A netizen claiming to be a retired military official yesterday weighed in on the controversy caused by a group of civilians visiting an Apache helicopter in a restricted area at the 601 Air Calvary Brigade by posting a list detailing what he sees as serious deficiencies in the military.
A netizen using the username ccwu1202 left a post titled “Seven reasons why the public hates the military” on the Professional Technology Temple (PTT), the nation’s largest online bulletin board system.
The post alleges poor management of human resources; that officials give prominence to superficial goals; that ordinary soldiers are not properly renumerated; that style is valued over substance; that authority is respected instead of professionalism; that rules are dogmatic and that data is forged.
The recurring theme of the post is that bureaucracy dominates the nation’s army, meaning that the authority of higher-ranking military officials is regarded as unquestionable, and that efficiency is poor, the netizen said.
Officers authoritatively assign soldiers work, but so-called “tasks” are often routine chores that have nothing to do with defending the nation; for example sweeping, moving inventory around bases and mowing lawns.
The waste of human resources takes a toll when a unit is relieved of a duty and tired soldiers are assigned new roles, he said.
Because high-ranking military officers are only concerned about how many positions are vacated when shifts change, and are never certain about the actual amount of work that needs to be done, duties assigned to soldiers often overlap, which causes a personnel shortage when other tasks need to be done, he said.
“The random orders given by military officials are actually a form of exploitation of their subordinates, who are already slaving away trying to fulfill other tasks. Still, they frequently berate their subordinates loudly or undertake more tasks just to show their counterparts and higher-ranking officers how disciplined they are,” he said.
He said officers in the 1970s and 1980s used their bonuses to subsidize the travel expenses of their soldiers, but now high-ranking officers care less about the welfare of their subordinates and treat their bonuses as part of their salaries.
Consequently, lower-paid servicemen often need to pay their own travel costs when dispatched on missions, he said.
He said that on one occasion he was assigned the task of preparing dinner for 2,000 soldiers on a hot summer day and strongly advised his superior against serving seafood over the concern that food poisoning that might occur, but his superior ordered seafood nonetheless and berated him for raising his concerns.
The post sparked a fervent online response, with many netizens saying they have similar feelings toward the military and had the same types of experiences in military service.
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