AMENDMENTS:The Act of Military Service for Officers and Noncommissioned Officers of the Armed Forces is a major cause of the lack of junior officers, three DPP lawmakers said

Taipei Times
Date: May 24, 2017
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday proposed amendments to the Act of Military Service for Officers and Noncommissioned Officers of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍軍士官服役條例) to provide better salary packages for junior officers and to extend their service terms to 20 years to address the shortage of junior officers.

“A strong military to defend our nation is more than just about having weapons. It matters more that there are competent soldiers and officers who have the necessary training and are capable of doing their jobs well,” DPP Legislator Wang Ding-yu (王定宇) said.

Wang, along with colleagues Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) and Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應), said the shortage of first and second lieutenants in the army and their equivalent ranks in the air force and the navy challenges the effectiveness of the nation’s armed forces.

“Junior officers in the army, and those in other military branches are the most important leaders in the basic units of the armed forces. However, there is an insufficient number of these officers and this has undermined the combat strength of our nation’s military,” Wang said.    [FULL  STORY]