《CNN》報導，受訪的6位退役民眾指出，國軍這種包含刺槍術的訓練是為數十年前的環境所設計，且缺乏城市戰戰術和無人機等現代武器的課程。此外，還有實彈射擊機會過少，或是受訓使用的武器太過老舊等。
受訪民眾還提到，當時在連隊上有超過100把突擊步槍，但只有數十把能夠用來射擊，「很多突擊步槍是數十年前所製造，許多已經老舊到不堪使用，武器得在我們之間輪換。」另有民眾表示，「我們在軍事訓練期間沒有打過幾發子彈。我在接受T65步槍訓練期間僅僅打了40發。」
另一名接受過砲訓的民眾回憶，「我們被指派一些簡易的任務，大多數時間都用來協助整理或清理砲車。要是今天就打仗，我被告知要擔任砲兵，那麼我想我只會變成砲灰。」
報導指出，台義務役士兵都要接受體能訓練、步槍射擊和使用刺槍。但受訪者對花在刺槍術上的時間抱持疑問，認為這是過時的項目，「我認為刺槍訓練純粹是浪費時間，因為我真的想不到要如何實用」、「看看烏俄戰爭，用上了那麼多種類型的武器，又有哪個時候得用刺槍術來對付敵人？」
報導提到，部分批評其實得到了台軍方的承認，國防部遂宣布在2024年新政策上路後，義務役得至少射擊800發以上子彈，也將接受反戰車飛彈和無人機等新式武器訓練。刺槍術也會進行調整，並納入其它形式的近戰訓練。義務役也會和志願役參與聯合軍事演習，基礎訓練也從5週調升為8週。
‘If war breaks out … I will just become cannon fodder:’ In Taiwan,ex-conscripts feel unprepared for potential China conflictBy Eric Cheung, CNNUpdated 8:36 PM EST, Fri January 20, 2023
Taipei, TaiwanCNN—Rising concerns over increasingly aggressive military maneuvers by China haveprompted Taiwan to extend the mandatory military service period most of itsyoung men must serve. But former conscripts interviewed by CNN say Taipeiwill need to do far more than that if it is to make the training effective.
Outdated, boring and impractical. That was the verdict of six young men whospoke to CNN about their recent experiences of mandatory service in Taiwan’smilitary.
They describe a process that was designed decades ago with a heavy emphasison bayonet training, but lacking instruction in urban warfare strategies ormodern weapons like drones. Some say there were too few rifles to go around,or that the weapons they trained with were too old to be of use. Othersrecount “specializing” in cannon, grenade and mortar units, but neverreceiving any ammunition to train with.
Their criticisms come at a crucial time for Taiwan’s military. PresidentTsai Ing-wen announced recently that the period of mandatory service for menborn in or after 2005 will be extended from four months to a year, sayingthat the present system “no longer suits the needs” of the island’sdefense. The military says the rethink follows comparisons to the militariesof other democratic jurisdictions that have longer conscription periods –such as South Korea (18-21 months), Singapore (24 months) and Israel (24-30months).
Strengthening the island’s military has become a key concern for Tsai, whohas spoken of the need to highlight Taiwan’s determination to defend itselfamid increasingly aggressive noises from Beijing. The ruling ChineseCommunist Party claims the self-governing democracy of 23.5 million people aspart of its territory, despite never having controlled it, and has sentrecord numbers of air and sea patrols to harass it since former US HouseSpeaker Nancy Pelosi visited in August. Chinese leader Xi Jinping hasrepeatedly refused to rule out the use of force to “reunify” the islandwith mainland China.
“No one wants war,” Tsai said in announcing the lengthening of mandatoryservice periods in December. “This is true of Taiwan’s government andpeople, and the global community, but peace does not come from the sky, andTaiwan is at the front lines of the expansion of authoritarianism.”
A military exercise in Taiwan simulates an invasion by China on Jan. 6, 2022.A military exercise in Taiwan simulates an invasion by China on Jan. 6, 2022.I-Hwa Cheng/Bloomberg/Getty Images‘I only shot 40 rounds’But former conscripts are skeptical, telling CNN the problems with mandatorymilitary service go beyond the short time frame and will only be fixed by amore thorough revamp.
Tsai herself has acknowledged that many citizens feel serving in the militaryis “just a waste of time.”
“In our company, we had more than 100 assault rifles, but only slightly morethan a dozen could be used for shooting practices,” said Frank Liu, a26-year-old auditor from the central Changhua county who served in 2021. Hesaid about 140 conscripts received training in his company.
“A lot of those assault rifles were made many decades ago, and many were tooworn out to be used in training. The weapons had to be rotated amongourselves.”
Paul Lee, a factory manager from Taipei who served in 2018, had a similarexperience.
“We didn’t fire many rounds during the military training,” Lee said. “Iwas practicing with the T65 assault rifle, and I only shot about 40 roundsduring the entire training period.
“I’m concerned that many people who underwent the training with me won’teven be able to operate a rifle with confidence.”
Reservists take part in military training at a base in Taoyuan, Taiwan, onMarch 12, 2022.Reservists take part in military training at a base in Taoyuan, Taiwan, onMarch 12, 2022.Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty ImagesUnder the current rules, the four-month service period is normally dividedinto two parts: five weeks of basic training, and 11 weeks of ground trainingat a military base.
During the ground training period, conscripts are often assigned specialties– but even then some say they receive only the most cursory of insights.
Dennis, a 25-year-old engineer from Taichung city who served last year, saidwhile he was assigned to specialize in cannons, he never learned how to firethem because trainers were worried the recruits might get hurt. He asked onlyto be identified by his first name because he remains a reservist.
“We were assigned simple tasks, and we spent most of the time helping withcleaning and washing the cannon carts,” he said. “If war breaks out todayand I am told to work as an artilleryman, I think I will just become cannonfodder.”
FUJIAN, CHINA - AUGUST 24, 2022 - The PLA Navy and the PLA Army conduct across-day and all-factor live-fire red-blue confrontation drill in ZhangzhouCity, Fujian Province, China, Aug 24, 2022. (Photo credit should readCFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)War game suggests Chinese invasion of Taiwan would fail at a huge cost to US,Chinese and Taiwanese militariesAdam Yu, a 27-year-old designer from the northern Keelung city who served in2018 and specialized in mortars and grenade launchers, said while he had beenshown how to prepare the weapons, he had never been given any ammunition orpracticed firing them.
“I’m not sure if I can even operate those weapons,” said Yu, adding, “Istill don’t know how those weapons are supposed to be used in thebattlefield.”
That sentiment was echoed by another former conscript surnamed Liu. The28-year-old salesman specialized in data processing with the air force andreceived training in the southern Pingtung county in 2015. He too asked forhis first name to be withheld, saying he may still be called upon foradditional reservist training.
“Our commanders barely taught anything during our ground training, becausethey felt we would only be here for a few months and it wouldn’t make muchof a difference for them,” he said.
New recruits practice with bayonets at a military training center in HsinchuCounty, northern Taiwan on April 22, 2013.New recruits practice with bayonets at a military training center in HsinchuCounty, northern Taiwan on April 22, 2013.Chiang Ying-ying/APBayonets?Taiwan has a professional volunteer military force that as of last year wasmade up of 162,000 full-time troops, according to a report by the LegislativeYuan. On top of this, an estimated 70,000 men complete a period of mandatorymilitary service every year.
Conscripts must undergo a period of physical training and are taught to shootrifles and use bayonets.
Several of those who spoke to CNN questioned the amount of time spent onbayonet training, arguing it was outdated, although some militaries continueto teach it in recruitment training programs.
“I think bayonet training was just a waste of time, because I really couldn’t think how we could put that into practice,” Frank Liu said.
“Just look at the Russia-Ukraine war, there are so many types of weaponsused. When does a soldier ever have to resort to a bayonet to attack theirenemy? I think that was really outdated.”
Yu, from Keelung, said his commanders had put huge emphasis on bayonettraining because it made up part of the end-of-term examination.
“We were ordered to memorize a series of slogans,” he said. “When we werepracticing bayonet, we were required to follow the instructions of the squadleader with a specific chant for each movement, and we had to repeat it inthe exam.”
Lesson learned?Some of these criticisms were acknowledged, tacitly or otherwise, when Tsaiannounced the lengthening of the conscription period and in the subsequentnews briefing by the Defense Ministry in early January.
The ministry said that when the new policy begins in 2024, all conscriptswill shoot at least 800 rounds during their service, and they will be trainedwith new weapons such as anti-tank missiles and drones. Bayonet training willbe modified to include other forms of close combat training, it added, andconscripts may also participate in joint military drills with professionalsoldiers. Meanwhile, basic training will rise from five to eight weeks.
Su Tzu-yun, a director of Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense andSecurity Research, which is funded by the government, said he is confidentthe reform will boost the island’s combat capabilities.
He also thinks there is value in keeping bayonet training in the curriculum.
“It helps boost a soldier’s courage and aggressiveness,” he said. “Ifsoldiers engage in a mission that is not suitable for firing weapons, theymay also use bayonet as an alternative option.”
A CH-147F Chinook takes part in drills to show combat readiness ahead of theLunar New Year holidays at a military base in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on January11.A CH-147F Chinook takes part in drills to show combat readiness ahead of theLunar New Year holidays at a military base in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on January11.Annabelle Chih/Getty ImagesSu added that while modern weapons will be included in the new trainingcurriculum, it would be impractical for every soldier to practice firing thembecause this would simply be too costly.
“In the US, the training of Javelin [anti-tank missiles] is conductedthrough simulation, because each missile costs $70,000 and it is not possiblefor everyone to fire them,” he said. “Usually, the whole unit finishes thesimulation, then the commander will pick a few soldiers to practice firing it.”
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement to CNN that it has invitedexperts to numerous academic seminars on reforming the conscription system,and that it accepted many of their suggestions to boost training intensity.
Doubts remainEven so, not everyone’s convinced.
“I don’t think the lengthening of service alone will lead to betternational defense,” said Lin Ying-yu, an assistant professor at TamkangUniversity’s Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies.
He said the “more important questions” involved clarifying in detail thetype of training new conscripts would receive.
And on this point, the former conscripts who spoke to CNN remain skeptical.
“When I saw they wanted to add drones to the training, my question was –are we going to have one drone per person and multiple chances to practiceflying it?” Yu said.
“If they stick to their old way of teaching, they will just tell us tofollow their instructions and memorize its weight and flight distance, and wewill not be able to operate it.”
KAOHSIUNG, TAIWAN - JANUARY 11: Taiwans armed forces hold two days ofroutine drills to show combat readiness ahead of Lunar New Year holidays at amilitary base on January 11, 2023 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The self-ruled islandof Taiwan continues to hold defensive drills, as tensions remain high in theTaiwan straits. (Photo by Annabelle Chih/Getty Images)Taiwan to allow women into military reserve force training as China fears growThe fear for conscripts is that the new form of mandatory service might endup looking pretty much like the old form, only longer.
“During my service, most of the time we were just asked to perform tedioustasks like moving weapons around to show our commanders, and we spent a lotof time waiting,” said Dennis, the engineer.
It remains to be seen if conscripts’ time will be spent more fruitfully whenthe new rules come in next year, but all sides agree the stakes are high.
“Active citizens are the foundation and the bedrock of our will to resist,”said Enoch Wu, founder of the civil defense think tank Forward Alliance and amember of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
“If the public decides our home is not worth fighting for – or that we don’t stand a chance – then you can have the most professional military and itwill still be too little too late.”
