We, the army, are the sword, but in order to work effectively, we request a shield. And this shield is an educated and prepared society," says Captain Jacek Piotrowski, spokesperson for the 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade. In the unit as part of the “inReady” cycle, volunteers under the supervision of soldiers learned survival, field medicine, field studies and fire extinguishing.
On Saturday morning, before 8.00, before the gate of the 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade, a dispute, different here all day, a piston. A group of civilians gather alongside the soldiers. They are volunteers who signed up for 1 of the first trainings in the “inReady” cycle – a program implemented by military units throughout Poland. There were 4 modules to choose from: safety, survival, medicine and cyberhygiene.
In Happy Battleships begin with survival. For 8 hours they are to teach civilians applicable endurance skills and emergency response. It's not just about armed conflict. Giving first aid, extinguishing a tiny fire or dealing with a abrupt power and communication failure – these are scenarios that can happen to anyone.
First contact with the military
The crowd is distinguished by participants of classes in military-related outfits: hoodie, combatants, tall leather boots or tourist trappers. Olive chimneys stretched advanced on the face defend any from penetrating November cold and wind. Ula is definitely not part of this group. It stands close a tiny fire lit by soldiers and is clearly shaking from the cold. Why didn't anyone tell me it was 8 hours outside? They only wrote to dress comfortable and sportingly – complains, reaching for the tea served by the military. After a while she curves: – Not so hot. She's not the only one. In light jackets, thin shoes, sometimes without hats – many participants jealously look at those who came better prepared.
I had the essential service behind me, so I knew what to expect. surely not comfort – laughs Krzysztof, in his late 40s, who seemingly is cold and fearless. After serving with the army, he had nothing to do with it. – But I thought it was worth freshening the knowledge, seeing what had changed. Although I admit that there has been nothing fresh so far – he adds. For many another participants, however, the training is full of news. For me, too.
Welcome to the fort.
“Fort SERE” says the inscription on the wooden barrier surrounding the wooded area. SERE is short for Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape, i.e. survival, avoidance, opposition and escape. Soldiers learn during the service of all 4 elements, but present we focus only on the first and last. 2 training points are planned in the fort: endurance and field studies.
– Here you go: knife and flint – teacher hands out equipment. We're setting up at the trenches. Aim: Light fire without matches, lighters and flammable additives. individual immediately tries to spark over the birch bark. No luck. – First, we starch, so that as many chips as possible can be produced – the soldier shows how to operate with a knife. It seems like it's not difficult, but in practice we've been dealing with pieces of wood for rather a long time.
The final class is simply a presentation of the evacuation backpack. Compared to those that are shown on the Internet, this looks modest – and this is how it should be. “This is not a contest, who carries more. I respect my back, I don’t know about you”, jokes the instructor.
And we immediately learn 1 of the principles of endurance – there are no shortcuts. Anyone who wants to start a fire besides rapidly is convinced that the teacher was right. But after a while, the first pieces of bark start to glow, and finally, in front of each of us, there are flames. Now we're learning how to keep the fire going. “When you scope the next point, you will learn to extinguish the fire, and for now just blow it out.” Indeed, we inactive have a class with military firefighters.
But before we go there, the teacher teaches us how to make a makeshift filter for water from a plastic bottle. They are besides willing to lay down in a shelter from moss and branches prepared by the military. – Comfortable, rather soft – comments can be heard.
Busola in hand
The second group is facing the map. Terenology is expected to remind you that GPS and applications don't always work. I utilized a simple compass many times, but this... “Sławek spins a busole in his hands, trying to set up an azimuth. utilizing conventional tools is simply a challenge for many. – However, the man is lazy, as he always has a telephone – individual is purring in the back.
The final class is simply a presentation of the evacuation backpack. Compared to those that are shown on the Internet, this looks modest – and this is how it should be. - It's not a competition that carries more. I respect my back, I don't know how you – the teacher jokes. On the table he takes out further items from his backpack: first aid kit, NRC foil, knife, flint, poncho, axe, flashlight. Not much, but enough.
– Remember about water and food – adds the instructor, presenting military food rations. specified sets can besides be bought on the civilian market, especially among mountain lovers and long hikes. Who is curious to taste – can effort right away. Soldiers invitation you for lunch.
Soldier's meal
Breakfast is served in military style: each of us collects a can with a shin, a grain bar, bread, butter and a tiny jam packaging. To drink – very sweet tea. We sit in large tents, it's inactive cold, but at least we took shelter from the wind. – beautiful tasty canned products – the participants comment.
Some, like Anna, do draw their own meal. “Not only am I a vegetarian, but I can’t eat gluten, and I have respective another allergies, so I can see that military life is not for me,” he says. But she doesn't regret coming to training. – all day I work as a conference manager and moderator of discussion panels, so I have absolutely nothing to do with the military. But after hours I train shooting and martial arts, so I thought it was worth adding skills to the cognition that will aid me feel more assured in a situation of danger – the associate says. Like many others, she admits that the geopolitical situation caused her to become more afraid about security.
Natalia, a lawyer and a soldier's private wife, besides checked in with this attitude on the camp in Wesoła. I'm not hiding that my husband was very encouraging me to take part in this training. And I realized that if there was a war, he wouldn't be with me. I'll be alone and I'll gotta take care of myself and my loved ones. And the husband will be calmer, knowing that I am prepared for specified a situation," he says.
She admits that she will be up at dawn on Saturday and coming to the unit cost her a lot. – Getting out of the comfort region is simply a delicate word – laughs. Despite this, he has a negative assessment of those who have enrolled in training but have resigned at the last minute. “This is how they took a place, possibly it should be organized differently?” he wonders. And there were about 40 of them, which means that almost half of the registered ones didn't arrive. – They may regret it due to the fact that it is interesting – the participants comment among themselves.
Not just on time.
“Who knows how to execute circulatory respiratory resuscitation?” the paramedic asks erstwhile we study to the full group at the next point. Quiet, a small like in class, erstwhile a teacher throws a tough question. A fewer people come in, the faces of the majority show uncertainty. Within the full training cycle, 1 gathering is planned to be devoted in full to medical issues, but besides within the ‘survival’ module, a training of basic first aid skills is planned. due to the fact that – as we inactive hear from the instructors – we are not here to prepare for war, but for various crisis situations.
A car accident, a fainting on the street, an accident of a kid at home – these are only a fewer cases where the ability to supply aid is simply a goldweight. – applicable skills are needed, not just knowledge. Muscle memory should be achieved – emphasizes the lifeguard. That's why we train on medical mannequins. And on myself, practicing to put on stasis. Again and again it turns out that what appears to be trivially simple erstwhile presenting a lifeguard, is not so easy to perform. any of us, suffocated after a short run and snarled by an instructor's screams, request to think for a long time, which is the right advanced limb of the victim.
Similarly, a collision with practice at a point where we are trained by the military fire department. “I did not know that it was so hard to run a fire extinguisher, these gloves make it highly hard to move,” comments Anna, who volunteered to put out a tiny fire. In addition to exercises, we besides get a dose of cognition about how to handle fire of different origins. Although this is an absolute basis, you never know erstwhile their cognition may be very important.
“There was not a single impractical thing here,” says Maciej. He's a computer scientist, he's never had anything to do with the military, but the training offer immediately attracted him. It plans to usage further modules. “But I will wait until it gets warmer, due to the fact that now I only number minutes until the promised pea” smiles. A conventional soldier's meal is the last point scheduled for today. Only the certificate, the first-aid kit that each associate receives as a gift, the last handshakes with soldiers and 1 of the first trainings “in Readyness” come to an end.
Is it truly possible for 8 hours to enter the state of readiness? surely this is only a tiny part of what we request to know so that we can actually take care of our safety. But the most crucial thing is the feeling that we were trained by practitioners, and their cognition and experience can be trusted 100%.
