Poland PM Donald Tusk aims to build "the strongest army in the region." Warsaw has been on a spending spree, buying planes, ships, artillery systems and missiles from the US, Sweden, and South Korea, out of concern of a Russian invasion. Now civilians are attending military training courses on the weekend. Said one, "history has taught us that we must be prepared to defend ourselves on our own. We cannot rely on anyone else. Today alliances exist, and tomorrow they are broken. Most Poles will take up arms [if attacked] and be ready to defend the country." The US currently has 10,000 troops stationed in Poland, but Washington announced last month it was pulling out of a key military base in the city of Rzeszow.
Approximately 216,000 servicemen and women make up the Polish armed forces. The government says they intend to increase that to half a million, including reservists which would give it the second-largest military in NATO after the US. Poland has a population of 37 million. According to the Global Firepower Index, Poland's military is ranked 21 out of 145 countries. Source: www.globalfirepower.com
