Reserve Forces Training to Proceed Normally Starting This Year

On the 2nd, when the reserve forces training, which had been suspended since December 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resumed, reservists were conducting VR simulated tactical shooting training at the Science Reserve Forces Training Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Reserve forces training will be conducted normally starting this year. This year, the 'Active-Demobilized Reserve Integrated Tactical Training,' which could not be conducted for the past three years due to COVID-19, will be resumed to enhance wartime operational plan execution capabilities and improve readiness for mission performance.

On the 17th, the Ministry of National Defense announced that the 2023 reserve forces training will begin on March 2. Mobilization training will be conducted for reservists in their 1st to 4th year who are designated for mobilization, at active units or training centers for 2 nights and 3 days. The training will focus on mastering unit establishment and expansion procedures, cultivating individual and team role performance abilities for wartime missions, and acquiring tactical and operational plan execution capabilities to improve training realism.

Non-mobilized training targets reservists in their 1st to 4th year who are not designated for mobilization, focusing on mastering combat skills in preparation for wartime mobilization. The training will move away from simple task-oriented drills and emphasize substantial training to enable comprehensive situational judgment and response in various combat scenarios. Basic training is aimed at reservists in their 5th to 6th year, focusing on mastering individual basic combat skills for regional defense, including security education, shooting, and urban combat training.

Mobilization Training: 2 Nights and 3 Days for Mobilization-Designated Reservists in 1st to 4th Year

Non-mobilized training and basic training will be conducted in a 'self-participation training' format, where reservists form squads on their own and move to training sites for each task. A 'measured pass system' will be applied, granting privileges to outstanding squads based on training results. Operational plan training, where reservists in their 5th to 6th year master wartime missions such as protecting key facilities and supply lines within the region, will also be conducted twice a year.

The military plans to maintain preparedness assuming the COVID-19 situation will continue this year. Commuter-style training has been confirmed feasible for normal implementation through partial resumption of assembly training last year, and quarantine guidelines such as filling out health questionnaires upon entry, rapid antigen testing if necessary, and installing individual partitions in dining areas will be enforced. Masks will be worn indoors and worn voluntarily during outdoor training; however, this will be reassessed if related government guidelines change. In addition to these measures, mobilization training will require all participants to undergo rapid antigen testing before entry and conduct additional tests as needed for symptomatic individuals or those who request them after entry. Barracks-style dormitories will operate at 50-70% density during lodging. To this end, temporary lodging facilities will be installed and utilized according to each unit’s wartime mission.

Reservists who did not complete remote education last year will be assigned assembly training for 1 to 4 hours depending on the number of incomplete subjects. The Ministry of National Defense has increased the mobilization training compensation from the previous 62,000 won to 82,000 won and the general training allowance from 15,000 won to 16,000 won this year. Seventeen scientific reserve training centers have been established nationwide, allowing about 45% of trainees to receive scientific training such as indoor shooting, virtual reality video simulation shooting, and urban combat using MILES equipment.