When Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) took office as part of the Cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, he became the nation's first defense minister who had not served as commanding general of the Army, Navy or Air Force.
This fact, however, is unlikely to pose a problem for Kao, as his appointment was well-received by both military figures and politicians, who said he is the man to help President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) achieve his goal of restoring discipline in the military.
The former minister of the Veterans Affairs Commission has a reputation for being a disciplinarian and imposing rigorous standards on his subordinates.
“Discipline is Kao's priority, and while he prefers to keep a low profile, everybody under his command respects him,” said one Army lieutenant colonel who had worked under Kao and who wished to remain anonymous.
Kao graduated from the Military Academy in 1968. He spent most of his career in the Army, where he served as a platoon leader, a brigade leader, a commander, a deputy commander-in-chief and the commander of the military's logistics department.
He is also widely recognized for his efforts, including dispatching relief and assistance to victims in the aftermath of the devastating 921 Earthquake that struck Taiwan in 1999 when he was the general of the 10th Army Corps.
Kao was appointed the leading deputy executive officer of the Executive Yuan’s Post-Disaster Reconstruction Commission following the terrible flooding and destruction brought by Typhoon Morakot last month. In fact, it was he who first proposed using empty military facilities to house flood victims.
The officer said that Kao's task at the Ministry of National Defense would be extremely challenging as there are a lot of unfinished projects, such as making the military part of the nation's rescue system, finishing the project of replacing compulsory military service with career soldiers and establishing the military's internal affairs department.
“I think the real challenge for him has just begun,” the officer said.
Kao was born in Jimo (即墨), Shandong Province, on Oct. 2, 1946. He moved to Changhua with his father, an army general, and his troops after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government lost the civil war to the Chinese communists in 1949.
On Dec. 27, 1974, Kao, then a captain and aide for then-Army commander-in-chief Yu Hao-chang (于豪章), was traveling in two UH-1H helicopters with 20 other high-ranking Army officers during the “Chang-ping” military exercise. The helicopters crashed in Miaoli County because of bad weather. Although Kao and Yu were both seriously injured, Kao managed to escape and drag Yu out of the wreckage before getting help. Thirteen people were killed in the accident.
Kao is also unique in that he is one of the few military officers whose performance has been recognized by both the former and incumbent ruling parties.
He was chosen to head the Veterans Affairs Commission by then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in 2004 and was reappointed to the post by Ma last year.
His appointment was welcomed by lawmakers of the legislature's Foreign and National Defense Committee.
“I think he is qualified for the position,” KMT Legislator Shuai Hua-ming (帥化民) said.
Shuai said that although Kao had never been a commander-in-chief, he had served as chief of veterans’ affairs twice and commander of the military's logistics department.
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