The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reaffirmed its goal to end conscription to build an all-volunteer military force by 2018.
The ministry estimates that volunteer personnel can make up 90 percent of the military — the requisite for an all-volunteer force that it set — by the end of next year, and the ministry will stop conscription in 2018, Minister of National Defense Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) said during a session of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee.
Volunteer personnel comprise 76.7 percent of the military.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“I am confident that we can end conscription by 2018,” Feng said, adding: “We are confident that the nation will have a large enough number of troops.”
According to a new drafting system, people born in 1993 and earlier will need to serve a one-year alternative military service, while men born in 1994 and later will have to undergo a four-month military training rather than the regular one-year military service.
The pool of available draftees is dwindling with falling fertility rates and there will only be 14,957 people available for conscription by 2018, Deputy Chief of General Staff for Personnel Lieutenant General Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞) said.
The nation has a 215,000-strong military force and all conscripts will be discharged from the military by the end of 2018, the ministry said.
The recruitment rates of volunteer officers over the past three years were above 70 percent of the goal set by the military, Hsu said, adding that the ministry plans to use incentives — such as paying bonuses to combat personnel, junior officers and those specializing in electronic and digital warfare — to boost recruitment.
However, the ministry has encountered difficulties in recruiting junior officers, as a college degree is required for applicants, but few college graduates are willing to pursue a military career, Hsu said.
According to ministry statistics, the recruitment rate of lieutenant officers is 66.1 percent this year; 51.9 percent for sergeants and corporals; and 111.8 percent for privates.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) asked if the ministry could increase the retirement age for junior officers to retain personnel and ease recruitment difficulties.
Feng said the ministry is assessing the possibility of increasing the retirement age of officers ranked major or below.
The service limit for first and second lieutenants is 10 years, and the limit for captains is 15 years.
When asked if the ministry could enroll enough combat personnel, especially those to be based on outlying islands, Hsu said voluntary personnel already comprises about 80 percent of combat troops, adding that the ministry would double its recruitment efforts next year with a goal of drafting 15,000 personnel to meet the needs of the all-volunteer program.
The ministry in 2008 announced that it would transition to an all-volunteer force by 2014, but ended up having to push back the deadline several times.
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