The air force will launch an experimental restructuring project next Sunday aimed at increasing efficiency in the service's command of fighter jet units, the Air Force General Headquarters said yesterday.
The project will eliminate the "group" level, the second largest element in a fighter wing, from the command hierarchy.
A group comprises three squadrons, which are equivalent to battalions in the army. As a result of the restructuring, the three squadrons under each group will function independently.
The independent squadrons will respond directly to the air force's command center in times of war, bypassing the wing-level command. But they will still take orders from the wing during peace time.
"The restructuring is aimed at streamlining the chain of command," an air force spokesman said.
"With the group removed from the chain of command, there would be only two levels of command in a time of war -- the independent squadrons and the service's command center," the spokesman said.
The project is the most significant restructuring of the air force in two decades.
The Tainan-based 443rd fighter wing will be the first unit to go through the experiment, which will last for at least six months.
The creation of independent squadrons will also provide fighter pilots a greater chance of promotion.
The responsibilities of the eliminated group-level command will be absorbed evenly by the three independent squadrons.
The group has three colonels, who can be divided equally by the three squadrons. This means that the leader of an independent squadron will be a colonel, rather than lieutenant colonel as is now the case.
The squadrons will also have more ranking positions.
An air force official who declined to be identified acknowl-edged that the restructuring is designed not just to increase efficiency but to benefit fighter pilots.
"Our most combat-capable fighter pilots are concentrated in the ranks of major and lieutenant colonel. If we cannot provide more positions for them, they will end up wasting their time in an office or planning for early retirement," the official said.
But not everyone is convinced of the merits of the plan.
Eric Shih (施孝瑋), an editor with Defense International magazine, said that if the air force just wants to find more job vacancies for fighter pilots, it need only enlarge squadrons rather than creating independent ones.
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