AN ESCAPE FORWARD STRATEGY - A NECESSITY AND AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE ARMED FORCES IN THE TIME OF A BUDGETARY CRISIS (Title in Polish - below)

(Title in Polish - 'Strategia ucieczki do przodu koniecznoscia i szansa dla transformacji sil zbrojnych w warunkach kryzysu budzetowego'). In the circumstances of a budgetary crisis, the Ministry of National Defense must adopt an escape forward strategy. It means there is a necessity for a substantial change of a target model of the Armed Forces and the program of their long lasting development. The strategy should be based on a paradigm of quality, i.e. assuming absolute protection of the military quality parameters against the effects of the crisis (professionalization, technological modernization, training), and search for the necessary savings in quantity parameters. At the same time it should create an opportunity to eliminate error (irrational) assumptions and projects anticipated in the current program of development of the Armed Forces. One of the most important conditions for successful implementation of such a strategy is a change of attitude of the Ministry of National Defense to the reform of management and command, including the transformation of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces from a type of headquarters/command into a strategic planning institution.