Commander (Res.) Dariusz Wichniarek (born December 15, 1970) is a Special Forces officer, former commander of the Formoza Military Unit and a graduate of: the Military Engineering Officers' School in Wrocław, Gdańsk University of Technology, the Naval Academy in Gdynia, Joint Special Operations University at Hurlburt Field (now Tampa), the National Defense University in Washington, and the Naval War College in Newport, USA.
Cmdr (Res.) Dariusz Wichniarek has held the following positions: commander of a Navy divers' special forces group, flag officer of submarine weapons, specialist in the Maritime Special Operations Department of the Navy Command, head of the Operational Planning Department of the Special Forces Command, commander of the Maritime Special Operations Unit (renamed Military Unit Formoza), and, as the first Pole, served as chief of staff of the NATO Special Operations Component Command – Afghanistan (NSOCC-A). Cmdr (Res.) Dariusz Wichniarek also served as director of the Department of Defense Strategy and Planning at the Ministry of National Defense. Since retiring from uniform in 2018, he has held executive positions in business, responsible for business development, creating security and defense concepts, and developing modern technologies and their implementation in critical infrastructure security systems.
Cmdr (Res.) Dariusz Wichniarek has completed numerous specialist courses in Poland and abroad, including: combat diver course, parachute course, underwater minesweeping and pyrotechnics course, NATO Combined Joint Forces Special Operations Component Command Staff Officer Course, NATO CJFSOCC Planning and Operations Course, Security Stability Transition and Reconstruction Course, Special Operations Combating Terrorism Course, SOCC Staff Course, ISAF SOF Predeployment Training.
For his military service, he was awarded the gold medal "For Merit to National Defense", the silver medal "Armed Forces in the Service of the Homeland", the "Star of Afghanistan", the NATO medal "Non-Article 5 Medal", the American medal "The Legion of Merit".
He is interested in history, sports, painting and music.
