Staff reporters, with staff writer
Bayonet drills are an essential part of the army’s training curriculum, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said on Monday as he defended a policy of the army’s top general to increase bayonet drills in training programs.
At a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) questioned the usefulness of the drills.
Photo: Chen Hsien-yi, Taipei Times
Army General Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞) has introduced physical standards and combat skills-related policy changes since he assumed command of the service in July.
Tsai asked Chiu if he agrees with the army’s renewed interest in bayonets and to explain how bayonet training is being conducted.
Citing the US Army’s decision to discontinue bayonet drills in 2010, Tsai said that Taiwan’s army should consider prioritizing physical fitness programs — including weight training, calisthenics, running and marches — over proficiency with the bayonet.
Chiu said that he agrees with Hsu’s bayonet training policy, adding that the drills build up the mental and physical conditioning of soldiers.
These aspects are core components of the army’s training, alongside other elements such as technical proficiency and command skills, he said.
Bayonet drills are incorporated into the training curriculum, while the unit that conducts the training adjusts the intensiveness depending whether it is for a combat or support element, he said.
Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Chang Yuan-hsun (章元勳) said that bayonet drills are carried out within the time allotted to units for training.
A retired general who requested anonymity on Thursday said that public interest in the bayonet policy is evidence that the nation is paying attention to the threat from China.
However, most comments on the issue have been “uninformed,” the retired general said.
In Taiwan’s armed forces, bayonet fighting is practiced as a martial art that revolves around the use of the weapon when it is affixed to a rifle to rapidly defeat an enemy at close quarters, they said.
“The army’s emphasis on bayonet skills has nothing to do with human wave tactics,” they said.
The bayonet fulfills a particular set of requirements in close combat and most of the world’s militaries continue to issue bayonets as a standard infantry weapon, they said, adding that bayonet-bearing troops are frequently seen in recent combat photography.
Fixing bayonets is effective in the assault or defense of a position and escorting prisoners of war, and helps soldiers to retain their rifles when fighting at grappling range, they said.
“Bayonet drills are necessary for the individual soldier to wield the weapon effectively to complete their mission,” they said. “The armed forces would be remiss if it issued bayonets ... without providing instruction in the use of the weapon.”
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