The certification of territorial defence troops began. Its aim is to measure the ability to act on the 5th – the youngest kind of Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland, in the case of an external threat to the safety of the state and the ability to carry out crisis management tasks during peace. This is the first case in military past where the full Armed Forces kind is certified.
Certification is simply a test to confirm that a given kind of Armed Forces meets certain standards and criteria, and so is capable of carrying out assigned tasks - both during peace, during various types of crises and during war. The Territorial Defence Army will be the first kind of Armed Forces in Poland full certified. So far only selected military units have been certified.
The process of assessing the capability of the Territorial Defence Army to execute its tasks will be carried out on the basis of the standards set out in the Forests Standards Volume VII Combat Readiness Evaluation of Land HQs and Units (CREVAL) document, which have been developed to standardise the activities of NATO associate States' armed forces.
The certification shall measure respective areas of activity, including:
- the percent state of completion of the individual condition and training of soldiers, at a level ensuring the performance of tasks;
- the percent completion and efficiency of essential military equipment;
- the level of tactical stocks which should guarantee that the assumed category of combat preparedness and performance of tasks is achieved.
As part of the certification preparations in May this year, staff training of Lightning-24 was carried out at the office of the Territorial Defence Forces, which was intended to check the process of reaching decisions at the WOT Command Station. In mid-June, the “Piorun-24” command exercise will be carried out as part of the certification, which will check the command processes of the subordinate WOT units and cooperate with the superior command. The assumptions for the exercise were developed by a certification team, consisting of representatives of the General Staff, Operations Command of Forces Types, Armed Forces General Command, Armed Forces Support Inspectorate and another military institutions and units.
The certification will besides verify the appearance of the full position of the Territorial Defence Army in immediate placement in its units, following the announcement of the alarm. The equipment and weapons of the Territorial Defence Army will besides be checked.
The de facto Territorial Defence Army has already been checked in real action, in the course of its short existence, in support of society, administration or emergency services. It is worth mentioning the support of fire brigade activities in extinguishing large-area fire in Biebrza National Park in 2020, or the support of society, institutions and administration during the Covid-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2020.
The territorials on a regular basis support the Border defender in protecting the east border due to the migration crisis and the hybrid actions of the Russian and Belarusian Federations directed against Poland. Many times they supported flood prevention or engaged in the removal of sub-flood effects in many parts of the country. They support the police in searching for missing persons and public administration in assisting refugees after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
Soldiers of the Territorial defence Army operate according to their motto: “Always ready, always close”
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WOT construction began in 2017 and has since been progressing gradually. First the Territorial Defence Army Command was established, then the formation of the first 3 territorial defence brigades in the Podlaskie, Lublin and Podkarpackie provinces began. In total, in the first year of operation the formation of six OT brigades (fourth in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship and 2 brigades in Mazowieckie Voivodeship) was initiated. At the end of the first year of construction of the WOT, the population was over 7.5 1000 soldiers. In the following year, 2018, the structures were expanded by another 7 OT brigades (pomorska, Kujawsko-pomorska, Łódź, Świętokrzyska, Małopolska, Wielkopolska and Silesia). The formation of the WOT Training Centre in Toruń was besides started this year. At the end of 2018, the number of soldiers of the fresh kind of armed forces was nearly 17,000. The formation of the next 2 OT brigades (Western Pomeranian and Lower Silesian) began in 2019. At the same time, the WOT Command was subjected to the Communication and Computer Training Centre, and the "SONDA" sub-office school was formed. The number of formations at the end of 2019 was nearly 25,000 soldiers. In 2020, despite the limitations of the Covid-19 pandemic, WOT structures continued to be developed. 2020 ended with WOT soldiers at nearly 27,5 thousand. In March 2021, another 3 OT brigades (capital, superbuzhian and Przemysl) were formed. In 2023 the WOT Representation Centre in Radom was formed.
Currently, the Territorial Defence Army consists of:
- I'm sorry. WOT Command in Zegrzu,
- WOT command battalion in Zegrzu,
- eighteen territorial defence brigades - of which 4 brigades (1 Podlasie Territorial Defence Brigade, 4 Warmian-Masurian Territorial Defence Brigade, 19 Nadbuzhian Territorial Defence Brigade, 20 Przemysl Territorial Defence Brigade) form the alleged Border defence Component- dedicated to the defence of the state border and border areas,
- Military Unit of Non-Conventional Activities “GRYF”.
- 2 training centres (WOT Training Centre in Toruń and the Centre for Communication and Information Technology Training in Zegrzu),
- SONDA Sub-Office School,
- WOT Representation Centre in Radom (WOT Representation Orchestra and WOT Honorary Company).
- there are 2 further territorial defence brigades in the process of creation: the 15th Lubuska Territorial Defence Brigade and the 17th Opole Territorial Defence Brigade.
The WOT presently serves more than 40,000 soldiers, of which 35,000 are soldiers serving territorial military service, little than 5,000 are professional soldiers and respective 100 are soldiers of active reserve.
Text: DWOT Press Team
