Character Name: Karol 'Lolek' Kazimierz Zalewski
Age: 27
Ethnicity: Polish
Gender: Male
Blood Type: A+
Nationality: Polish
Hometown: Białowieża, Podlaskie Voivodeship
Service Branch: Wojska Zmechanizowany & Wojska Ochrony Pogranicza, Ludowe Wojsko Polskie [Mechanized Troops (Conscript) & Border Guards (Recalled Reservist), Polish People's Army]
MOS: Specjalisty Wojsk Zmechanizowanych [Mechanized Infantryman]
Rank: Starszy Szeregowy [E2]
Unit: ex-2nd Polish Free Legion
Languages: Polish, Russian, English
Key Equipment: wz.89 Onyks Carbine w/USP-1 Sight, wz. 93 Ballistic Helmet, OLV Ballistic Vest

Background

Karol Zalewski grew up in the heart of the Białowieża National Park, a stone's throw from the border with Byelorussia.  Karol and his twin, Bolesław, spent an inordinate amount of time outdoors in their youth, regularly getting into and out of trouble.  His parents both worked for Orbis and ran a small pension that catered to high ranking party officials who came to see the famous European bison (Bison bonasus), known in Polish as Zubr.  From a young age, Karol, who has always gone by the diminutive form 'Lolek', learned to track bison and other game animals.  When he and Bolesław were old enough, both helped their father lead game hikes and sleigh rides for visitors (winter is actually the best time to see the bison).  Lolek would have been content to stay in Białowieża, but for his conscription to the Polish People’s Army.  He was sent to the Land Forces Training Center in Drawsko for mechanized infantry training.

Assigned to a motorized rifle division following basic training, Lolek took his job seriously, despite having no real enthusiasm for being a solider.  When his service was finished, he attended Politechnika before taking a job at Fabryka Samochodów Rolniczych (most famous for being the Tarpan Honker factory) near Poznań.  While there, he met and married Anna Wiśniewska.  Life as a newly wed with a good factory job was great, until World War Three.  Lolek was recalled to service at the start of the war and assigned to the Wojska Ochrony Pogranicza - Border Protection Troops.  Anna moved from Poznań shortly thereafter to live with Lolek’s parents in Białowieża.

The Polish Zalewskis have maintained ties with their U.S. Polonia counterparts for decades.  Lolek was a long time pen-pal with his cousin in Chicago and an avid Voice of America listener, at least before the nukes took it off the air.  His English langauge skills enabled him to serve as a translator and guide for the American 5th Infantry Division, after his border guard unit declared for NATO and changed its designation to the 2nd Polish Free Legion.  Lolek is also fluent in Russian from growing up so close to the Byelorussia border.

Lolek left the 2nd PFL after an internal power struggle saw the unit commander (Sikorski) driven out by an ambitious firebrand seeking to carve out his own feudal kingdom.  Lolek has been slowly making his away across central Poland, to be closer to home.

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