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[hider=PFC Ostrowicz, Polish Land Forces]
Rank: Private First Class

Name: Karol Ostrowicz

Date/Place of birth: February 8, 1998 (20 years old) in Katowice, Poland

Character history: Karol Ostrowicz was like millions of other young men in Poland- part of the first generation born after the fall of Communism, raised Catholic, instilled with national pride and a "never again" ethic. He was a blue collar worker, a beer drinker, a middling success with women. The only thing that differentiated him from his peers was his love of hiking and backpacking, frequently spending long weekends alone in the Błędów Sands, the Sandomierz, the Krajina, various forests and wildernesses. Ostrowicz even belonged to several clubs and publications about the sport. While he enjoyed the bustling city life of Katowice, Karol felt comfortable in the solitude of the wilderness.

At the outbreak of war in the Ukraine, the Polish government took a hard look at the situation. Due to a series of humiliating surprise defeats in the past (1939 in particular), Polish military doctrine now called for painstakingly careful reconnaissance and the gathering of hard intelligence- Poles will never be caught off guard again. Numbers of disposition of enemy forces, terrain, attitudes of civilians, all things a Polish force needs to know before advancing. However, Poland lacked the satellite photography infrastructure available to larger countries. Russia's current air superiority ruled out surveillance by air.

Thus, the job fell to the youngest unit in the Land Forces: the 18th Reconnaissance Regiment. The 18th specialized in sending forward scouts alone or in small teams, typically on foot, motorcycle, or even horseback into sectors to learn as much as possible before reporting back. It was an old-fashioned, archaic way of fighting a war. But even its harshest critics admitted it yielded results.

The forested area of the Ukraine, as well as the need to expand the all-volunteer Polish Land Forces in general, led to officers from the 18th asking around the backpacking and hiking organizations that Ostrowicz frequented for skilled woodsmen, people who were accustomed to long hikes and melting into the forest. Call it patriotism, call it Catholic guilt, call it a yearning for adventure, but Ostrowicz accepted their offer and was inducted into the 18th before the end of the day.

The training program at Bialystok was grueling. Weapons handling, forest survival, observational techniques, Ukrainian and Russian language lessons- it was an important job and the 18th wanted to leave nothing to chance. However, Ostrowicz got through it. Now he finds himself assigned to a four-man team hiking into a strange country kilometers ahead of the nearest Polish formation, expected to travel fast and travel light.

Appearance: [url=http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WXRFgZHk0PE/TmcY3YWYS0I/AAAAAAAAB-o/jhr8eTZtAJk/s1600/Polish+soldiers+engaged+Armed+Forces+exhibition.+With+a+display+of+weapons+equipment+and+tactics%252C+including+a+downed+Pilot+extraction+display+%25282%2529.jpg]Karol Ostrowicz[/url]

Gear: Wz. 2010 uniform (Pantera pattern camo), forage cap, Zeiss x6 binoculars, waterproof map, compass, pen and notebook, waterproof matches, water purification tablets, small first-aid kit, sleeping roll, three days rations

Weapons and equipment: FB Mini-Beryl (5.56 mm), wz. 78 flare gun, wz. 98 knife

Role: Reconnaissance

Miscellaneous: In order to be clear, Ostrowicz is [b]not[/b] any kind of special forces operative. His role is limited to intelligence gathering and he is armed solely for self-defense. Ostrowicz is under strict orders never to engage the enemy.
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