The activities summarizing the six-week field training period are conducted in the form of a tactical loop. The platoons are assessed both in terms of the operations for which they are intended domestically and their readiness to carry out missions abroad.
The individual elements subject to assessment include: assigning tasks in a mechanized platoon; the platoon’s actions on the march, in the assembly area, in defense and attack; crossing a water obstacle and seizing a bridgehead; patrol operations; and conducting air defense and defense against weapons of mass destruction during tactical operations.
Additional difficulties arose during the execution of the individual operations. “While conducting a patrol along the prescribed route, the soldiers encountered civilians who warned them that the road they were traveling on was probably mined. Continuing the patrol, they came across a culvert and checked it using the procedures they knew. At this point, we primarily verified whether the charges would be detected and whether the procedures would be carried out correctly. The platoon correctly located a tripwire at the culvert, but at that very moment, an unexpectedly hostile group of civilians appeared, increasing the danger but also providing an opportunity to test the soldiers’ reactions in conditions close to reality,” said the commander of the 1st mechanized company, Captain Jan Bochnacki.
Completing the tactical loop was not easy. It consisted of many elements that were difficult to execute; however, Second Lieutenant Jakub Żołudź, commander of the 1st mechanized platoon of the 2nd company, considers crossing the Kwisa the most difficult of them: “The current is fast today, and the river is deep, but my platoon includes mostly experienced soldiers who have practiced this task many times. I also believe that we are very well prepared for the certification. Many members of the platoon have taken part in missions abroad, while the less experienced soldiers who have only recently joined the army also had sufficient time and opportunities to prepare properly for the activities being carried out today. I believe we will manage all of them.
The certification of the mechanized platoons is the culmination of intensive field training in which soldiers of the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade participated, having been assigned to carry out missions domestically and internationally. Lieutenant Żołudź summed it up: “The end crowns the work, which is why we strive to perform the tasks assigned to us during the assessment to the highest possible standard, in order to show how much we have learned and confirm our readiness to operate.
Capt. Adriana Wołyńska, 10BKPanc