• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Training day 2: Female reservists do 5K march, wear gas masks

ROC Central News Agency

05/09/2023 04:55 PM

Taoyuan, May 9 (CNA) A group of 14 female veterans on Tuesday completed a 5-kilometer march and refreshed their memories on how to wear a gas mask in a simulated chemical attack during the second day of a five-day volunteer reservist training program in Taoyuan.

The 14 female reservists, the first women ever to undergo reservist training in Taiwan, engaged in a 5-km march from Danan Forest Park to Reitai Park and back in Taoyuan's Bade District together with around two dozen male counterparts.

In a simulation of an enemy chemical attack during the march, the reservists were asked to drop to the ground, find cover and put on their gas masks.

The training session was open to the media, and military spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) praised both the men and women who were participating for their willingness to spend five days in the military to freshen up their skills.

"Reservist training will help safeguard national security and demonstrate citizens' willingness to protect their nation," Sun said.

In the past, reservist training has been limited to men because the military has said it did not have sufficient capacity to accommodate both men and women.

Reservists had complained for decades that this was a form of gender discrimination, and the Ministry of National Defense (MND) responded in January by announcing that it would ask female reservists to volunteer for the same training as their male counterparts.

Male reservists cannot say no to such training, which occurs no more than four times in the eight years after their discharge, but the MND said it was now asking women to volunteer because all veterans, regardless of gender, should share the same responsibilities.

According to the MND, the 14 women are all discharged Army personnel ranging from the ranks of master sergeant to private first class.

They are undergoing the same training as their male counterparts during the five-day program but have separate dormitories and bathrooms.

For their safety, the military has also prepared active duty female officers as their supervisors, and a CCTV system is in place around their dormitories, the MND said.

A military source told CNA that the five-day training program is being viewed as a trial run before the MND makes a decision on whether to ask more female reservists to take part in such training in the future.

At present, men in Taiwan are subject to compulsory military conscription while women are not, but they can join the armed forces voluntarily to serve as soldiers and officers, and as of 2021, 8,915 women were listed as reservists.

The MND said 220 female reservists have volunteered to undergo required reservist training this year.

(By Matt Yu and Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/ls