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Chen marks Armed Forces Day with military pep talk

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) urged the nation's military personnel yesterday to mould themselves into an elite deterrent force with advanced combat prowess and stringent discipline.

Chen gave his pep talk while presiding over a ceremony marking Armed Forces Day today.

Stressing the importance of patriotism, Chen encouraged all service members never to waver in their conviction in the nation's cause and to dedicate themselves to fulfilling their duty of safeguarding national security.

He also reaffirmed his administration's commitment to improve safety in the military and enhance welfare services for military personnel and their families.

During the ceremony, 56 outstanding service members and 34 military units were commended for their contributions to the nation.

Those honored included Wu Shun-sheng (吳順生), a chief non-commissioned officer in charge of engineering maintenance aboard the navy's Sea Tiger submarine; Colonel Tsao Chun-fan (曹君範), a section chief at the Army General Headquarters' chemical warfare department; and Tsai Kuo-ching (蔡國清), a battalion leader with the army's special operations brigade.

The 40-year-old Wu has spent 23 years of his life in the submarine fleet, logging 8,000 hours of underwater navigation and 800 hours so far this year. Wu joined the submarine fleet upon graduating from the navy's ship-engineering school. Over the years, he has worked aboard all of the navy's submarines.

Tsao was cited for his contribution in leading a chemical warfare corps to help with disinfection of local medical facilities that were infected with the SARS virus, including Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital.
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