed drastically, but the change really was a return to the geopolitical fundamentals that had formed the nation's long-term threat perception and military doctrine. Poland sought a new balance among its immediate neighbors (including Russia and Germany) and new security arrangements with other states, such as Hungary and the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic (CSFR--see Glossary), that were also emerging from Soviet domination. Like Poland, those nations now felt exposed on all sides. They were free to determine their own future, but they were also solely responsible for the results of their political and national security choices.

Data as of October 1992