With a population of around 15,000, a few schools, one cinema, four shops, the same number of pubs and an unemployment rate at 20 percent, the town of Morąg is not particularly different from other Polish towns.

Morąg made headlines last week, however, when it was announced that the town was chosen to host Patriot missiles, to be placed on Polish soil as part of a deal between Poland and the US.

The news did not come as a surprise to the town's Ciity Hall who had known about the placement for some time.

Town residents also told Gazeta Wyborcza that an African-American in uniform was seen walking around town last summer. This was a sign, they told the daily, that changes were afoot.

Capital competition

The decision where to place the missiles, and the hundred or so US soldiers to maintain them, was taken after also considering another town – Wesoła on the outskirts of Warsaw.

However, according to Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich, the government and the US Army considering the infrastructure available at the Morąg military base. He told a press conference that the barracks are large and are suited for the American troops.

“This is a great honor for the city,” Morąg Mayor Tadeusz Sobierajski told Gazeta Wyborcza. He added however that little is going to change to the day-to-day lives of the town's residents.

Past, present and future

This is not the first time troops have been posted at the town, which is 100 kilometers away from the Kaliningrad oblast. In the past three separate military units were stationed there.

Now residents wonder if the presence of Americans will help to generate some extra business for the town.

Mayor Sobierajski doubts that there will be any investment taking place to cater for the new foreign residents of the barracks. “[We will] only gain prestige. We will be more recognizable,” he explained. “Morag will now become an important point on the map.”