Soldiers of the 18th Mechanized Division in September will begin training before the next change of Operation Safe Podlasie. peculiar emphasis should be placed on what needs to be placed in preparation for the service on the Polish-Belarusian border, on the achievements of the division, and on the increasing function of drones in the field of combat, says Gen. Dyw. Arkadiusz Szkutnik, commander of 18 DZ.
Your word of office as commander of the 18th Mechanized Division is just ending...
Gen. Dyw. Arkadiusz Szkutnik: I hope my superiors will extend it. I'd like to finish with our division what we've been preparing to do for a long time. I very much want us to check out during the “Iron Gate 25” exercise, which is part of the “Iron Defender” training federation, where we will be a first-class exerciser. Another crucial step is the exercise “Jesion’ 25” certifying 2nd Polish Corps, in which 18DZ will be liable for the creation and operation of the command post. But first of all, I would like to prepare my soldiers for an operation that is peculiarly close to my heart – the 4th "Safe Podlasie" shift.
You leave for the Polish-Belarusian border at the beginning of next year. erstwhile will the preparations begin?
The training starts at least half a year in advance – in September. The commanders will be given orders regarding the staff. We already have training programs. As usual, soldiers will gotta undergo their first selection, intellectual tests, specialist training, etc. But this time 70 percent of the soldiers are already trained due to the fact that already served on the Polish-Belarusian border.
How many soldiers will go to safe the border this time?
On the 4th shift, about six 1000 soldiers will most likely go – the same was on the first. Although the assumptions say that in the event of an expanding threat from migrants attempting to cross the border illegally, even 17,000 military men may be sent to the service.
Do preparations and training for this change disagree from erstwhile ones? What's the emphasis on?
After returning from the first shift, we conducted many analyses to destruct weaknesses. Experience shows that it is even more crucial to approach each soldier individually and pay peculiar attention to the precedence sub-groups that are exposed to the direct impact of the opposing party, namely migrants inspired by Belarusian services to push the border. So we're going to do quite a few exercises where our soldiers are going to be under force and act under stress. The aim is to make the conditions as close as possible to the real ones, which prevail on the "belt" (on the border belt – ed.). Only then can you accurately choice people and catch weaknesses.
Does this look akin to SERE training?
Yeah. The contestant doesn't even realize he's being watched by doctors and psychologists. This is especially crucial in utmost situations, erstwhile instincts begin to work – then the scientist is able to find whether a soldier is fit for service on a “belt”, where he can be straight exposed to aggressive migrants, or better suited for example in the logistics backroom.
What else during this 4th shift “Safe Podlasie” will be especially important?
Another component that we want to make in terms of border service is the maximum usage of unmanned aircraft for observation, recognition, identification. The life of a soldier is besides precious, so where you can, you gotta send a machine.
You have said many times that drones are the future of the army. In the 1st Armoured Brigade, a peculiar Training Centre of the BSP Section ,,VESPA” was established.
We usage drones in all the exercises. You can't get distant with this anymore. And experiences from Ukraine force us to change our doctrine and training system. An example of the innovative usage of drones was presented during the "Combined Resolve' 25" exercise by Colonel Katarzyna Lachowicz, commander of the 1st Tank Battalion from the 1st Armored Brigade. To unlearn soldiers driving with open hatches in tanks and combat cars, she reached for an unmanned vehicle. Painful examples from the Ukrainian front show that you can become an easy mark erstwhile the enemy through an open hatch drops grenades, accumulation charges and incendiary charges. To alert soldiers to specified situations, oranges were attached to the drones during the exercise and as shortly as any tank hatch was not closed, the orange landed inside the vehicle. It took 2 days for the soldiers to remember that they did not leave open hatches.
The 18th Mechanized Division took part in May in global maneuvers "Combined Resolve’25-02” in Germany. What lessons come from these exercises?
We wanted to check our procedures for mainly firing. It's 1 of the most crucial elements that Americans pay attention to. It was about detecting and identifying the target, approving it for destruction, sparking fire, firing, demolition of the mark or re-shooting.
You played an crucial function there. The command of the superior level was the staff of the 18th Mechanized Division...
Yeah. In Germany, where the exercises were taking place, we created a command post, an global squad that we led. For us, the most crucial aspect of these maneuvers was the usage of Apache helicopters, due to the fact that in this respect we have the least experience. We were practicing with a battalion combat group of combat helicopters. Her commander, Colonel Margaret Stick, daily, methodically repeated the procedures and we were already halfway through the exercise ready to prepare the mission with combat helicopters and artillery. And it wasn't easy, we had to be flexible to keep ourselves out of the field. The Americans played different combat scenarios to see how we would react. They've complicated situations in different ways. From here on out, the troops appeared in a place where they should not be.
How did the command systems work?
We wanted to check the integration of command systems. We took quite a few equipment. Our communications systems and fire control systems that were first integrated. In summarising the exercises, the Americans pointed to large cooperation, interoperability, and we were besides appreciated for our creativity in action.
Our communications strategy has impressed the allies. erstwhile we merged from Germany with the conflict Training Centre in Drawsk based on our HMS C3IS Jasmin system, which provides map and real imaging, it turned out that we could talk without any interference. This impressed US soldiers.
You have just returned from Germany, and you have already to prepare for the next autumn maneuvers of the Iron Gate, then the Operation Safe Podlasie, and besides many smaller exercises.
You can never get besides much exercise. It's always another experience that pays off, including during operations specified as Safe Podlasie. All that remains is to get the training plan right. Everything's working out for us.
