According to U.S. sources quoted by the Wall Street Journal in February, 100 to 200 troops would be sent to Taiwan in the near future. According to military sources cited by Up Media on Sunday, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command has sent more than 200 military trainers to Taiwan to help train local troops and suggest changes.
Eighty percent of the more than 200 instructors are from the American army. The majority of the American instructors are assigned to Taiwan’s Army reserve brigades and new training facilities.
The American army instructors are tasked with providing on-the-spot assessments of the training and making improvement suggestions. The one-year mandatory service term will be reinstated in Taiwan the following year, and recruit training will adopt the combat training regimens recommended by the US military to counter the People’s Liberation Army.
According to the source, Luke Air Force Base in Maricopa County, Arizona has long served as a training facility for Taiwan Air Force pilots and other personnel. The Dunmu “Goodwill Fleet” of the Taiwanese Navy often engages in joint exercises and other interactions with U.S. Navy ships as it sets out on its multi-week journey.
Given this history of prior exchanges, just 20% of the current crop of American trainers hail from the USN or U.S. Air Force, and they are mostly “specialised instructors.” The U.S. military has found a gap between the training of the Taiwan Army’s grassroots units and combat tactics education, despite the fact that the Taiwan Army’s special operations forces are trained by American instructors.
As a result, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command dispatched more than 160 instructors, many of whom had previous combat experience. Most of these instructors visit army recruitment centres and reserve brigades in addition to being stationed in the major combat units of Taiwan’s Army to assess basic training and recommend enhanced training techniques in order to increase Taiwan’s Army’s overall combat effectiveness.
U.S. military instructors allegedly visited Chiashan Air Force Base in Hualien County at the beginning of April to reassess the bunker’s security, including its explosion-proof and protective infrastructure, and in particular, the security of the spaces where fighter jets and ammunition are kept. They also evaluated if it is challenging for satellites to detect munitions stored outside and in the vicinity of where fighter planes are kept. Then they suggested ways to improve bunker security measures in order to lessen the harm that weapons may do.
According to reports, military exchanges between Taiwan and the United States take place within the parameters of the National Defence Authorization Act. According to the U.S. military’s assessment, Taiwan’s Army’s defence strategy has several holes and may not be able to successfully counter the PLA’s modernised and swift strikes.
The U.S. suggested that the Taiwan Army begin with the most fundamental recruit training and reserve brigade training in order to increase its fighting strength. In order to determine if the Taiwan Army’s new training facility and reserve brigades are adequately preparing recruits and reserve troops for defensive operations, the majority of American Army trainers are now stationed there.
Regarding the Taiwan Armed Forces Reserve, U.S. Army soldiers were present at the first civil defence mobilisation and disaster prevention and rescue exercise (Min’an No. 8) that was staged in Taichung City a year ago. On March 23, during the 117th Brigade of the Army’s Eighth Corps’ brand-new, 14-day training and training session, two individuals who are believed to be U.S. military personnel watched the exercise and snapped photographs.
U.S. army instructors will provide a comprehensive report on the advancements made by the reserve brigade and the new training facility in the second half of this year. The training that recruits get once the one-year mandatory duty begins next year will be based on the new U.S. military recommendations, after clearance by the Ministry of National Defence.
