More than 13,000 Polish citizens have already signed up for voluntary basic military service.

Polish Minister of Defense Mariusz Błaszczak spoke about this on TVP Info.

He expects that number to rise in the coming weeks.

We hope that there will be more such applications in September, October and November. This year we have prepared 15,000 places. If necessary, we will find more. We want as many people as possible to be trained, to be able to handle weapons, to be well organized.

Mariusz Błaszczak

The introduction of voluntary basic military service in Poland will make it possible to increase the army's strength to 300,000 and effectively train reservists.

Any citizen of Poland who has never served in the army can pass it.

The candidate begins volunteer service with a 28-day introductory training course. Then he familiarizes himself with the rules of drill and the military statute and learns the basics of weapon ownership. This period will end with taking an oath and receiving an army book.

Military personnel who decide not to continue training will be enrolled in the reserve. Others will receive up to 11 months of professional training, which is combined with the fulfillment of the duties of the profession. At the end of this term, a serviceman of voluntary military service can submit an application for service in the professional, territorial or active reserve.

Within the scope of volunteer service, the volunteer will receive a reward in the amount of the lowest official salary of a professional military serviceman. Now it is 4560 zlotys (over UAH 35.6 thousand).