讀後心得

The military's volunteer workforce is facing a shortage. President Tsai Ing-wen recently announced salary increases, with monthly payments reaching up to 12,000 NT dollars, which has invigorated many rank-and-file soldiers. However, this measure may lead to situations within the troops where "superior salaries are lower than those of subordinates" and "salary reductions upon promotion," raising concerns among experts that non-commissioned officers might be reluctant to seek promotions. The salary increase mainly targets combat units, with monthly allowances for company-level units rising from 5,000 to 12,000 NT dollars, while battalion headquarters and combat support units' allowances increase from 3,000 to 7,000 NT dollars. Officials pointed out that the salaries for higher-level staff positions have not changed, which may result in second lieutenants being more inclined to remain in their roles as squad leaders or assistant company commanders, as their salaries might decrease after promotion. In the future, many second lieutenants may choose to resist promotion. Experts suggest that the military should refer to the specialized allowance systems of other countries to better motivate soldiers to learn and grow.

The military's volunteer workforce is insufficient, and President Tsai recently announced salary increases, with a maximum of up to twelve thousand NT dollars per month. This measure has made many grassroots soldiers happy, but it may lead to phenomena like "superior officers earning less than their subordinates" and "promotion equating to pay cuts." Experts point out that this system may cause junior officers to deliberately avoid promotions; for the core personnel in the troops, such as field officers or staff officers, there is a sense of relative exploitation.

The focus of this salary increase is on "combat unit allowances." The Ministry of National Defense has recognized that combat unit company-level units will receive an increase from five thousand to twelve thousand NT dollars per month; combat unit battalion companies or combat support units will see an increase from three thousand to seven thousand NT dollars. However, the "volunteer service allowance" for volunteer officers and soldiers has only been increased by five thousand NT dollars, while the allowances for lieutenant colonels and colonels have decreased to four thousand, and generals will receive three thousand NT dollars.

This new policy has sparked widespread discussion within the military, with concerns that lieutenants may be unwilling to be promoted to captains. Lieutenants can only serve as platoon leaders or deputy company leaders, both of which allow them to enjoy combat unit allowances and commander allowances, with a total amount exceeding sixteen thousand NT dollars; however, a promotion to captain may require reassignment to battalion or brigade staff roles, where they would lose both allowances, effectively resulting in a pay cut of over twelve thousand NT dollars after accounting for the salary increase from the promotion.

Officials have indicated that the workload for staff officers in the military is heavy, and in the future, the salary of combat officers who are captains may be lower than that of lieutenants serving as platoon leaders, potentially even approaching that of sergeants, as the latter's positions remain affiliated with the battalion company and can enjoy secondary allowances. There are already lieutenants who are resisting promotions through means such as failing physical tests, and it is likely that more similar situations will arise in the future.

A former legislator who once served as the Deputy Commander of the Army pointed out that the military emphasizes a hierarchical bureaucratic system, which typically should provide better treatment for higher ranks to facilitate leadership; in fact, the importance and demands of work for combat or logistics officers are not less than those of company commanders of the same rank. While valuing the grassroots and combat units is reasonable, it should not be a one-size-fits-all approach based on "battalion/company." The military should learn from other countries to establish specialized allowances that encourage officers and soldiers to enhance their professional capabilities.

An adjunct assistant professor at the Tamkang University Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies stated that providing the same amount of allowance to all volunteer officers across all combat units, regardless of branch, rank, and position, can resolve the aforementioned side effects. Future operations will be adjusted towards modularization, reallocating personnel and equipment based on the nature of missions to form task forces or battle groups, making the so-called category I and II classifications no longer meaningful. The professor pointed out that these flawed regulations were initially established due to budget constraints; now that the government is committed to achieving a defense spending target of 3% of GDP, it means that next year's budget will increase by nearly sixteen billion NT dollars compared to this year, which is sufficient to address the needed system adjustments.