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.
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