The military yesterday commissioned a combined military and civilian rescue task force during a drill in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan. The ceremony took place during a reservist recall and vehicle commandeering exercise that involved over 1,000 troops and nearly 200 vehicles.
The drill, which took place at an army base in Kaohsiung County's Yentsao township, is part of the on-going Hankuang No. 16 exercise which is set to culminate on Friday with a concentration and review of over 10,000 troops in Hsinchu.
"The reason we are holding a commissioning ceremony today for the combined military/civilian rescue task force, as well as a drill involving members and equipment of the force, is that we want to demonstrate to the public the armed forces' achievements in the establishment of a national disaster rescue mechanism," said Army Commander-in-Chief General Chen Cheng-hsiang (
"We learned through our participation in the search and rescue efforts that followed the 921 earthquake last year that we need to unify all public and private rescue organizations so that wasted resources, as witnessed last year, do not occur again," Chen said.
"We find at the same time that the public seems to have become more and more dependent on the armed forces for search and rescue," he said.
"The armed forces exist for the purpose of combat, however, and our training schedule is always tight throughout the year," he said.
These considerations prompted the military to establish a combined military and civilian rescue force, whose mission is simply to conduct search and rescue operations for both servicemen and civilians in times of emergency, said an official with the army general headquarters.
The new rescue force is the first of its kind in the country, with two more having been commissioned for the central and northern parts of the country, the official said.
The task force is comprised of active-duty and reservist troops from the army's engineering units as well as civilian fire fighters and medical personnel in the southern parts of the country.
Its equipment includes various multi-functional vehicles from the army as well as drawing upon cranes and trucks commandeered from civilians.
In a drill that followed the commissioning ceremony, the army also showcased the capabilities of a German-made amphibious M-3 bridge laying vehicle.
It was the first time that the M-3 had been introduced to the public, although it was purchased by the military three years ago.
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