Logistics support of military units as a determinant of local development
Authors: Orłowska Małgorzata 
Published: December 2023

Local development is one of the key directions of action of all countries in the world. This is due to concern for the quality and standard of living of the inhabitants locally, regionally, and, consequently, also national. Development is influenced by several factors that affect the territorial unit, most generally these factors can be divided by the extent of their occurrence (external and internal). Contemporary researchers in the Polish and foreign literature devote considerable attention to identifying these factors, measuring the strength of their impact, as well as determining which of them occur universally, such as throughout the country, and which of them occur only in a specific region or at a specific period of time. In the article, the author focused on the identification of logistic support of military units as determinants of local development. Logistic support of military units is carried out directly through Garrison Support Unit (GSU) - polish acronym – WOG or Support Units (SU) - polish acronym – OZ. The first GSU were established in 2008 as part of a pilot program, and at the beginning of 2013, the territorial support system for military units in the garrisons of the Polish Armed Forces was put into operation (Borucka 2013, p.39-48). Garrison Support Unit and Support Units and military units located on the territory of municipalities and districts are significant workplaces for the local population, both civilian and military. Moreover, these entities report a demand for various types of goods and services, often among local suppliers. GSUs and SUs are responsible for the implementation of these purchases in accordance with the public procurement law. In addition, they take part in shaping patriotic attitudes of young people by carrying out educational activities, setting state ceremonies, organizing cultural and sports events. The purposes of this article were to examine the views of selected local government officials on how the logistical support of military units affects the local development of the local government units they represent. In her analysis, the author of the article focused the main attention on the socio-economic situation of these regions. She used both theoretical and empirical research methods, among them analysis, synthesis, deduction, induction, comparison, generalization and an interview questionnaire. Six counties, three urban municipalities, eight urban-rural municipalities and 15 rural municipalities, which territorially in terms of logistical support belong to the 24th Garrison Support Unit, were surveyed. It should be noted that not all the surveyed local government units have military dislocated in them. Based on the survey, it was found that the logistical security provided by the 24th GSU to the military units in its area of responsibility, in the opinion of local government officials, both directly and indirectly influences the development of municipalities and counties. According to the respondents, endogenous factors have the greatest impact on this development, and one of them is the logistical support implemented by the 24th GSU.