The modernization of the army is a process that must consist of many layers and components. All of these elements are of equal importance – both offensive forces, including artillery, tanks, and missiles. But it’s equally important to supply these rockets and ammunition to the offensive forces. It’s also crucial to ensure accurate target reconnaissance for firepower. Communication is crucial, as is jamming enemy communication to counteract threats like drones or attempts to intercept communication. All these factors need to be modernized simultaneously. One can’t neglect logistics or reconnaissance capabilities while favoring offensive forces. The army as a whole is a system of capacities, skills, and competencies that all contribute to creating a well-functioning armed forces.
Seeing the example of Poland, we can observe that a lot of focus is being put on developing offensive capabilities, through the purchase or declaration to buy various offensive weapons like tanks, missile launchers, and artillery systems. However, it’s often forgotten that a large portion of soldiers still uses outdated personal protective equipment such as WZ67 helmets – steel helmets that dates back to the coldest period of the Cold War, said Mariusz Marszałkowski, editor-in-chief of POLON.pl, to eNewsroom.pl.
Issues related to personal equipment for soldiers are also evident, such as bulletproof vests, boots, or even tactical gloves used by soldiers. This is a significant issue, and we must be aware that army modernization cannot solely rely on purchasing tanks. It must be an entire ecosystem that is created around the army. Another concern is that at parades or in promotional materials, bulletproof vests or radios do not make such an impression on viewers like artillery sets or tanks. An issue is that politicians primarily decide about the modernization of the army, who then enjoy posing in front of tanks, launchers, or aircraft. But, they rarely appear alongside a specific soldier with particular personal equipment.
This ends up with Polish soldiers having to buy vests from markets with their money. Soldiers on the Polish-Belarus border walk in equipment that they had to purchase themselves, and it’s not always uniform, nor the best. But, propagandistically, we can show that the army is expanding, that it is strong, and that we will not run out of tanks or artillery, Marszałkowski lists.
