Starting this year, military draftees born in or after 1994 who are required to undergo four months of military training have to spend most of their service period in military sub-units, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.
Currently, conscripts born from 1994 have to undergo four months of military training — two months at general training centers and the other two months at military academies — without being required to serve in a troop. College students of conscription age are allowed to complete the training in two two-month sessions over a two-year course during their summer vacations.
The ministry said the four-month training program would be changed as follows: The first-stage two-month boot camp training will be shortened to five weeks — the same with those born before 1994 who are required to serve one year in the military — followed by an 11-week service in a troop, where draftees will receive secondary training.
College student conscripts can still complete the service in two sessions, and they will be assigned to a service branch after they finish the five-week basic training.
The five-week boot camp aims to train new recruits into qualified riflemen, after which draftee will draw lots to determine which branches they will serve in, including those on outlying islands.
Conscripts will receive secondary training in their respective service branches to hone their combat skills, such as handgun and rifle skills, and field survival ability, with some draftees likely to undergo special skills training for up to three weeks.
“The ministry made the changes to familiarize draftees with regular military operations,” and by placing them in different military units, the ministry can establish a reserve mobilization mechanism, said Major General Chen Wen-hsing (陳文星), training director at the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff.
“The ministry decided to shorten the basic training period because the military’s training centers do not have enough capacity,” Chen added.
While the number of eligible conscripts is between 100,000 and 120,000 annually, the training centers of the army, the navy and the marines can only accommodate 74,000 people, making draftees wait for an extended period before being enlisted.
Last year, there were about 116,000 available draftees, some of whom entered alternative military service, but the ministry still had to train about 81,000 people, Chen said.
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