Polish Minister of Defense Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz in a visit to the armed forces, Photo: Wojtek Radwanski / AFP / Profimedia
Poland will launch a new military training program this month as part of a larger plan to train around 400,000 people by 2026, the Defense Ministry in Warsaw said on Thursday, as quoted by Reuters.
Spurred on by the launch of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Poland now allocates a higher percentage of its GDP to defense than any other NATO member state, including the US. The country has grown to have the alliance's third-largest military, with 216,000 troops, and plans to expand its forces by nearly a third over the next decade.
Called by Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz “the largest defensive training program in the history of Poland”, the “Ready” program will be voluntary and open to all citizens – from students and professionally active adults to the elderly.
The program will include a basic security course, survival training, medical training and cyber safety lessons.
“Only in the months of November and December (…) we will train approximately 20,000 people in individual training, but the total number, taking into account all forms of training, is about 100,000 people,” said Cezary Tomczyk, deputy minister of defense, during a press conference.
The plan targets both reservists and people without military training
The ministry plans to train about 400,000 people next year “individually, in groups, as part of the Education with the Army program, through reservist training and voluntary military service,” Tomczyk added.
Chief of the General Staff of Poland, General Wiesław Kukuła, stated that the program has two main objectives – strengthening the resilience of citizens and communities, as well as increasing the availability, capacity and readiness of the reserves.
The program was first announced in March by Prime Minister Donald Tusk to “build an army of reservists” amid heightened security concerns following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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