“Train with the Army”: Polish civilians learn how to use guns

EA colorful troop trudges through the area fenced off by barbed wire. Some wear flecktarn clothing, which is quite a popular outfit in Poland. But also a young woman in black leggings can be seen. About a third of the approximately 100 participants, who were divided into small groups, are women. The people who gather here on the western outskirts of Warsaw represent a good cross-section of the Polish population.

The motives for taking part in the course are as varied as the group itself. The program is called “train with the army”. The courses take place in 17 different locations across the country and are aimed at people between the ages of 18 and 65. After being shot while lying down with an assault rifle, a shop assistant, around 50 years old, said: “I’ve never had anything to do with the army, but I wanted to see how it is.” Your first impression? “It’s a tough job,” she says with an expression that signals appreciation.

Only laser guns are fired during the exercises. The result can then be evaluated on a screen, even the trembling of the gun barrel can be seen. The simulation is almost perfect: you can even feel a recoil on the rifle, a Polish-made “Grot”.

Many questions about protection from radioactivity

We continue to the next exercise unit: Survival training in the forest. Make a fire with a knife and a simple lighter. About half of the participants manage to light a fire on a piece of birch bark within three minutes – despite the damp weather. A young woman with dark curls, an architect by trade, is impressed. She came to this course because she had always had sympathy for the army and wanted to clarify “whether this area might also be of professional interest or whether the two professions could somehow be combined”.

Then some movement: “Basics of tactics”, illustrated using the example of a march through dangerous terrain. How do you carry the gun correctly? How do you secure the group on all sides? This is followed by a refresher course in first aid and defense against chemical hazards. For this, a shelter is visited and a gas mask is put on, or at least the mouth and nose are covered with a damp cloth.

At this point, says Sergeant Jakub Kurowski, many participants ask questions about protection against radioactive radiation. In the event of a nuclear attack, the soldier says, there are clear instructions: “Quickly into the basement, into the garage, into the subway shaft. Under the open sky behind the next earth wall. In the event of symptoms such as skin changes, coughing, sneezing, consult a doctor immediately. But let’s hope none of that ever happens.”

A strong man in his 40s who introduces himself as “Robert, civil engineer” is very impressed with the training. “I wanted to see what my tax money is being spent on! It’s always important to be able to defend yourself. Some people don’t even know how to call an ambulance, they can really use training like this.” The training courses held by the Military Technical Academy (WAT) in Warsaw are more like introductory courses, but they are a comprehensive measure in terms of defense capability .

“If you want peace, prepare for war”

Another practice session is map reading and orientation with a compass and GPS device; an affable colonel in the reserve obviously enjoys being allowed to be a teacher and commander of the troops here again. In addition, self-defence in close combat and throwing hand grenades are practiced. The grenades of the Soviet type F-1 weigh only 600 grams. The throw itself is not difficult, but rather the right timing of the explosion. Of course, these are just practice grenades without explosives. After each throw, a soldier runs to find and retrieve the grenade from among the tufts of grass.

Are the participants all here because Russia attacked Ukraine, occupied territories and declared them “parts of Russia”? The answers are rather vague. “Yes, times are as they are,” the saleswoman said casually. Robert, the civil engineer, gets specific: “We were always under threat. And the maxim always applies: if you want peace, prepare for war. We always fought the Russians. And if it wasn’t the Russians, then our western neighbors beat us.” The fact that the communist rulers already prepared the population to ward off American “imperialists” and West German “revisionists” obviously has a lasting effect.

When Jolanta and Tomasz, both around 50 years old, learn that a German journalist is present, they put on demonstratively unfriendly faces. She is an employee at a university, he does not want to name his job or talk about his motives for being here. Instead, he talks about Germany, which he sees as an insecure canton among Poland’s allies.

Even the German weapons were no good, he says: “We used to have Russian scrap, now you send us Germans.” Germany wants to make money in Poland with it, but the weapons from Poland’s armaments factories are simply better. The world is full of dangers and it is always best to rely on your own strength.