Name: Karolina Marianna Kowalska                    Age: 34
Nationality: Polska (Polish)                        Height: 1.71 m
Branch: Wojska Specjalne (Special Troops)           Weight: 55.5 kg
Unit: Jednostka Wojskowa GROM                       Hair: Blonde
Rank: Kapitan (OF-2)                                Eyes: Brown
Current Assignment: NATO Task Force Forty-Seven     Complexion: Fair

Description: A blond hair, brown eyed, Polish female, Lina typically adapts her appearance and clothing to blend-in while on an operation.  Here in Incirlik, she could pass for the cover model of a 5.11 women's catalog, as she's clad head to toe in light weight, neutral colored, tactical clothing.

Languages: Polish (5/5), English (4+/4+), Russian (4/4), Czech (3/3), German (3/3), Arabic (2+/2+)

Skill Profile
Master: Network
Expert: Disguise, Persuasion, Small Arms (Pistol), Unarmed Combat
Professional: Autogun, Acrobatics, Forgery, Ground Vehicle (Wheeled), Interrogation, Intrusion, Leadership, Medical (Trauma Aid), Observation, Small Arms (Rifle), Stealth, Survival, Thrown Weapons
Competent: Grenade Launcher, Medical (Diagnosis), Parachute, Swimming, UFOlogy

Background:  Karolina Kowalska was eight years old when the Poland became a democratic republic.  The years that followed shaped 'Lina' by instilling in her a deep desire for self-reliance and a fundamental understanding that change is inevitable.

Small and nibble as a child, Lina took gymnastics lessons early on, supplemented by instruction in both Sambo and Systema.  Her Russian coach, a die-hard communist who returned to his homeland shortly after Lech Wałęsa was elected, instilled in Lina a sense of competition, resiliency, and fearlessness.  From an early age, Lina realized that despite her small size, skill and speed created a synergy that could cripple a far larger opponent.  She would apply that lesson later in life to her intelligence operations, preferring small, talented teams and demanding OPTEMPO to large, sluggish, organizational structures.

After completing her A-Levels, Lina was accepted to the Wyższa Szkoła Oficerska Wojsk Lądowych (Tadeusz Kościuszko Land Forces Military Academy) in Wrocław.  Long before it had the clever acronym STEM, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics had been emphasized in Eastern European and Soviet educational systems.  It was at the Academy however, that Lina began to understand how powerful the skilled application of social sciences could be.  Poland's entry into NATO during her freshmen year meant that new ideas about military organization, psychology, and leadership were being explored.  Lina, who at enrollment had elected to pursue a Masters in Management following an undergraduate in National Security, began researching western organizational psychology, theory, and leadership development methodologies.  As Lina advanced among the corps of cadets, she learned how to use influence to lead, in contrast to the autocratic style so endemic among her peers.  In 2003 her Master's thesis led to the wide-scale use of the MBTI as a professional development tool among the Land Forces officer corps.  Herself an ENTJ, Lina was well-respected among the student body and left the Academy with not only with two degrees and her commission, but with numerous friends and contacts as well.

Thanks to lobbying from the senior faculty at Wyższa Szkoła Oficerska Wojsk Lądowych, Lina received her first posting of choice, as liaison officer for the Wojskowe Służby Informacyjne (Military Information Services).  Following successful completion of WSI field and tradecraft training, she was assigned to Camp Echo in Iraq as an intelligence liaison officer.  The Polish military was eager to put their best foot forward when operating with the Americans, including bright, self-motivated officers such as Lina.  Working with her American counterparts dramatically improved Lina's command of English during her tour.  Kowalska managed the distribution and dissemination of actionable intelligence between Polish and US units.  Between rotations in Iraq, Lina was based in Poland where she continued her liaison work by briefing Polish units preparing for deployments and assisting the [REDACTED] with high value interrogations in [REDACTED].

Following four years as an intelligence liaison, Lina was selected for undercover operations supporting the Polish contingent of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT).  Lina's mission was force protection, gathering intelligence on credible threats against the Polish contingent located in camp Iriba, near Abeche, Chad.  Her activities focused primarily on the Janjaweed militias that operated between Sudan and eastern Chad.  To blend in, Lina operated disguised as a local, easily done at a distance given the low flowing robes and shemagh commonly worn in the desert.  In urban areas, she relied on stealth to avoid detection when meeting with informants.  Thanks to her intelligence, Polish units were able to operate without major incident and support UN relief efforts.

Her performance in Central Africa should have secured her a long overdue promotion, but one intelligence report sabotaged her career.  While traveling alone between Biltine and Guereda, Lina stumbled upon the crash site of what she had described as an extra-terrestrial craft.  Within hours of the crash however, the site was sanitized, but by whom was as much a mystery as the source of the craft.  Lina's report, filed by SAT terminal, was quickly suppressed by the new Służba Kontrwywiadu Wojskowego (Military Counter-intelligence Service).  Lina was labeled a non-reliable and her career in Military Intelligence suffered greatly for it.

Fortunately her service in Chad and Sudan had put her on Jednostka Wojskowa GROM's radar. The unit had recently begun an aggressive campaign to recruit women to serve in intelligence roles and Lina was a prime candidate given her background and strong desire to leave Służba Wywiadu Wojskowego (Military Intelligence Service).  For the SOF unit, MI's loss was their gain and at least now they didn't have to worry about divided loyalties or if Lina was an MI plant.  Working with a personal trainer for three-months, Kowalska developed the strength and endurance she would need to pass the rigorous selection process.  Following airborne training at 6th Airborne Brigade's training center near Krakow, Lina entered the GROM training pipeline.  Upon completion she was assigned to a deniable classified intelligence gathering operation monitoring Russian troop strength in Kaliningrad in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.  After Kaliningrad, Lina accepted an assignment to Task Force 47.