For many years, the Ministry of National Defense has encouraged and selected outstanding military personnel to study at foreign military academies. However, most students, on returning to Taiwan, simply serve out the minimum term of service and then leave the military. This damaging retention problem must be properly addressed by each branch of the military, and measures must be implemented to improve the situation.
A report by the ministry said that since 2016, seven graduates from foreign military colleges have resigned immediately on completion of their statutory 10-year basic service, and another two graduates left the military before completing their term.
Two had studied at US Military Academy at West Point in New York and left the military after obtaining the rank of major, and another two attended the Virginia Military Institute, one resigning as a captain and the other as a major. Two others attended Norwich University military college in Vermont and resigned as a captain, while another attended The Citadel military college in South Carolina and resigned at the same rank.
Personnel recommended for study at military institutions abroad possess outstanding records of achievement. One such individual, the top graduate of their year at Chung Cheng Armed Forces Preparatory School, was an outstanding student in the school’s Department of Aerospace Mechanics. At the recommendation of West Point, the student was honored with an Aviation Week Tomorrow’s Leaders Award, the first Taiwanese to receive such an honor.
Those selected for study abroad are first-rate graduates of Taiwan’s military colleges, in terms of language ability, physical fitness and academic prowess. This strongly suggests that they are resilient, tenacious individuals with a strong fighting character, physically fit, highly adaptable to foreign environments and thrive under pressure. If they, on their return to Taiwan, are undervalued by their superiors, are unable to put their skills into practice, or do not have access to specialist training and mentoring structure to further their career development, it is only natural that they will gradually lose the will to continue serving their country.
One notable example is Lee Wu-ling (李武陵), a former captain in the Army Education, Training and Doctrine Development Command. More than NT$10 million (US$360,737) was spent on Lee’s education and training. In 2000, West Point opened up enrollment to military personnel from Asian nations. Lee ranked fifth out of 1,000 candidates from Asia and gained a coveted place at the academy. After returning to Taiwan, he did not wish to continue serving in the military, turned down a promotion to major and quit the military early, in July 2014.
Many of the military’s most talented, foreign-educated officers cannot see a future in the armed forces and quit prematurely. To stop the brain drain, the ministry’s Department of Strategic Planning, its Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Personnel and National Defense University, among other institutions, could form a special task force to examine the introduction of a talent cultivation and placement program.
The ministry should also establish a central database of foreign-trained talent that could be drawn upon to manage Taiwan-US military exchanges, conduct strategic research and analysis, intelligence analysis, and military evaluation exercises, and fill important roles in other key military departments. A system must be developed to fast-track elite, foreign-trained personnel, and provide them with high-quality training and career development prospects.
Yao Chung-yuan is a former deputy director of the Ministry of National Defense’s strategic planning department.
Translated by Edward Jones
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