Military of Poland
The army of Poland consists of conscript and professional soldiers. Its military usefulness is questioned and most of its weapons and other hardware is obsolete.During communism, most of the Polish army was located on the western border. Currently the size of the army is being reduced, and it is moved to other parts of the country.
Poland's top national security goal is to further integrate with NATO and other west European defense, economic, and political institutions via a modernization and reorganization of its military. Polish military doctrine reflects the same defense nature as its NATO partners.
Poland maintains a sizable armed force currently numbering about 175,343 troops divided among an army of 96,733, an air and defense force of 39,649, and a navy of 15,980. The Ministry of Defense has announced that the armed forces of Poland will number 150,000 by 2006. Poland relies on military conscription for the majority of its personnel strength. All males (with some exceptions) are subject to a 12-month term of military service.
The Polish military continues to restructure and to modernize its equipment. The Polish Defense Ministry General Staff and the Land Forces staff have recently reorganized the latter into a NATO-compatible J/G-1 through J/G-6 structure. Budget constraints hamper such priority defense acquisitions as a multi-role fighter, improved communications systems, and an attack helicopter.
Poland continues to be a regional leader in support and participation in the NATO Partnership for Peace Program and has actively engaged most of its neighbors and other regional actors to build stable foundations for future European security arrangements. Poland continues its long record of strong support for UN Peacekeeping Operations by maintaining a unit in Southern Lebanon, a battalion in NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR), and by providing and actually deploying the KFOR strategic reserve to Kosovo. Poland has also deployed military in the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq in the south of that country.
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force
Military manpower - military age: 19 years of age
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49:
10,454,717 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49:
8,138,723 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males:
336,293 (2000 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $3.2 billion (FY00)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.1% (FY00)
Polish military forces are propably the only one in the world that use two-fingers salute.
- See also : Poland
