Grom

Grom, the Polish word for thunderclap.

Also an abbreviation for Grupa Reagowania Operacyjno Mobilnego, in Polish. Operational Mobile Reaction Group, in English.

Poland's official Counter-Terrorist Unit created on July 13, 1990 by General Slawomir Petelicki. The United States of America and the United Kingdom played an essential role in the creation of GROM. Thanks to the contributions of these countries, Poland was able to create a highly qualified group of special forces in a short period of time.

It has missions to support Polish police and security forces as well as missions beyond Polish borders. GROM has recently been enlisted to target dangerous international organized crime groups operating on Polish territory. GROM operators are pulled from the Polish army and naval combat diving forces. It is believed they have approximately 200-400 members although the exact amount is classified. GROM operates in four-person teams which act as a unit. 75% of GROM operators are certified paramedics or nurses in addition to the already present medical doctors which are also combat assault personnel. Each GROM operator is expected to know at least two languages. All training is done with live ammunition.

GROM personnel are trained in maritime operations and are fully SCUBA qualified. Members of the maritime units are known to train with the U.S. Navy SEALs. Due to Poland's diverse terrain, operators train in urban as well as alpine and mountainous settings.

GROM was selected in 1994 to take part in Operation Restore Democracy. 55 members were sent to train with members of the U.S. 3rd Special Forces Group in Puerto Rico. Upon deployment to Haiti, GROM operators provided security for several important V.I.P.s, including U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and U.S. Secretary of Defense William J. Perry.

GROM operators were also deployed to Bosnia to support Polish Army units stationed there.

Most recently, GROM was sent to Iraq as part of Gulf War II. The United States Navy has taken a photograph showing GROM commandos at the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr, which they helped secure along with oil platforms. GROM was deployed in response to Poland stating it would aid the United States of America and the coalition.