Instead of a winter vacation – intense exercise. A 100 volunteers who have volunteered in the ranks of the 16th Lower Silesian Territorial Defence Brigade have been training at the Żagań camp for respective days now. The 16-day training is carried out under the "Ferie of the WOT" programme aimed in peculiar at students and teachers who want to join the formation.
– The current lifestyle of candidates is completely adapted for training purposes. The day in the barracks begins with the morning toilet, followed by a mortar, so the morning run in the group, followed by breakfast and a series of trainings. Then lunch break and further classes, until the evening – explains Captain Marcin Podaj, press officer of the 16th Lower Silesian Territorial Defence Brigade.
During their stay at the camp, recruits live in military containers. Basic training will end on 13 February with an exam, the alleged tactical loop, aimed at verifying the skills acquired during the training. It is simply a march on the way from 10 to 15 km, utilizing the map and moving on the azimut. – As part of the tactical loop, we check issues specified as: tactics, elements of combat rescue, shooting skills. Recruits besides execute tasks for which a time limit is provided, e.g. putting on a gas mask or pulling a ammunition box. The training will culminate in the submission of a military oath by the candidates, which will be held on 15 February in Legnica,” stressed Capt. Podaj.
Motivation and gratitude
Among the volunteers who joined the unit in Wrocław on 31 January and are already trained in Żagań, there are Agata Kulczak, the manager of the Private Primary School in Żelaźno, Kotlin Kłodzka, about 5 km from Kłodzka and 10 km from Lądka-Zdrój. These areas were devastated in September by flooding. Ms Agata's school besides suffered, and aid in this hard time has been carried by local community soldiers participating in Operation Fenixincluding territorial.
What prompted Ms. Agata to join the WOT? – My school was completely flooded on the ground level – rooms, toilets, corridors, boiler room. Our iron just swept away. We couldn't get into the building due to the fact that the road was broken. After a fewer days, we reached the facility. The view was terrible. If it wasn't for the military, we wouldn't be here. Thanks to the soldiers, a temporary, modular school has now been established. I just saw the military working and it was amazing to me. These people weren't just following orders, they were truly giving us their heart. They helped us a lot. And I truly think WOT is fantastic. You can combine work and service. And that is why, after all this, out of gratitude for what we have experienced, and besides out of the desire to give something from myself and my country, I decided to join the service myself," Agata Kulczak emphasized. She admits that before the decision she had concerns about her physical ability, but declares that she is stubborn and will surely not give up. I've never dealt with a military before. The flood changed me and my life. And that's why I'm here," she says.
The training was besides attended by 18-year-old Mieszko Bitt, a third-class student of the School of Uniform Services in Wrocław. As he says, for him, choosing a WOT is the first step to a military career. Eventually, he wants to tie his professional life to the army. There's a small stress, you know. fresh people, fresh commanders, but I can do it. First of all, I want to test myself – whether I can carry out military service and work as a professional officer in the future. My plans are to join the Academy of Land Forces in Wroclaw or the School of the Sub-Office of the Land Forces in Poznań – admits the recruit.
“WOT Holidays” for everyone
The task “Ferie with WOT” is aimed at students, teachers and students who want to join the ranks of territories. That is why 1 of the 5 incarnations of recruits during the year takes place at the beginning of the winter break in science, so that the word corresponds to learners and teachers. The summertime equivalent of the program is "WOT Holidays". Although the aim of both actions is to encourage students and employees of the education strategy to serve, of course anyone wishing to become a territorialist can come forward. – all year on “Frerie” and “Holidays with WOT” we have about a 100 volunteers and we see that more and more of them are teachers, students and students. Thus, the trend is growing, which we are very pleased with,” said Captain Marcin Pochoday.
Any adult, unpunished and possessing Polish citizenship may join the territorial defence troops. The condition is besides the deficiency of wellness contraindications to the service. The 16th Lower Silesian Territorial Defence Brigade presently serves 1,800 soldiers. Throughout the country, WOT formation has more than 40,000 people.
