Taiwan's military is overhauling its combat readiness training, extending base confrontation exercises to ten days of continuous operations and standardizing reserve call-ups to two weeks, Defense Minister Wellington Koo announced.
The changes represent a significant shift in how the island prepares its forces, incorporating training methods modeled after U.S. military practices to enhance battlefield stress resistance and operational continuity.
Extended Combat Drills
Starting this year, the army's traditional five-day, four-night base confrontation exercises will be expanded to 10 days and nine nights of continuous 24-hour combat operations.
Koo stated that one-year conscripts will be required to participate in these rigorous drills. Those who fail to pass the assessment must repeat the program.
The new training structure involves three phases: preliminary training, tactical operations, and a final combat capability assessment. The ministry said the extended duration allows for a more realistic simulation of actual combat processes, moving beyond the previous five-day tactical testing model.
While the number of university-graduate conscripts serving one-year terms is not expected to peak until 2027, infantry battalions currently composed primarily of high school graduates will begin joint live-fire testing with the 584th Combined Arms Brigade this year. These drills will focus on position defense, command communications, and fire support coordination.
Reserve Mobilization Overhaul
Koo also announced a major restructuring of Taiwan's reserve force training.
All reserve training will now be standardized at 14 days, eliminating the previous option for shorter five-to-seven-day educational call-ups. The ministry is adopting the principle of prioritizing the mobilization of reservists to return to units matching their specific expertise to verify how quickly combat readiness can be restored.
Retention and Infrastructure
To support force modernization, the Defense Ministry implemented five new compensation enhancement programs last year targeting volunteer forces, combat units, marines, air traffic control, and telecommunications reconnaissance personnel.
Koo reported that these measures have improved personnel retention. The reenlistment rate reached 87.2% last year, a 5.2% increase from 2024. The overall staffing ratio stood at 80% by year-end, with the number of volunteer personnel growing by more than 3,000 compared to 2024.
The ministry is also upgrading military housing under the Xingan Project, which completed 92 renovation cases last year with three more scheduled for completion this year. A separate initiative, the Zhanxin Project, is addressing facilities in outer islands and remote mountain areas, including the renovation of old facilities and the construction of new official residences. （Related： 6G Race Begins: Taiwan's Mobile Data Usage Surpasses India to Top Global Rankings ｜ Latest ）
