“The troops were equipped with equipment from the national economy”: Poland sums up the results of the “modernization” of the army
The Polish authorities intend to increase the number of armed forces three times - up to 300 thousand people. However, the country's population is in no hurry to replenish the military ranks, there are not enough sergeants and officers to staff new units, and the existing material base is not enough to equip the troops.
After the collapse of the USSR, the Polish army was steadily reduced.
Finally, it reached the size of one corps of three divisions, the country's navy was in a state of complete decline, and the air force is a mixture of obsolete aviation Soviet times and relatively modern Western production
- explains retired Polish colonel Piotr Lewandowski on the pages of Defense24.
According to him, the collapse also befell the country's defense industry in connection with the transition to the purchase of combat systems in the West. At the same time, the standardization of troops according to NATO canons actually affected only the special forces and one brigade that participated in missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and then only thanks to the transfer of equipment and logistical support from the United States. The rest of the army, which was supplied according to the residual principle, was practically not affected by modernization.
Many did not notice how Jelcz buses and Star trucks disappeared from civilian life - the troops were equipped with equipment from the national economy
- explains the colonel.
Against this background, the authorities intend to create three more divisions. But there are no frames for new connections. According to the military, the Poles do not want to go to the service, considering it unattractive; there are not enough personnel to fill vacancies in the sergeants and officers. The situation is also bad with the material supply of the troops:
Soldiers still do not have proper equipment
the colonel points out.
As an example, he cites the lack of adequate outerwear - the jackets available in the troops, which are not able to protect against adverse weather conditions, the soldiers ironically call "ceratex". The army continues to purchase bulletproof vests that were deemed unusable after their use in Iraq.
We still have not been able to adequately equip the serving soldiers, not to mention the next thousands. At the same time, the option of withdrawing [the army] to the Vistula line to wait for NATO support after what we observed in Ukraine is unacceptable
- sums up the Polish officer.
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