Taipei, Dec. 20 (CNA) Defense Minister Tang Fei said on Monday that he feels deep regret over a string of flight mishaps involving military aircraft over the past two years.
Tang, a former air force commander-in-chief and chief of the General Staff, said he wishes the civilian sector would give military servicemen more encouragement and less condemnation in order to boost their morale.
Tang made the remarks in an interview with a radio station concerning the Ministry of National Defense's stance on handling flight accidents involving the country's second-generation warplanes.
Since March 1998, four of Taiwan's US-made F-16 jet fighters and two French-made Mirage 2000-5 jet fighters have crashed during training flights, causing widespread concern over the air force's flight safety control measures.
Tang said the Republic of China Air Force, like many of its foreign counterparts, faces manpower shortage problems which result mainly from the low pay and heavy work pressure in the military.
The ROC Air Force faces even heavier work pressure than its foreign counterparts because it took delivery of four different types of aircraft -- locally developed Indigenous Defense Fighters (IDFs), F-16s, Mirage 2000-5s and E2T early warning/command aircraft -- at almost same time, Tang said, adding that nearly no other country's air force is burdened with this kind of workload.
Because of structural and budgetary restrictions, Tang said, the air force was not well prepared to cope with the challenges presented by the almost simultaneous delivery of four different types of warplane, all requiring specialist maintenance and pilot training.
Tang said he has discussed feasible ways to tackle the issues with Chief of the General Staff Tang Yao-ming. "We have tentatively decided not to let the air force investigate flight mishaps and study preventive and improvement measures alone. We agree that the defense ministry and even the entire government should use their resources and strengths to assist the air force to improve flight safety."
As commercial airline companies have offered higher pay to lure air force pilots and aircraft maintenance personnel, Tang said, the air force faces a serious manpower shortage problem. Heavy workload and pressure from the public's high expectations of their performance are also factors prompting air force pilots and maintenance technicians to leave the military, Tang added.
Against this background, Tang said the government should work out effective ways to retain trained military pilots and maintenance officers. In addition to raising pay, fringe benefits and welfare services, Tang said the public should give military servicemen more respect and encouragement to boost their morale and sense of honor. (By Sofia Wu)
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