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Young not keen on joining army
EXPERIMENTAL:
A defense ministry survey of students indicates that a proposal to create a professional army over the next three years may prove hard to realize
By Brian Hsu
STAFF REPORTER
Monday, Nov 25, 2002, Page 2
The military will go ahead with an experiment to create a professional army despite indications many young people aren't interested in enlisting, the Ministry of National Defense will say in a report to the legislature today.
Most of those who responded to a survey of college and senior high-school students said they would be willing to become officers or non-commissioned officers but not soldiers.
The survey was conducted over the past few months and collected 1,832 valid responses.
The ministry does not specify in its report to the legislature's National Defense Committee what percentage of respondents had no interest in enlisting as soldiers.
The ministry will use the report to illustrate its concerns that the major difficulty for the military in setting up the experimental professional soldier system will be the public's low regard for the military.
Nevertheless, the military will launch next year the professional soldier system across the three services in an experiment that will last three years.
The army, marine corps and air force will offer one battalion each as the units for the experiment.
These units include a missile battalion of the army, an infantry battalion of the marine corps and a repair and supply group of the air force.
The ministry originally wanted to use an army motorized infantry battalion and an air defense battalion in the experiment. However, lawmakers believed serving in these units would be too demanding for young people.
The army and air force units now in the experiment require soldiers with technical expertise rather than physical strength.
Also in the report, the ministry says it has found 28,000 positions in the three services, or 30 percent of the total, that could be made available for professional soldiers, although it is not clear whether the 1,000 professional soldiers enlisted in the first year of the experiment will take these positions.
If the experiment works, the ministry plans to expand the professional soldier system if its budget will allow.
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