The army has large numbers of junior officers that lack the ability, willingness, or courage to train and lead soldiers, a military publication said in its latest issue.
An article in the June issue of Army Academic Monthly asserted that these are bringing much greater harm to the army than the troops under their command. The article was written by an active-duty officer.
"Such officers undermine the foundation of the army's authority. They only cause soldiers to become more and more insubordinate. This ruins military discipline and makes the command responsibilities of career officers nearly impossible," the article says.
The article does not provide a figure or percentage regarding incompetent and irresponsible army officers. But the problem is clearly a serious one, since the army, being an extremely conservative institution, permitted such a story to run in one of its own internal publications.
The article is accessible on the Ministry of National Defense Web site.
The problematic officers referred to in the story are primarily junior grade, who serve as platoon or company leaders, or who are political warfare unit chiefs.
The article divides the errant officers into six types, based on their behavioral patterns and psychological inclinations.
Officers of the first type are good at covering things up and are often negligent in their duty.
This type of officer is the largest in number. They are considered to be bringing the greatest harm to the army's modernization process, which involves training in the use of new types of high-tech weaponry and equipment.
"Over the past few years, the army's failure to upgrade its combat training as expected is mainly attributable to this type of officer, who knows all too well how to cheat his superiors," the article says.
The second type of problematic officer is characterized by general incompetence. They do not have the knowledge and intelligence to lead troops successful. They also tend to abuse soldiers under their control.
Among the other four other types of problematic officers, two kinds of mentality reign: an unwillingness to work and a fear of accepting responsibility.
Officers who aren't willing to work tend to only be interested in entertainment and over-indulge in food during their off hours.
Most pathetic, the article explains, are officers who are afraid to take responsibility. They love to find excuses to shun tasks they consider difficult, the article says. According to the story, the phenomenon has seriously affected troop training at the platoon and company levels.
"With problematic officers handling the basic company units, it is inevitable that soldiers learn to capitalize on the weaknesses of such officers. It is feared that soldiers will become insubordinate and uncontrollable to an irredeemable extent," the article said.
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