WOT Commander: New Generation Conflicts

– I am calm as to the evaluation of the participation of my soldiers in the exercises of Anakonda. After this exercise, they understand the complexity of the challenges and their role in the defense system, but they also know how many of them are waiting for them – Commander of the PAP of the Territorial Defense General Maj. Wiesław Kukuła. – We live today an era of new generation conflicts: these are subliminal conflicts that operate outside the state of war – where it is not yet formally, but where people are already exposed to its consequences. In such situations, we must provide support to local communities, he added.

For this year's largest military maneuvers in Poland Anakonda 18, whose polygonal milestone ended on November 19, the Territorial Defense Army created three light infantry companies . In total, over 400 soldiers from the youngest armed forces participated in maneuvers with operational forces. For the first time, WOT staged as much force for military exercises – a year ago, during the Dragon 17 maneuvers, a reinforced reinforced infantry platoon, consisting of 36 soldiers from the Territorial Military Service and 4 professional soldiers.

PAP: This year, more than ten times more soldiers than the previous year were spent on exercises with the operational forces of the WOT. Where did the commitment come from?

General Wiesław Kukuła: We were able to get involved because we already have a lot of soldiers at a higher training level, those with skills that predispose them better to such complex exercises taking place in Anakonda. Even though we had practiced the involvement of the reinforced platoon earlier, we could afford three companies on Anaconda. From year to year, our participation in this type of exercise will increase.

Your greatest presence in the biggest exercises of the Polish army is not the only difference. The specificity of this year's Anaconda was different?

– Yes, the essence of this year 's Anaconda was that its scenario was very different from previous years. War scenarios were practiced on the Dragon and this year we performed tactical tasks related to the response to the crisis, which can take place in case of subliminal conflict or hybrid war. Since the nature of these exercises was closely related to our tasks, we had the opportunity to verify the assumptions relating to the doctrine of WOT activities.

What are the actions?

– We practiced the protection of critical infrastructure, search and rescue, as well as the evacuation of the population. These are tasks strongly inscribed in the specificity of the WOT, but which also pose problems related to the need to cooperate with non-military structures of the State. One of our tasks was to strengthen the protection of the country's borders by supporting border guards. This exercise showed us in which direction our continuing education should go. This also showed us our mistakes in the preparation stage of the exercise. These errors will certainly result in conclusions. We are going to build an efficient system for preparing the WOT for cooperation with border guards, which could require our support in this region, the Eastern Voivodeship. The evacuation of the population is another example of our cooperation with civilians during military operations. We practiced the protection and the displacement of the uninvolved population to fight its region. In this case, cooperation with the voivodeship office in Białystok was important. We have provided logistical support for the administration as well as the protection and protection of such evacuation. I can say that we have been positive in this exercise, although I also have a number of comments to implement for training.

What did this Anaconda give you?

– This certainly contributed to the fact that the doctrine of using WOT, which we are now creating, which will also be our tactical activity regulation, will certainly be richer. We want to develop such a doctrine by the middle of next year. The conclusions of Anaconda are in this case how he found. Thanks to these exercises, we have already checked the entries of the project. But the most valuable is the individual experience of my soldiers from the exercises. Because it's a good and a bad soldier, it's experience.

Are you happy about your fall on Anakonda?

– We do not consider these exercises as something that must end successfully. The measure of our satisfaction is the number of conclusions gathered regarding our operation. If, during the exercise, we define what does not work and if we can fix it, we will be better prepared for the battle. If we pretend that everything is working well and that we are focusing solely on the effect we want to achieve, by turning a blind eye to certain shortcomings, we will never achieve that goal.

How did you check your own activities during Anaconda?

– With our teams we had supposed targets controllers – observers who checked the behavior of our soldiers. Their task was to observe and evaluate the operation. These notes refer to the individual training level of the soldiers, but also to the formation of teams during tactical tasks. But you must remember that operational command also has its own assessment team, which has a global view of the battlefield. He sees not only all types of armed forces, but also actors outside the military structures. Their goal is to integrate this effort because we are all elements of the puzzle and we together form a team. The assessment and conclusions of the operational command that I expect to meet in mid-December. Although I have received the current comments during the exercise.

And what note do you expect?

– I am rather calm about this assessment. Especially with regard to the involvement and initiative of WOT soldiers. I already know all the observations of my observers, I know what I need to improve. But I'm waiting for the evaluation of the command, it could change my perception. I am aware that we are still at the beginning of the road to strengthen our capacities.

What do WOT soldiers say after this exercise?

– They are mostly tired. This is the best proof that the exercise was intense. There is also something that impresses me – they admit themselves that after this exercise, they understood how much they still had in front of them. It's a humility worthy of a soldier. They are not sacrificing themselves, but they have noticed the complexity of the challenges ahead and understand their role in the system. The responsibility of any one of them can contribute to the success of the whole operation.

Have you led the exercises of your best soldiers?

– These were already sub-divisions, light infantry companies, which – I do not deny it – were adopted before the adoption of extended training. These are soldiers who have not yet passed the full three year training cycle and who are not certified ready to fight. That's why we had to follow this path. The training of soldiers for such exercises, especially in the case of training as young as the WOT, is normal.

You mentioned the doctrinal assumptions that will be lost, which will define your role in the security system in the future. Can you draw a glimpse of such assumptions after Anakonda?

– We live today an era of new generation conflicts: these are subliminal conflicts that operate outside the state of war – where it is not yet formally, but where people are already exposed to its consequences. In such situations, we must first support local communities. Therefore, during Anaconda, our companies were not located on the other side of Poland. These were people who came from the communities in which they operated, in which, for example, they practiced the evacuation of the population. In reality, these soldiers would evacuate their loved ones and stay in this area. The same was true during exercises on the protection of critical infrastructure – Zakłady Azotowe w Puławach. The family members of our soldiers work in this factory. Thanks to such dependencies, my army integrates local communities throughout the army. It also strengthens the strength of these communities, as they are more aware of the threats, but also the opportunities that can be provided by the WOT formations, which makes it easier for the operational forces operating in the region. This already shows how the WOT changes the face of any defense.