“When the government announces that something will be implemented quickly, you can safely assume it will happen only after several months, or not at all. There are countless examples of such sluggishness, even in projects that the Ministry of National Defense (MON) itself deems a priority. One more example is the program of mass training for adult Poles. Announced in March by Donald Tusk, it was supposed to be ready “within a few weeks.” Seven months have passed, and instead of details, we’ve only learned that the Ministry of Defense has just formed a team to develop it.
“We can see that all of this is just for show – just like all of Tusk’s other announcements,”
said PiS MP Paweł Jabłoński in an interview with Niezależna.pl.
The Prime Minister’s March announcement of large-scale military training for all adult men in Poland sparked an intense public debate about “putting on the proverbial boots.” Such a plan inevitably brought to mind the obligation for anyone with a military ID to report to a unit. Especially since Prime Minister Tusk pointed to Switzerland as a model example of this kind of system, where military training or civil service is an obligation, not an option. Later, it was clarified that participation would be voluntary and that the plan would be ready “within the coming weeks.”
Seven months later, if it weren’t for Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk’s statement in early October, no one would even remember what the whole training idea was about.
“Every Polish man and woman will be able to sign up and undergo such training,” said the Deputy Minister of Defense. He added that a pilot program was expected to launch later this year, with full implementation planned for January. According to initial MON plans, 30,000 people are expected to take part next year, and by 2027, the number should reach 100,000 trained participants annually.
“Within the next two to three weeks, the defense and civil training program will be publicly presented,”
the minister assured on October 8.
Not so fast
In September, PiS MP Paweł Jabłoński submitted a parliamentary inquiry regarding the training program announced by Tusk. He asked, “What specific actions have been taken to implement Mr. Donald Tusk’s aforementioned announcement, and when will the military training begin?” Yesterday, the former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs shared on social media the response he received from the Ministry of Defense.
“I kindly explain that, to implement the military training project, the Minister of National Defense has, by appropriate decision, established a Team for the Development of the ‘Program of Universal Voluntary Defense Training,’” replied Deputy Minister of Defense Paweł Bejda to the parliamentary inquiry.
“So far, after more than seven months, all that has been done is to establish a ‘team for the development of a model program of universal voluntary military training.’ We can see that all of this is merely for appearances, just like all of Tusk’s announcements. Lots of words, no deeds, no substance. And this time, it concerns a matter of utmost importance, national security,”
commented MP Jabłoński in an interview with Niezależna.pl.
“I’m a supporter of such universal military training; it’s a positive idea. But you can’t just talk about it. Unfortunately, Tusk’s government talks a lot and does nothing about it,”
he added.
“This is a mix of incompetence and a focus on propaganda instead of real action,” Niezależna.pl’s interlocutor believes.
“Instead of actually getting to work, they’re busy covering up their failures and focusing on propaganda messaging. In a moment, eight months will have passed since these promises were made, and they’ve done absolutely nothing about it,”
Jabłoński concluded.