A new military programme for the youth is attracting increasing numbers of Poles, including women, Polish newspaper Dziennik Gazeta Prawna (DGP) reports. 

Up to 3,500 young Polish citizens joined the first phase of the military training called “Holidays with the Army” (in Polish: “Wakacje z wojskiem”), which began last week across more than 30 army units. The participants will receive basic military training during the holiday season.

According to DGP, more than 11,000 people applied to participate in the three training cycles scheduled for the summer.

The report published on Tuesday quotes Major Renata Mycio, spokesman for Poland’s Central Military Recruitment Centre, as saying: “Given that this is a programme aimed exclusively at 18 to 35 year-olds, the interest is really high.”

The initiative resembles basic military training and includes survival exercises, military tactics, and operating military vehicles. Participants wear uniforms and carry firearms.

The project aims to attract young people who will engage with military units, take the oath, become military reservists, and potentially choose the armed forces as their career, DGP wrote.

Although most interested by the programme are men, the estimated percentage of women who sign up for the training oscillates between 20 and 25.

Image: X (@MON_GOV_PL)

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen