The Polish Ministry of Defence launched a free-of-charge program offering special military training with army members to people aged 15 to 65. 

The “Train With The Army” initiative aims to provide citizens with basic military skills and encourage additional volunteers to join the country’s armed forces.

https://twitter.com/MON_GOV_PL/status/1606248316991197184?s=20&t=UWGYA2w2g1f3hVyRGzjRvg

The first edition of this program took place in autumn. Back then, demand considerably exceeded the number of available spots (4,000). This time, the number of available places for the training was doubled to reach 8,000. 

“Train With The Army” will last from mid-January until the end of February. The training is free of charge, and each session will last eight hours. 

On his Twitter page, Poland’s Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak admitted that the undertaking aims “to encourage all those who have not yet decided what they want to do in the future to serve in the Polish army.”

Since taking power in late 2015, Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party has underlined the importance of having a strong and efficient military, ignoring the voices claiming that conventional warfare belonged to the past. 

Last spring, Poland signed a 23 billion zloty (€4.9 billion) deal for 250 Abrams tanks from the U.S. this spring. Warsaw signed a $4.6 billion deal for 32 F-35 fighters two years before. 

Poland also recently ordered over $10 billion worth of weaponry from South Korea. The deals include 200 K9 Thunder howitzers, 48 FA-50 light attack aircraft, 180 K2 Black Panther tanks, and 218 K239 Chunmoo rocket launchers.

By 2035, the country aims to spend an unprecedented 524 billion zloty on the military.

Image: Twitter (@MON_GOV_PL)

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen