Toruń, 5.11.2007: A few days ago in one of the Torun military units where military service recruits live an “accident” occurred. Some of the recruits did a “standup” ( ,,piona” in Polish ) joke on their colleague. The victim received head wounds and spine damage and is presently in a Torun hospital.

The “standup” or ,,piona” means to suddenly lift up the foot of a bed and raise it to a standing position while someone is sleeping in it. In this case, as well as the injury resulting from the “standup” itself, the recruit was again injured when the bed folded up on itself.

Universal military service continues to be mandatory in Poland. Young men are obliged to spend 3 to 12 months living in a military unit. During this time their life is controlled by the military hierarchy. They are brainwashed into learning absolute obedience, they are deprived of a sense of security and so they are rather susceptible to doing stupid, unthinking actions. This raises the question: who is responsible in this situation where a young recruit does something that leads to tragedy? Is he alone responsible, is the system responsible, or maybe both together?

According to the present minister of defence, A. Szczygło, universal military service is planned to be suspended from January 2013, meaning that military service should become voluntary.

See also – PDF file ‘Wojsko? Nie dziękuję!’ (The Army? No thanks! – 2nd Edition, Polish):