[By Guancha Net, Wang Shih-ping] Taiwanese media reported on April 15th that in recent years, the increasing deterrence and pressure from the PLA around the Taiwan Strait have increased the pressure on the grassroots of the Taiwan military. However, many generals do not report the real situation to their superiors but instead transfer the pressure to the grassroots level, leading to a large number of officers reaching the service duration limit choosing to retire, even using social software to "connect and apply for retirement," resulting in a "retirement application wave."

Taiwanese military volunteer soldiers train Taiwanese military media

A senior officer in charge of personnel in the Taiwanese military stated that most of the officers graduating from Taiwan's military academies in 2004 (born in 1993) have reached the retirement qualifications (20 years of service). However, these officers are now experiencing a massive wave of retirement, which is "unstoppable." Officers graduating in 2005 are also becoming restless, waiting until they reach the 20-year mark to retire.

This officer mentioned that these officers began to use Line to "connect" and "coordinate applications for retirement." He is concerned about the potential "retirement wave" among these middle-level backbone personnel, which could lead to a lack of continuity in the grassroots military officers, affecting morale and combat readiness. Even more worrying is the class of officers graduating from Taiwan's military academies in 2014 (born in 2004). These company-grade officers with ten years of service are also "connecting" to retire. Various units within the Taiwanese military are actively persuading them to stay.

The Taiwanese media cited a "source" as saying that the Chinese People's Liberation Army aircraft and warships appear almost every day near Taiwan Island, increasing the combat readiness pressure on the Taiwanese military. However, many generals do not report the real situation to their superiors but instead shift the pressure onto the grassroots level, causing officers who have reached the service duration limit to lament, "It's better to retire and return home."

This source mentioned that even generals with the potential to be promoted to lieutenant general would rather apply for early retirement and hope to leave the country quickly after retirement to escape the troubles of the military. This shows that the Taiwanese military has made no changes, causing elite members to leave the armed forces.

In response to the "retirement wave" in the Taiwanese military, the military stated that it "starts from a humanistic management perspective," reviews its management methods, and actively increases the salary and benefits of volunteers and combat troops in order to retain personnel. For retired officers, the military offers even more favorable conditions: retired officers who re-enlist within one year of retirement can retain their benefits.

Currently, soldiers, non-commissioned officers, and officers in the Taiwanese military are all facing large-scale retirement. Originally, according to the contractual regulations, volunteer soldiers, NCOs had no legal mechanism for leaving camp before the minimum term of service was completed. This led some personnel to intentionally feign illness, violate discipline, or even self-harm. In July 2018, the Taiwanese legislature passed an amendment to the Volunteer Military Personnel Service Regulations, allowing those who have served for more than one year to apply for early retirement with compensation. The number of military personnel applying for early retirement with compensation increased from 401 in 2020 to 1,565 last year, more than quadrupling.

According to the budget center of the Taiwanese legislative body, the number of volunteers dropped to 150,000 by the end of June last year, the lowest since 2018. According to the defense budget book for 2025, the "budgetary personnel reduction" in 2025 includes all the non-commissioned officers, corporals, and privates who are the backbone of the grassroots units. Most of the personnel retiring with compensation serve in frontline combat units.

Regarding the reasons why volunteer soldiers are leaving the military, the Taiwanese media stated in an editorial that the authorities always attribute it to the hardship of military service. However, working at TSMC is also hard work, with constant overtime, yet everyone wants to join. The starting salaries for positions considered "3K" (dangerous, arduous, dirty) in society are significantly higher than those in the military. The insufficient salaries of the military are a reality that cannot be ignored by those sitting in air-conditioned offices.

2022 and 2024 were two peaks for early retirement in the Taiwanese military. The former coincided with the Taiwan Strait crisis during Pelosi's visit, while the latter followed the continuous escalation of cross-strait tensions and hostility after Tsai Ing-wen's administration took office. This makes the soldiers feel that they are risking their lives on the front lines only to become pawns for political figures to stimulate electoral dividends. Naturally, this leads to "voting with their feet."

This article is an exclusive piece by Guancha Net and cannot be reproduced without permission.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7493810796482183721/

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