Candidates for professional military service took part in live-fire training with the command company (kdow) of the 1st Tank Battalion (1bcz). Twenty-two people reported for the rotational training, which runs from February 3 to 17. During the first week, the candidates trained alongside the battalion’s subunits.
One of the soldiers undergoing training is Private Bartłomiej Milik. He comes from Silesia. He wants to work in the military because it offers secure employment. “Working in the military gives you a good start. The pay is good for someone just starting out, and the service itself is interesting. There is always a lot happening. Today we can test our accuracy. You can also improve your fitness and test your physical endurance,” he said.
The standard rotational exercise involves training with the assigned subunit. For a week, candidates for professional military service took part in introductory training, which included occupational health and safety and fire-safety instruction, as well as training in military discipline. During these several days, the privates reviewed the rules of proper conduct and learned about the construction and operating principles of the weapons and equipment assigned to the company.
Discipline and order are priorities for Private Michalina Pfeifer from Legnica. “I have always wanted to join the military,” says the 21-year-old woman. “I really like all of this. Discipline, order and tidiness. When I receive an order, I know exactly what I have to do. Everything is clear. Here, you always have to be ready and physically fit; sometimes you also have to fight yourself and your own weaknesses. That is when a person becomes mentally stronger.”
The young woman from Legnica does not regard the military as a last resort: “I have a job in Legnica. In a large factory. I work there only because there is no other work, because in such a place a person is like a robot, constantly performing the same tedious tasks; you do not even have to think. Here, everything is completely different. You have to rely on yourself. You also have to learn to rely on others.”
During live-fire training, the command company’s soldiers completed standards and successive training stations, including evacuating a casualty, applying a dressing and a tourniquet, and learning the construction of a hand grenade and the safety rules for using it, among other tasks. However, the activities planned by the commander of the command company, Captain Krzysztof Kaczmarek, focused mainly on developing shooting skills. At two firing positions, the command company’s soldiers fired handguns (P83), while both professional soldiers and volunteers fired long guns (Beryl).
The wind made accurate shooting difficult, especially for beginners, but there are also more experienced soldiers among the NSR personnel. One of them is 48-year-old Private Piotr Kochański from Wrocław: “I work as a forklift operator in Wrocław. However, it is not a permanent job and does not provide a sense of security. I decided to try my hand at the military. I am physically fit and feel up to it.”
Mr. Piotr has been a soldier before. Twenty-seven years ago, he completed compulsory military service, which he remembers well. “The difference between military service then and today is colossal. Above all, there is no longer a division into conscripts, reservists and so on. Now everyone is treated equally; no one is better or worse. I like that,” he said. “Besides, I was surprised by how many women serve in Świętoszów. I was shocked when I saw a woman commanding a platoon. But I must admit that in this respect the army is changing for the better. I believe that if a woman feels comfortable in this profession, then why not? Besides, the presence of women softens the customs.”
Another soldier’s family, that of Private Tomasz Komorowski, has strong military traditions. “My uncle is a retired colonel of the 56th Air Base in Inowrocław, my cousin is a pilot there, my brother-in-law serves with tanks in Stargard Szczeciński, and another cousin is a sapper in Inowrocław,” Private Komorowski lists. “Today, unemployment is very high in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Many of my friends go abroad looking for work. I chose the army. I feel that this is my calling.”
(information: Katarzyna Przepióra/ii)