While most soldiers of the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade had left the military unit’s gates to hone their skills in the wilds of the Drawsko training ground, others continued their daily service in the armored brigade.
On Tuesday, May 21, students visited the Świętoszów cavalrymen.
Children and young people from schools in Lower Silesia and Lubusz spent several hours in the armored brigade as part of the Open Barracks Day held once a month. Students from Żary, Bolesławiec, Parowa and Osiecznica spoke with soldiers about the duties they perform every day. The visit provided the visitors with considerable excitement. Interest in military service was truly high, as shown by the fact that the questions simply never ended.
Numerous attractions had been planned for those visiting the Świętoszów unit. In addition to visiting the Tradition Hall, where the students learned about the history of the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade, they could also see the equipment that accompanies soldiers every day in the unit, on firing ranges and at tactical training grounds. The children’s eyes grew wider with each successive attraction.
The students eagerly learned about the capabilities of the tank simulators at the Leopard Training Center and the Śnieżnik firing simulator. Sappers presented their equipment, including a metal detector and a specialized bomb-disposal suit.
At the Technical Equipment Park, everyone could look inside a Leopard tank, see the conditions in which troops travel in a BWP-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicle, and examine the ZSU-23-4MP Biała self-propelled anti-aircraft system up close. The soldiers present at the static display naturally described the capabilities of the individual pieces of equipment.
Each group that came to the armored brigade for Open Barracks Day also visited the fire station of the Military Fire Service stationed at the Świętoszów unit. One of the soldier-firefighters spoke about the duties the crews perform every day. The young people and children eagerly answered questions about extinguishing fires and providing first aid to people injured in car accidents. This meeting was a very important lesson for the students. The knowledge they acquired may help save someone’s life in the future.
One of the students, a teenager named Bartek, summed up the visit to the armored brigade as follows:
I want to be a soldier too… I want to serve Our Homeland and help people. It is my great dream, and I hope it comes true. The visit to the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade showed me that a soldier’s service is not easy, but it is certainly worth the sacrifice.