Finding Pole position: Country Briefing – Poland

On 4 August the last conscript left service with Poland's armed forces. The current all-volunteer force numbers around 95,500 personnel and is expected to grow to 100,000 active servicemen across the four services by 2012, supported by 20,000 National Reserve Forces (Narodowe Sily Rezerwowe) – a new National Guard-like force to be created in 2010.

The new structure was laid out in the 2009-12 Defence Plan, which was signed in May 2009 by Defence Minister Bogdan Klich.

While there have been disputes between President Lech Kaczynski's staff and Ministry of National Defence (MND) officials about the final make-up of Poland's defence forces, the current economic situation is likely to bring the debate to an end.

The MND must overcome multiple budgetary, organisational and attitudinal issues to maintain ambitious plans that have been largely undermined by the economic crisis.

While Kaczynski has favoured expanding the armed forces to 150,000 personnel, it is clear Poland will not be able to do this and continue the technical modernisation necessary to transform the military into a modern, digitised and networked organisation, capable of conducting both effective homeland defence and being a reliable ally participating in international missions.

According to MND data, the planned structural changes in coming years will increase the number of combat-orientated units from 53 per cent of the armed forces to 62 per cent.

The air force and land forces headquarters (HQ) are to be moved from Warsaw to Poznan (after 2012) and Wroclaw (by 2012) respectively. By the end of 2018 the armed forces will have 99 garrisons rather than the current 126, with units more concentrated around key training areas and out of large cities.

In addition, MND planners are working on the assumption that at the end of 2012 at least 35 per cent of equipment will be classed as 'modern' (today the figure stands at 26 per cent).

Poland currently has 2,000 soldiers assigned to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. Klich recently confirmed that the MND had conducted advanced studies on the potential urgent deployment of an additional 200 soldiers to strengthen forces during the Afghan election period.