Central Market Square in Poznan, Poland (gekaskr (123RF))
Our 2025-2026 “Welcome to Poland” magazine is a guide for newcomers and is a vital resource for understanding your new home in Poland.
An assignment to Poland is a unique and exciting opportunity to experience a foreign country. The closest full-service U.S. Army Garrison is USAG Bavaria at Grafenwöhr, which is roughly six hoursaway; however, you should have access to all you need during your time at USAG Poland.
The Republic of Poland is a central European country and member of the European Union. It is made up of 16 distinct “voivodeships” or administrative districts. Warsaw is its largest metropolis and the nation’s capital. Poland has a population of 38 million who speak Polish, a Western Slavic language. As a flourishing and innovative country, the cities are bustling and the towns are friendly, with great food and art scenes. A thousand-year “Polski” legacy tells a story of survival in its people and culture, through wars, revolutions, and cultural tumult, to create the vibrant land and the ardent NATO ally that Poland is today.
As USAG Poland is a growing garrison with ever-expanding services, check the garrison website or social media for the most up to date information: https://home.army.mil/poland/my-fort/newcomers.
Garrison in-processing occurs every Tuesdays 9:30-10:30 a.m. and is followed by an off-post housing brief. Culture college is every Wednesday from 8 a.m.- 3 p.m. at Camp Kosciuszko in Bldg. 28. This is required for all personnel and contractors are highly encouraged to attend as well. There are three days of classes and activities along with a checklist that soldiers must complete within seven days.
CAMP KOŚCIUSZKO
Marcelinska 15
61-001, Poznań
FOS ŻAGAŃ
Baza Amerykanska Zarska
68-100, Żagań
FOS POWIDZ
Witkowska 8
62-430, Powidz
All USAG Poland installations have an AAFES store. They range from traditional stores in buildings to mobile containers to flea-market type rodeos. Check with your local Garrison Support Element for open hours.
These services are common across Poland, and will deliver meals to off-installation addresses from local restaurants.
Uber Eats
Pyszne
For grocery delivery
Frisco
Wolt
Glovo
Common small grocery stores
Lidl
Żabka
Netto
Larger supermarkets
Tesco (24-hour Supermarket)
Spar
Kaufland
Auchan
Biedronka
The post office in Poznań has basic USPS retail functions where you can mail a parcel or letter out the same way you can at a USPS Post Office in the U.S. For outgoing mail, there are two ways to mail letters and packages.
A personal USPS Click-N-Ship® account (created by you). You can also use this account to order stamps directly to your PSC box if you wish. Click-N-Ship® enables you to print your own mailing labels. Once you have an account, complete the data about the package to include height, width, length, weight, addresses, and customs information. If you need assistance, visit the Post Office. Learn more at cns.usps.com.
Pirate Ship® is another personal shipping software available for your use. You can create an account for free and Pirate Ship has partnerships with both USPS and UPS. If you need help, they have live online chat support for 14 hours a day as well as a support email for out-of-office hours. Learn more at pirateship.com.
As a reminder, the APO service is provided for you as an authorized patron. The Post Office may not be used as part of any home-based business or used to provide a tax-free import for local nationals or others not entitled to the service themselves.
Size restrictions to APO
Packages may not exceed 66 pounds and size is limited to 42 inches maximum length and 72 inches maximum length and girth combined. Visit the U.S. Postal Service website (www.usps. gov) for additional item restrictions.
Poznań:
Your Name
PSC 1 650 Box XXX
APO AE 09103-XXXX
FOS Żagań:
Your Name
PSC 1 603 Box XXX
APO AE 09008-XXXX
FOS Powidz:
Your Name
PSC 1 601 Box XXX
APO AE 09017-XXXX
Note: The +4 of your ZIP code will depend on the box number assigned to you. The +4 of the ZIP is for all box numbers that fall within a certain range.
Your on-installation Legal Office can help with simple notaries and powers of attorney on a walk-in basis. Complex notary services and other legal advice is available by appointment.
V Corps Legal Assistance Office (Camp Kosciuszko): vcorps.osja-legal-assistance.mil@army.mil
Trial Defense Service Europe: usarmy.bavaria.7atc.mbx.trial-defense-services.mil@army.mil DSN (314) 599-7737
Powers of Attorney are recommended for spouses so they may handle paperwork if the military sponsor is not available due to training or deployment.
Dependents wanting to work while overseas should have their sponsors reach out to their servicing personnel or legal office.
Tax preparation services are no longer handled by legal offices, but there are numerous free options for simple return preparation.
Other legal services offered include wills, medical directives, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) issues, estate planning, immigration, debt or credit problems, and other non-criminal issues.
Assistance with military criminal issues is provided by Trial Defense Service offices.
Upon arrival in Poland, getting cell phone and internet service is vital and allows you to stay
connected. In accordance with the Service Members Civil Relief Act, a service member can bring a copy of military orders to their U.S. phone carrier to cancel their current contract if desired. If you keep your U.S. phone plan, be sure to unlock your existing phone before departure to obtain Polish phone service or have a dual SIM phone to maintain two phone plans.
Note: When you arrive, put your phone on airplane mode to avoid unexpected charges.
· Orange Polska: orange.pl/lp/for-foreigners
· T-Mobile: t-mobile.pl/c/na-karte/en
· Plus: plus.pl
· Play: play.pl/nowy
Google Voice will allow you to port your U.S. number for a fee ($20) so you can keep it. You can then use a local SIM card to have a local number and U.S. number simultaneously (with a dual-SIM phone.) Google Voice allows free calls to the U.S. using Wi-Fi. If you don’t want to be limited to Wi-Fi and haven’t gotten a local SIM yet, Google Fi is a paid phone plan that uses T-Mobile’s cell towers. Starting either of these processes is much easier while still in the U.S. Visit Google Voice’s website for more information: voice.google.com.
Allows you to purchase data packages for weekly, monthly and subscription-based services.
