Military education reform needed – Taipei Times

• By Fang Wei-li
  and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Taiwanese armed forces must adapt their training and concepts to modern warfare, a military preparedness advocate said yesterday after a government report revealed that most reservists do not receive refresher training.

The All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency’s refresher training program has trained less than 35 percent of eligible reservists since its establishment in 2020, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a recent report.

The Ministry of National Defense said the agency’s target is to establish five new training brigades and three reservist training centers to increase training capacity to 29,000 troops.

Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP

Asked for comment, Kuma Academy co-founder and chief executive officer Ho Cheng-hui (何澄輝) yesterday said that rapidly updating doctrine and techniques is crucial to maintaining military effectiveness amid constant technological change.

Traditional reservist training programs, which emphasize mobilization speed at the expense of giving troops training time, facilities and resources, have been rendered obsolete by sophisticated weapon systems and tactics, he said.

The culture in the nation’s armed forces sees little need to retrain reservists beyond physical training and basic marksmanship, but modern infantry standards have evolved to operating anti-tank guided missiles and other complex weapons systems, he said.

The nation’s basic and reservist training programs have not yet recognized the importance of effectively managing the flow of tactical information and conducting synchronized maneuvers across organizational lines, Ho said.

The military’s training program has neglected military education beyond urging troops to be mindful of the need for secrecy, which does not meet the demands of the modern informational environment, he said.

Traditional spying awareness education about guarding military secrets is insufficient when military secrets could be easily leaked by unguarded use of devices such as phones and smartwatches, he added.

A new basis for cultivating the nation’s will to resist the enemy and consciousness of the enemy is also needed due to changes in Taiwanese society and politics, he said.

The military’s avoidance of transitional justice reforms have contributed to the continued reliance on ideals and modes of thought that are unsuited for its modern role of being the guardians of democracy, he said.

The military curriculum from 10 years ago is at risk of becoming utterly irrelevant today, he said.