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Poland Officer Education
In the communist era, officer education began with the
precepts of Marxism-Leninism and their importance in
defending
the socialist system. The MPA directed the officers'
indoctrination in these precepts. By contrast, in training
both
officers and enlisted personnel the postcommunist military
education system emphasized the individual's role in
maintaining
Poland's military heritage and traditions rather than in
preserving a particular ideology. The Education Officers
Corps
was abolished, as was the post of deputy commanding
officer in
military units, which had been obligatory billets for
political
officers. In 1990, public skepticism toward the initial
reshuffling of the military education program led to a
second
stage of reform. The GZW was then reconstituted as the
Department
of Education and given a broad educational mission. These
moves
were seen as a clean break with political indoctrination
of the
military and an opportunity to improve the professional
level of
military personnel.
Higher officer candidate schools had been the major
source of
career officers in the Polish People's Army, although a
few
graduates of civilian schools switched to a military
career after
completing their active-duty obligation. Of the fourteen
higher
officer candidate schools in the 1980s, only the Technical
Military Academy and the Medical Military Academy received
sufficient qualified applicants. In the communist era, all
schools offered programs for political officers as well.
Graduation from a higher officer candidate school yielded
a
bachelors degree and a commission as a second lieutenant.
From 1949 to 1989 all instruction at Polish military
schools
was heavily politicized. At the higher officer schools and
military graduate schools, mandatory courses included
Marxist
philosophy, political economy, and scientific socialism.
The
stated goal of such courses was "to instill the socialist
outlook
among soldiers."
Officer training reform in the early 1990s stressed
defensive
techniques and sought to blend military training with
education
to produce well-rounded officers who could be integrated
more
fully into Polish society. Low attendance and low budgets
required closing some specialized schools, and several
other
specialized schools were merged. In some cases, joint
programs
were established with universities.
In another effort to depoliticize Polish military
training, a
single senior military school, the National Defense
Academy
(Akademia Obrony Narodowej--AON) was established in 1990.
The AON
merged the General Staff and military-political academies,
which
had been criticized as bastions of cronyism that provided
nonfunctional instructor positions for senior officers.
The AON's
mission is to train commanders and senior staff officers
as well
as to prepare civilians for service in the upper echelons
of the
defense bureaucracy. Graduate programs have been
established
offering masters and doctoral degrees. The AON also
develops
policy recommendations for national defense, and its
faculty
often participates in intragovernmental working groups
assembled
to define future national security policy.
Data as of October 1992
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