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FEATURE : ARPU celebrates its 28th year with military drill

Members of the Marines’ Amphibious Reconnaissance and Patrol Unit approach a beach in attack formation during a drill at the Navy’s Tsoying Base on Oct. 31. PHOTO: Jimmy Chuang, Taipei Times

Ahead of celebrations for its 28th anniversary on Nov. 1, the Marines’ Amphibious Reconnaissance and Patrol Unit (ARPU) showed off its skills to reporters with a drill at the Navy’s Tsoying Base on Oct. 31.

The drill began with the demonstration of the Marines’ Amphibious Assault Vehicle-7 (AAV-7), a personnel carrier that allows soldiers access to battlefields from land or sea. The carrier is used by Marines from nine different countries, including Taiwan.

ARPU chief Lieutenant Colonel Pan Shih-yung (潘世勇) said they had replaced their old Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVT), an amphibious vehicle used by US troops during World War II, in 2006. Compared with the old LVTs, the new vehicles are a lot faster, quieter and more powerful, he said.

Following the demonstration, a group of 24 ARPU members began the show by approaching the beach on board three rafts.

The battle scenario involved special force members taking over nine buildings, which were occupied by the enemy.

Marine Corps Deputy Spokesman Han Kou-hua (韓國華) said that most of today’s ARPU members are career soldiers in their early 20s.

“These young men joined the military as their career and volunteered for the tough training that comes with being in the ARPU,” Han said. “Most of them are indigenous people.”

Taiwan has the second-largest Marine Corps in the world with about 10,000 troops. Among these, more than 300 belong to the ARPU.

The Marine Corps has four divisions — the ARPU, the Underwater Demolition Unit (UDU), the Supply Unit and the Special Service Company. All are regarded as special forces, as members of the Special Service Company also need to be trained paratroopers. The UDU, which followed the concept of the Navy SEALs in the US, used to belong to the Navy. It was merged with the Marines in 2005.

Since the merger, in order to qualify as a marine, each recruit needs to go through 10 weeks of training, including the infamous six-day-and-five-night “hell week.”

During “hell week,” each recruit must go through a variety of rigorous physical and mental challenges, getting just one-hour rest every five hours, throughout the entire week. On the last day, the participants must climb, crawl and roll through “the heavenly way,” a 50m path of coral and rocks, before their Marine badge is issued.

A certified frogman must be capable of swimming 50m in a single breath, diving to a depth of 10m without a snorkel or scuba, diving 20m with scuba equipment, swimming 10km in the sea, a runing 40km, making and defusing explosives on land or under water and carrying out a paratrooper’s and ranger’s missions.

Every certified frogman is also well-trained in CPR and is a certified lifeguard.

The first female participant finished the 10-week training and was certified as a frogman last November.

“We have four female frogmen at the ARPU now. And I must say, we are really proud of them,” Han said.

Han said that an ARPU member’s monthly paycheck will be bigger than a regular soldier who is doing his compulsory military service.

“The difference is something around NT$19,000 between a career ARPU soldier and a regular soldier,” he said.

Han also said that the latest “hell week” would be held sometime in the middle of this month.

“I can proudly say that ARPU members are simply the best of the best,” Han said.
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