The Zandarmeria Wojskowa (ZW) is a separate and specialised service that is part of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland. It performs police tasks mainly towards soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces. The Zandarmeria Wojskowa operates based on “the Act on the Military Gendarmerie and other law enforcement authorities” dated 24 August 2001 that specifies tasks, organisation, rights and duties of the soldiers of the Military Gendarmerie.
The main responsibilities of the Zandarmeria Wojskowa include: ensuring compliance of military discipline, protection of public order in military areas and facilities and the protection of life and military property. Additionally, the Zandarmeria Wojskowa is responsible for the prevention, detection of offences, disclosure and prosecution of crime perpetrators in military units and in public areas and against other pathological phenomena, such as corruption, alcoholism and drug addiction.
Soldiers of the Zandarmeria Wojskowa take part in combating natural disasters and other extraordinary environmental threats. They participate in search and rescue operations as well as humanitarian operations, focusing on the law and order and the security of military property.
The Zandarmeria Wojskowa performs entrusted tasks on the home territory as well as abroad. Gendarmes carry out their duties as members of Polish Military Contingents, multinational MP units and within coherent units that are parts of maneuver companies. They may act under the national or multinational chain of command. Soldiers of the Polish Military Gendarmerie served also as part of.
The Commander of the Zandarmeria Wojskowa is subject directly to the Minister of National Defence. Currently, the formation consists of the ZW Headquarters, 6 territorial branches located in: Bydgoszcz, Elbl ag, Kraków, Szczecin, Warszawa and Sagan, 2 Specialised Units located in Minsk Mazowiecki and Warsaw, a Training Centre and a Logistic Unit.
The Annual Zandarmeria Wojskowa Day was established by the decision no. 36/MON dated 26 April 1994 of the Minister of the National Defence of the Republic of Poland and is celebrated on the 13 June. It refers to the glorious traditions of the November Uprising of 1831 and the creation of the Field Guards by gen. Tomasz Lubienski that in the time of the Polish Kingdom performed gendarmerie duties. In 2007 the Polish Zandarmeria Wojskowa was granted a partner status within the EUROGENDFOR and since 2015, the Zandarmeria Wojskowa has been a full member of the European Gendarmerie Force.