The army is reclaiming command of Taiwan’s reserve brigades in a major reorganization of military structure, the Ministry of National Defense-run Youth Daily News reported yesterday.
The changes to the Armed Forces Reserve’s command structure are intended to streamline logistics and enable the rapid integration of activated reservist formations with active-duty military units, Sixth Army Corps Commander Lieutenant General Chen Wen-hsing (陳文星) said after inspecting the headquarters of reservist units affected by the reorganization.
Integration of the reserve brigades into theater commands would facilitate accelerated wartime mobilization of reservists, improve operational command and control, and help close the gap in training and equipment readiness levels between regular and reserve units, Chen said.
Photo: CNA
Those capabilities are key to the armed forces’ mission of defending the homeland in light of the capabilities of adversaries and operational requirements, he said.
Reserve brigades must train troops in the missions that are most relevant to the operational environment of the theater, arrange mission and terrain-appropriate quartering, and make full use of local resources, he said.
Reservist units must be intimately familiar with the terrain of their area of responsibility to facilitate the effective deployment of units on a tactical level to defend territory and support the regular army in combat operations, he said.
The army’s theater commands are to formally take control of Taiwan’s 20 reserve brigades from the authority of 18 local governments on Jan. 1 next year, a defense official said on condition of anonymity.
The reorganization of the reserve brigades is a direct response to criticism from US officials, lawmakers and analysts that reservists lacked adequate training and equipment, the source said.
The decision is the latest in a series of reversals in the nation’s policy regarding command over reserve forces, which has oscillated between the army and civilian authorities.
In 2023, the ministry established the All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency, giving it control over the reserve brigades, which previously were under the command of the army, only to reverse the decision within six months.
In February, the ministry returned the reserve brigades to the agency’s control, but yesterday’s announcement reversed that once more.
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