《TAIPEI TIMES》 Defense ministry reopens summer training camps

RANGE OF EXPERIENCES: The camps in July and August include reservist training, camps on Taiwan’s outlying islands, specialized medical training and science courses

By Wu Su-wei and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

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The Ministry of National Defense is reopening summer training camps for young people and reservists after a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it said yesterday.

The summer battle camp initiative would have 2,170 slots available at 20 camps, Major General Lou Woei-jye （樓偉傑）, director of the Political Warfare Bureau’s Cultural and Psychological Warfare Section, told a routine news briefing at the ministry in Taipei.

Those who are interested can register at camp.gpwb.gov.tw from Saturday, and start signing up for specific camps on June 10, the ministry said.

The camps, which are to run from July 3 to Aug. 30, would offer different experiences, including reservist training, offshore camps in Kinmen, Lienchiang and Penghu counties, tag-along trips with field units, specialized medical training and science courses, Lou said.

The army, navy, air force, military police, National Defense University, National Defense Medical Center and Chungcheng Armed Forces Preparatory School would each host one or several camps, he said.

The full-spectrum warrior experience camp, reservist rifle marksmanship training camp, weapon and equipment maintenance experience camp and armor branch battle camps are new additions to the program this year, Lou said.

Young people from disadvantaged households can sign up for the camps without paying a processing fee and would be enrolled regardless of the availability of slots at the discretion of the camp administrators, he said.

These candidates’ applications would be handled via local social welfare authorities separate from the regular sign-up process, he added.

Participation in the reservist rifle marksmanship camp would be restricted to former military personnel whose most recent service was less than 12 years ago, said Colonel Wu Sheng-tai （吳聲泰）, director of the All-out Defense Mobilization Agency’s general mobilization section.

The full-spectrum warrior experience camp would involve camping with a military unit, combat marksmanship training and interacting with the army’s mechanized infantry, said Sergeant Chen Yi-chun （陳怡君） of the Eighth Army Corps’ 38th Chemical Warfare Group.

Young people taking part in the Aviation Battle Camp would interact with air force pilots and watch demonstrations by the Thunder Tiger Aerobatics Team, said Major Lee Yen-yu （李彥佑）, a flight instructor at the Republic of China Air Force Academy.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES