The army yesterday showcased its new shooting training program that seeks to simulate battlefield conditions to better prepare soldiers for real combat situations.
In a demonstration open to the media at an army base in Taoyuan, soldiers showed reporters how they fire precisely at targets while standing, prone or kneeling.
Previously, soldiers were only trained to shoot their pistols or rifles in a stationary prone position, the army said.
Photo: CNA
The change was made to simulate battleground conditions, with trainees changing shooting positions as they would need to in combat and fixing their guns if they are jammed, it said.
Trainees are required to run past two obstacles before taking a total of 36 shots from three positions at nine targets that are about 50m to 75m away within 1 minute, 45 seconds, it said.
To pass, soldiers must hit the targets with six of 12 shots while standing, four of 12 while prone and four of 12 while kneeling, the army said.
Army Major Chang Chia-hua (張家華) of the army’s Education, Training and Doctrine Development Command, which devised the new program, said the biggest difference in the new approach was its emphasis on soldiers’ fitness and endurance, and their need to stay still and control their breathing while shooting after being in motion.
The latest change is part of the military’s ongoing training reforms to boost combat readiness as tensions between Taiwan and China remain high.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
RSS