PKW Irini IV

Polish Military Contingent (PKW) EUNAVFOR MED IRINI, IV Rotation — Naval Aviation Brigade, 44th Naval Air Base Siemirowice · Allied · 2021-2022

The EU launched Operation IRINI on 31 March 2020 to enforce the UN arms embargo on Libya, and Poland's contribution was a compact air detachment flying the M28B 1R Bryza patrol aircraft out of Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily — the island silhouette and ring of EU stars on this patch mark the beat they flew. The fourth rotation, PKW IRINI IV, took the watch on 1 August 2021 when Cmdr. Marcin Rzonca relieved Cmdr. Mirosław Jaros in a ceremony attended by Poland's ambassador to Italy and the IRINI force commander, Adm. Fabio Agostini; the outgoing shift had logged roughly 140 patrols and 400 flight hours over the Mediterranean. The Polish contingent shared the Sigonella flight line with the U.S. Marines and soldiers of the North and West Africa Response Force, and this patch was gifted across that ramp — the contingent's liaison had openly invited the Americans to "come over and say hi or exchange flags or patches."