The Ministry of National Defense is next year to start trialing a new model of reservist training, which would last for three sessions before the ministry launches a review and assessment of the scheme, an official said yesterday.
Tao Cheng-juei (陶成濬), deputy director of the ministry’s mobilization management division, said that reservist training under the new model would be yearly, lasting 14 days.
The military expects to train 15,000 reservists per year, he added.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
Each session, which would take twice as long as the previous method, and count as two sessions for a reservist, he said.
Reservists who completed their mandatory service within eight years of the training session would be prioritized for recall, he said.
Under the new model, reservists would train with a variety of equipment for a total of 28 hours, up from 12 hours, Tao said.
They are expected to fire 35 rounds with a pistol, 45 with a carbine and 69 with a machine gun, and launch 34 shells with a mortar, up from 15, 21, 33 and 17 respectively, he said.
Combat training would increase to 56 hours, and include marching, camping, squad-based attack and defense simulations, constructing defensive fortifications, administering medicine on the battlefield, using terrain to obtain a tactical advantage, and dismantling fortifications to pass through them, he added.
The military would hold traditional reservist training sessions concurrently with trials of the new model, ministry spokesman Major General Shih Shun-wen (史順文) said.
Retired non-commissioned officers who have not attended four reservist training sessions within eight years of leaving active military duty — a benchmark for being excluded from reservist training — would be listed as eligible for another four years, he added.
To incentivize reservists to attend training sessions, the ministry forwarded to the Executive Yuan a special reservists recall bill.
According to the bill, reservists who voluntarily attend training sessions would be eligible for cash awards starting on their fifth session.
The Military Service Act (兵役法) caps reservist training at four sessions within eight years after completing mandatory service.
Employers of reservists who are recalled for training are obligated to pay reservists as normal, but can file for a tax deduction for 150 percent of the amount when filing their annual income tax, according to the draft act.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
RSS