By 3 thousand, the limit of this year's vocations for voluntary essential military service increased. This is the 3rd time this year the MON has increased the number of places for volunteers who want to undergo military training. “We are inactive seeing an upward trend in this area. Therefore, the limits are updated as needed," says Lt. Michał Gełej of the Central Military Recruitment Centre.
The Council of Ministers shall find annually the number of persons who may be appointed for active military service in a given calendar year. 1 of its kinds is voluntary basic military service. For example, the 1st year of military studies (in the 1st year of study), cadets studying in sub-commissioned schools, as well as civilian volunteers who had not previously been in the military, but after training they have a plan to join the professional army or power up reserves.
According to regulations prepared at the end of last The military assumed that 30 000 people (plus 4550 seats for voluntary service during training) would be able to participate in the voluntary primary service in 2024. However, a large interest in this form of service made in June, MON management decided to increase the number of training places another 10,000, up to 40,000 people.
However, this number of seats has proved insufficient. In practice, the set limit of appointments to voluntary service has been exceeded. – So far, in 2024 almost 32 350 volunteers were appointed for basic training, and specialist training began almost 11 250 people from the passive reserve. This gives a full of about 43,600 calls to the DZSW – admits Lt. Michał Gelej, p.o. press spokesperson of the Central Military Recruitment Centre. He adds: "We constantly monitor the situation in the context of interest in this form of service. The trend is clearly increasing, so the limit had to be increased.
The draft regulation prepared in the MON increases the number of training places by 3 000. In total, this year's limit of appointments to the DZSW will be 43 000 (limit of 4550 seats for voluntary service during training remains unchanged).
According to the Ministry of Defence, in addition to the advanced popularity of voluntary service, the request to amend the rules resulted from the creation of "voluntarys" for professional service within 12 months. Only this year, almost 11,200 people took advantage of this anticipation after training. “Due to the change in kind of service from DZSW to professional, backing for preparing training places for subsequent volunteers has been released,” the representatives of the MON admit.
Training next year
According to CWCR representatives, the turn of the year does not mean a break in recruitment to the service. – Candidates can apply for appointment in 2025. At the moment, we have already issued almost 2250 administrative decisions on the appointment for basic training – says Lt. Gełej.
Next year the Ministry of National Defence plans to appoint 35 1000 people for training in DSZW (plus 4700 of those to be appointed to voluntary service during training). But this limit can besides change. another than this year This was already the case in 2022 and 2023..
Voluntary primary military service was introduced in 2022 Home defence Act. Individuals with Polish citizenship and physical and intellectual ability to service may apply for appointment. Training takes place in military units throughout Poland. First, volunteers undergo 27-day basic training, during which they learn about drill rules, military regulations and the basis for utilizing weapons. This phase ends with an exam and a military oath. Right after that, each of them may end their service, either by supplying an active or passive reserve, or by continuing specialised training up to 11 months, depending on the speciality. The next step may be to apply for a job. In addition to the training results, the predispositions of a given soldier are taken into account. A affirmative transition to detailed medical and intellectual tests is besides needed.
Only this year 9 DZSW turnouts were organized in military units across Poland as part of basic training for volunteers without military training. Additional 2 turns were prepared for graduates of secondary schools, including military training units.
Since the start of voluntary primary military service, basic training has exceeded nearly 78,990 volunteers. Almost 32,000 after specialist training, the ranks of the professional army joined.
