Should we change the rules to let Poles join the British Army?

Hi Carol,been busy with "real life" ;) so to speak :)
Personally,I dont think any rules should be changed,what I do feel though is that,someone who wants to make a long term commitment to a new country should have the ability/oppertunity,if they so wish,to serve that new country in anyway they feel comfortable with,be that Armed forces,Police or any such service. Of course,if they dont speak the lingo thats another issue. I know there is a huge proportion of Hispanics in todays US.Army,but I rather imagine they speak english as well as Spannish.

This is very true. When I served, there were a lot of Latino and Philippino enlisted and they all spoke english. Some had a heavy accent, but as long as they understood the language it was ok. It was difficult at times to understand each other, but we got used to it.

Awww am so glad to see that you two are friends now :) Nice innit. Hello to you both :)

Hi Lady in Red. I always look forward to hearing what isthatu has to contribute, even though he can be "grumpy" sometimes. He makes some excellant points. LOL Carol

Hey,Im friends with everybody,just suffer from net tyson syndrome now n again lol
Z',re the phillipinos......did they all get confused with gender pronouns like they do over here?Typical exchange; " Your Grandfather is doing very well,she is very happy and she is a lovely man....." (sweet people,funny way with words lol)

It was a little bit of that and when they yell ( many were high ranking) it's almost funny. They are very nice people and never had an issue....except for maybe the food they tried to make me eat in the Phillipines.

and lets not even mention the reenacted crucifixtions !!! :)

Yooooo! Right? They are the definition of extreme. I've never seen anything like this and lucky enough not in person. They are hard core when it comes to the crucifying. I saw a documentary on this not too long ago.

Yep,I thought it was all a bit of ,well,,lets laugh at the natives hype,untill I worked with some guys who actually take part in it ! Hardcore....

The US gives citizenship for foreigners willing to join the US army. That's not people living in the US, its anybody, worldwide can become a US mercenary just by applying.

You mean that it is different because the army has long been open to non-British citizens? I know a man who is a British army officer and had his application for British citizenship rejected because he had spent too many days outside of the UK in the qualifying period. Why had he been outside the UK? Because he was serving in Kosovo and Iraq.

Altho' any Pole who joined the British army might well find he had legal problems when/if he returned to Poland.

It depends on what level u c it. Poles, as taxpayers in the UK, and now part of the fabric of Britain's society, have a right to defend the country and their newly-found homes against attacks from abroad and to serve as representatives for Britain against terrorists who threaten to undermine global stability and whose ideology we deplore.

On a different level, it would give Poles a chance to use the experience picked up from their WKU here in Poland and give them additional employment opportunities. The army is a diverse institution these days, they could do many things.

Im guessing your a bit weak on your military history then JP? Coz you sure aint heard of the FSSF then have you? Lets make it a bit easier. The Devils Brigade ( Clff Robertson,Wiliam Holden 196something...) or the 1st Special Sevice brigade/force,were a joint US / Canadian force set up in 1942 for a proposed invasion of Norway. This never happened but the force did go on to play crucial roles in the Aelutions then more famously in the Italian campaigns and southern france. The FSSF was considered by most as one of the finest fighting forces of ww2 and led the way to the later green berets and LRRP style units.

510 pilots died during the battle of britain, 30 of whom were polish!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So ?
half a million brits died in the second world war, a war britain entered into because poland was invaded.

every war I have reads that involves poland, results in polish soldiers throwing down their weapons and surrendering.

do we want an army of eastern european surrenderers ?

I think you would benefit from more reading and less posting :)

said guy from independent republic of scotland who thinks that being true scottish means to speak english with scottish accent. :)

He's full of sh!te, to put it in the Glaswegian way.

LOL those weedgies give Scotland a bad name at times!!

Can i just mention , that without the help of Polish pilots during the battle of Britain , England would have been really up against it , and Polish units in the British army fought bravley in many battles , Monte casino to name just one....

You are speaking of "First to Fight", "Fought on all Fronts", "Fought from start to Finish", Poland. Keep reading.

celinski do not bite.i know its hard when such crap is spouted but he feeds on it.

Being an Ex Officer in HM forces I clearly state NO
Being part of the British Forces means serving Queen and country....I don't quite see how being Polish people could follow such orders when its not from their own nation.

Also when you are in a battle situation when you require the confidence in your colleagues.....would you really have it (100%)from someone who comes from Poland. If you do, then fine let them join. I unfortunately see a % of Poland as a very corrupt society. I have 1st hand experiences of this both in the UK and Poland.

I think if Polish you should fight for and with your own country. Then you are following your own countries decisions and not anothers. However good the Polish troops in Iraq/Afghanistan are.

Hmmm! I wonder why the Brits did not have this attitude in WW2?

I thought Poles fought in Polish units under Polish leadership during ww2. Same as the French etc.

If you were there in ww2 then you can tell me your story if not...then realise everyone every country has their own version of who and how the war was won.....If you have a few days I'll talk you through the Royal Corps of Signals role...you can talk me through the Polish role :)

Look at the uniforms..They fought under Polish leadership but as elements of the British Army..

I think that UK shouldn't change rules. It is not WWII. Poland is member of NATO and EU. Poles are coming back from UK.

Crap! Danzig was a fully german town at that point, with nearly 98 percent Germans! Why not a squadron "Munich" or a squadron "Berlin"???A*ssholes!


I really wonder where are the famous polish fighter aces???
They must have chucked up quite a number compared to the clumsy Germans!

Where are they???

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_War_II_air_aces

lol, sorry I couldn't help but laugh. :)