March 11, 2015 - Members of paramilitary National Guard muster near Szczecin, Poland, as they ready to counter threats and contain crisis situations in their area. Across many eastern European nations, ordinary people are heeding a call to receive military training in case of war, backed by NATO forces on a mission to reassure citizens theyre safe from Russian aggression.(The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Nov. 21, 2014 file photo, Polish and British troops take part in a joint military exercise in Swietoszow, Poland, with more than 1,000 British troops participating. Across many nations of eastern Europe ordinary people are heeding a call to receive military training to learn what to do in case of war, and backed by NATO forces on a mission to reassure citizens that theyre safe from Russian aggression. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, File)(The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Nov. 21, 2014 file photo, Polish soldiers, center, and British troops, left and right, take part in joint military exercise in Swietoszow, Poland, with more than 1,000 British troops participating. Across many nations of eastern Europe ordinary people are heeding a call to receive military training to learn what to do in case of war, and backed by NATO forces on a mission to reassure citizens that theyre safe from Russian aggression. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, File)(The Associated Press)

In this photo taken in Tarnowskie Gory, Poland, March 24, 2015, one of some 550 reservists who were called on an hours notice for test range training is being security-checked before entering a chemical defense troops base. Across many nations of eastern Europe ordinary people are heeding a call to receive military training to learn what to do in case of war, and backed by NATO forces on a mission to reassure citizens that theyre safe from Russian aggression. (AP Photo/ Michal Legierski ) POLAND OUT(The Associated Press)

In this photo taken in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, March 5, 2015, Mateusz Warszczak, 23, fills out documents to register for voluntary military training in response to a call by Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak. Warszczak told The Associated Press he wanted to be able to defend his family in case of danger, as Poland's two neighbors, Russia and Ukraine, are involved in an armed conflict. Across many nations of eastern Europe ordinary people are heeding a call to receive military training to learn what to do in case of war, and backed by NATO forces on a mission to reassure citizens that theyre safe from Russian aggression. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)(The Associated Press)

WARSAW, Poland NATO aircraft scream across eastern European skies and American armored vehicles rumble near the border with Russia on a mission to reassure citizens that they're safe from Russian aggression.

But these days, ordinary people aren't taking any chances.

In Poland, doctors, shopkeepers, lawmakers and others are heeding a call to receive military training in case of an invasion. Neighboring Lithuania is restoring the draft and teaching citizens what to do in case of war. Nearby Latvia has plans to give university students military training next year.

The drive to teach ordinary people how to use weapons and take cover under fire reflects soaring anxiety among people in a region where memories of Moscow's domination which ended only in the 1990s remain raw. People worry that their security and hard-won independence are threatened as saber-rattling intensifies between the West and Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, where more than 6,000 people have died.

In Poland, the oldest generation remembers the Soviet Army's invasion in 1939, at the start of World War II. Younger people remain traumatized by the repression of the communist regime that lasted more than four decades.

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Eastern European civilians undergo military training amid Russia threat