Poland Trains 500,000 Civilians in Survival Skills

Facing the most severe security environment since World War II, Poland has launched “W Gotowości” (“Always Ready”) — the largest voluntary civilian defense training program in the nation’s history, aiming to train up to 500,000 citizens by the end of 2026 in survival skills, first aid, and cybersecurity. The initiative, run by Poland’s Territorial Defence Forces, reflects a fundamental shift toward a “total defense” model that integrates civilians directly into the country’s security framework.

Context: A Nation on Alert

Poland shares a 530-kilometer border with Ukraine and borders Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave, placing it on the front line of European security. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Warsaw has dramatically transformed its defense posture. It now allocates 4.8% of GDP to defense — the highest percentage of any NATO member — and has become the alliance’s third-largest military by personnel, with 216,000 active troops and plans to expand to 300,000 by 2035.

According to DW, Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz described the current moment as “the most dangerous times since World War II,” pointing to “a war raging beyond our borders, acts of sabotage in the Baltic Sea, and battles in cyberspace.”

The “Always Ready” Program

Announced in November 2025 and launched in full in January 2026, the program offers four training modules: basic safety and crisis response, survival training (including map reading, compass navigation, and fire starting), medical first aid, and cyber hygiene. Courses are held on weekends in one-day, eight-hour sessions across more than 130 military units nationwide.

As TVP World reported, the program operates on two tracks: “Odporność” (Resilience) for civilians seeking basic preparedness, and “Rezerwy” (Reserves) for those pursuing military training. Citizens can sign up through the “mObywatel” mobile app, and participating employers receive tax credits.

Chief of General Staff Gen. Wiesław Kukuła stated that the objective is “to strengthen the resilience of citizens and communities, and to increase the availability, preparedness, and capacity of reserves,” as noted by Defense Magazine.

Extraordinary Public Response

The pilot phase, which ran from November 22, 2025, through late December, saw over 16,000 participants across four editions — far exceeding initial expectations. The demographic range was remarkable: the oldest participant was a 91-year-old who completed the cyber hygiene course, while the oldest female participant, aged 80, completed the survival course. The program’s popularity underscores the depth of public concern about regional security.

Lessons from Ukraine

Polish officials have been explicit about the program’s inspiration. Kosiniak-Kamysz noted that Ukrainians “were caught off guard” when Russia invaded in 2022, lacking the crisis response skills that four years of war have since forced them to acquire. “We must be prepared for any scenario,” he said, as reported by DW.

This recognition has driven Poland beyond conventional military modernization. The country has already invested over €2 billion in an “Eastern Shield” border fortification program with Russia and Belarus, and reported more than 10,000 state-sponsored cyber incidents in 2024 alone — many attributed to Russian actors.

A New Model for European Defense?

Poland’s approach represents a significant departure from the defense postures of its neighbors. While the Czech Republic, for comparison, maintains an Active Reserve of only about 4,000 personnel and allocates roughly 2% of GDP to defense, Poland is pursuing mass civilian mobilization on a scale unseen in post-Cold War Europe.

The program draws inspiration from Sweden’s “total defense” concept of civil preparedness, but its scale is unprecedented. If successful, it could create a trained reserve pool of half a million citizens — a force that could be activated in crisis scenarios ranging from cyberattacks and infrastructure disruption to conventional military conflict.

What to Watch For

The program’s success hinges on sustained public enthusiasm and logistical capacity. Training 500,000 volunteers requires significant organizational resources, and maintaining quality across such a diverse participant base — from schoolchildren to retirees — presents challenges. There is also the question of how Russia will respond to what it may perceive as a provocative mobilization.

As La Libre Belgique reported from a training site in Lublin, Corporal Sławomir of the Territorial Defence Forces instructed civilians on compass navigation and azimuths — basic skills that could prove critical in an emergency. “We’ve just seen together how to navigate using azimuths; now it’s your turn to put this into practice,” he told his class.

Poland’s “Always Ready” program may well become a template for other NATO nations confronting an increasingly assertive Russia. Whether it meets its ambitious targets by year’s end will be a key indicator of Europe’s evolving approach to civilian defense in an era of renewed great-power competition.