It’s been 30 years. It seems hard to believe, but Buzdygan Awards were first awarded at a time when Poland was not yet a member of NATO, and soldiers could only dream of advanced Western equipment. However, despite passing years, the Award has not lost any of its prestige, and the winners call it a military Oscar.

The first reaction is often surprise. Rear Admiral Piotr Sikora, the Buzdygan Awards 2014 laureate and currently the Commander of the 8th Coastal Defense Flotilla, recalls that when his mobile rang, he was on his way home after work: “I didn’t have a hands-free set, so I had to stop to take this call. The Director of Wojskowy Instytut Wydawniczy (WIW, Military Publishing Institute) at that time, Col Dariusz Kacperczyk, told me I had been awarded the Buzdygan. I was speechless for a moment. I didn’t even know that I had been considered for this award...”.

Under identical circumstances, but two years earlier, Cdr Sebastian Bąbel, a pilot of the SH-2G ship-based helicopter, currently serving in the General Command of the Polish Armed Forces. He was also on his way home, also had to stop to answer the phone, and at first he thought to himself: “Nooo, it must be a mistake.”

“What?! Do you want to reward a guy who deals with old equipment? You have soldiers with experience of foreign missions, scientists... I recall such thoughts flashing through my head,” admits LtCol Tomasz Ogrodniczuk, Director of the Poznań Armored Weapons Museum (now a branch of the Polish Army Museum) and his founder, who in 2009, step by step, would complete a unique collection.

After the surprise moment, often comes the stage fright. “When I arrived at the Conference Center of the Ministry of National Defense to receive the award at the Buzdygan Gala, I got so stressed out that I began to wonder which side of the uniform should I fasten my buttons on,” laughs Cdr Sebastian Bąbel. Towards the end, however, all the emotions are covered up by this feeling of pride. As the winners emphasize, Buzdygan Award is not just an award, a distinction for people who do their job perfectly. The statuette is intended to be an expression of appreciation for those who – through their charisma, commitment, and courage – change the face of the army. That’s why, throughout the years, it has received an unofficial, though highly honorable name of a ‘military Oscar.’

Theatre of Many Actors

“We just wanted to pull interesting people out of the shadow” – explained a few years ago Ireneusz Czyżewski, the founder of the Buzdygan Award, who in the early nineties was editor-in-chief of “Żołnierz Polski.” The magazine was published simultaneously with “Polska Zbrojna,” and the award went under its wings. The statuettes to this day are awarded by the Jury composed of the PZ editorial board and the winners of the previous Buzdygan Award edition. During past three decades, the award went to over 250 people.

Among the winners, of course, dominate soldiers, representing all branches of the armed forces and ranks – from privates to generals. However, also civilians who contributed to building a positive image of the army were happy to receive it: the statuette went to Polish journalists Waldemar Milewicz (for his passion and courage in reporting from the most dangerous regions of the world) and to Bogusław Wołoszański (for his inventive presentation of military and historical issues), a basketball player Marcin Gortat (for his support provided to Polish veterans of military missions) or the founder of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (WOŚP) Jerzy Owsiak (for his unusual way of promoting the army).

In its thirty-year history, the Buzdygan Award travelled abroad twice. It went to Edgar Buckley, Deputy Secretary General of NATO, and General William Carter, Commander of the 1st Armored Division of the US Army – for allied support provided to Polish soldiers. There were also collective winners, such as the crew of the ORP Kaszub corvette – for making the path for the Polish Navy in NATO, or the soldiers of the Formoza special unit, who organized an extreme expedition in the Baltic Sea to collect money for their ill colleague, thus making their slogan We Never Leave One of Our Own come true.

In fact, the Buzdygan Award is almost always the result of teamwork, to a greater or lesser extent. Even if one special person gets it, there is usually a team behind it – subordinates, co-workers, colleagues. People who are willing to help, support, put into practice an innovative idea. This motif regularly returns in our conversations with the winners. “Air force is never a theater of one actor,” emphasizes LtCol (Res) Dominik ‘Zippity’ Duda, who spent many years in the cockpit of the F-16 aircraft. He was awarded Buzdygan in 2019 as one of the best trained combat pilots in Poland, an absolute master in his profession. “The outside attention is often focused on the pilot. But after all, in order for him to perform his duties well, he needs to work with a whole bunch of people – from technicians to navigators. The pilot is just one of the small cogs in a large machine,” says Cdr Sebastian Bąbel. LtCol Tomasz Ogrodniczuk says the same. “I received Buzdygan on behalf of all enthusiasts and lovers of old armored vehicles. Without them, I certainly would not go forward,” he emphasizes.

Motivating Award

The statuette can help. It’s like a positive booster. Corporal Monika Krasińska-Ligejka from the 13th Silesian Territorial Defense Brigade admits: “Sometimes I feel doubt or tired... and then I think about my Buzdygan. About the fact that by receiving this award, I committed myself to something.” When she was awarded in the fall of 2022, she had already been a coordinator of the piloting GPR K9 program, which was to lead to the creation of search and rescue groups in all brigades of territorial defense troops. It was mainly thanks to her activity that the first rescue dog was introduced into the service of the Polish Armed Forces. “The next step was to build a professional training center in Kuźnica Raciborska. Standing on stage, I promised myself that I would do everything in my power to establish such an institution. And the center works. If everything goes according to plan, by the middle of next year, search and rescue groups will operate in 90% of all TDF brigades,” emphasizes the Corporal.

Rear Admiral Piotr Sikora recalls that when he received Buzdygan in 2014, the Kormoran II Project was being born. While still the commander of the NATO team of mine defense forces, he had the opportunity to see documents related to the modern mine destroyer and, along with other naval officers, submit his comments. The prototype ship entered service three years later. Today, the 8th Ship Fleet has three Kormorans at their disposal. Soon, they will be joined by another three, as well as a whole range of underwater vehicles. “Step by step, we are building the most modern mine defense forces in the Baltic Sea. The Buzdygan Award made our effort more noticeable. Especially that shortly after I got it, the statuette went to Cdr Michał Dziugan, currently the Commander of the 13th Minesweeper Squadron, and earlier ORP Kormoran, i.e. the first of our new mine destroyers,” notices Rear Admiral Piotr Sikora.

Dr Tomasz Sanak, a doctor and three-time participant in the mission in Afghanistan, also talks about the power of Buzdygan. He received the statuette for 2017. “The award pulled me out of the shadows, except that I do not treat it in terms of personal gain. The award made people find out about what I do. Many had never heard about battlefield medicine or tactical rescue before. More applicants began to apply for my courses. The skills acquired in such classes can one day save someone’s life,” admits Sanak. In his case, the Buzdygan Award brought some good also in another aspect. “In 2019, I donated the statuette for auction. It was bought by an anonymous soldier. He paid 6,000 zlotys for it. The money went to pay for the rehabilitation of the veteran injured on the mission,” he recalls. Dr Tomasz Sanak was not the only one who donated his statuette for charity auction. Earlier, other winners – SrSgt Krzysztof ‘Wir’ Pluta, a former soldier of the Commandos Military Unit (JWK), and Col Szczepan Głuszczak.

Struggles of the Buzdygan Awards Jury

Meanwhile, the statuettes went to the next winners. Those in the uniforms of the Navy, Land and Air Forces, but also to one civilian. They share innovative thinking and the courage needed to make changes to the existing reality. “Each year, the Buzdygan Awards jury, feeling greatly responsible for the decisions made, makes the utmost care to make the award go to the best of the best. During this year’s meeting, the discussion on several dozen well-prepared candidature applications was not easy, and the members of the jury had to convince each other to make a decision,” emphasizes Izabela Borańska-Chmielewska, Editor-in-Chief of the “Polska Zbrojna” monthly. All this, however, guarantees that this time to the Buzdygan Awards go to good hands.