Our Ageing Army

[pachador]

Ageing standing army
and no reserves
Malaya Editorial, march 3, 2009

‘We have an ageing standing army and no adequate reserves to call if, heaven forbid, the country goes to war.’

The Armed Forces is recruiting 6,700 men this year to replace those who have retired, been discharged or killed in the line of duty. This is supposed to be the largest recruitment drive in years. And there lies the trouble.

The AFP is fighting two campaigns -- against the secessionists and the communist rebels – simultaneously. Three if we count the terrorist groups like the Abu Sayyaf. Yet for a military on a war footing, it is scandalous that its men on the average are pushing 40.

How can the AFP expect to win wars with fighting men in their middle age? And why a recruitment program with an uneven flow of intakes through the years? These two questions are inextricably linked. Unless the AFP acts to decisively solve these two questions, it would soon be on the way to having a force of superannuated warriors fit only for marching in parades.

The defense of the country – as in any other modern state – is said to rely on a citizens army. There is supposed to be core of professional soldiers, made up of lifers such as regular officers and senior non-commissioned officers. Then there is the main body of enlisted personnel who are supposed to serve three years. The rule is after three years, these enlisted men go back to civilian life, to be replaced by another batch of intakes. Only the services of a few are supposed to be extended, primarily to replace lifers who are retiring.

What has happened is that extension has become the rule rather than the exception. It is understandable, we suppose, that the military leadership would prefer to retain those who are already experienced, especially in combat. No one wants to throw green recruits into war.

The result is, as we mentioned earlier, the average age of the men in service creeping upward over the years.

Another result, equally troubling, of the policy of extension of service is the dwindling of the complement of the reserve force. If the three-year enlistment formula is observed, those discharged from service go into the reservist pool. Another batch is taken in. The process is repeated. The reserves get regular infusions of new blood.

In our current case, we have an ageing standing army and no adequate reserves to call if, heaven forbid, the country goes to war.

[City Hunter]

Ay, hindi totoo yan. Dami nating reserves yun nga lang mga members ng private armies. If not mga politicos and mga landed gentry. Yun iba mga tauhan na ng mga crime groups.

But, its indeed sad that our Army has no effective reserves. Problem kasi is the degree of trust between the ordinary people and those of government and landed gentry. Kapag nagkaroon ng right to bear arms ay magtagilid ang balance of power na out of their favor.

[paratorpe]

If we want students to be interested in reserve, the Military should show their tanks and fighter jets (that is if any) during parades in order to capture their attention and interest. If what they see on TV are Cpl. Abeto dying of his wounds and cant even give a proper med evac then we can just forget it, no one would want to fight that war, I would rather be a guerilla fighter than a regular frontliner with just a rifle in the hand. Reserve should also not be limited to foot soldiers, there must be also reserves as battle tank brigade and fighter pilots.

[City Hunter]

Yup. Dapat may something to attract reservists. Sa pagkakaalam ko halos gastos lahat ng reservist ang gamit niya. Kung may issue naman hindi naman okay o mabagal. Well, yun ang kwento sa akin ng mga kakilala ko but not updated.

Dapat nga yun mga old equipment ay ipasa sa mga reserves. So that they can train and maintain those. Kung hindi man ay maging instructional aid. Ang daming need mangyari pero kulang sa action. We have a long way to go before this problem can be fixed pero yun trust between the two parties must be the one na unahin dapat.

[systema]

Whats with the reserves, Would we be able to fight a conventional war? i do not think so. If war brokes out, we will be like vietnam or taliban style of fighting. This is what happened in WW2, we might have done a bigger damage if we gone guerilla than fight a conventional war in bataan with the imperial army. They are the first one to die and the last one to get paid for the veterans benefits... so is it worth it?.

[Lorenz_Mallari]

lets face it,
heaven forbid if tensions in spratly gets bigger

[kingkong]

The event on Monday was a military recruitment fair and caravan at Manila’s Rizal Park. This was a public relations exercise of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). One of its aims was to make the public feel at home with our soldiery. It was also an opportunity for those who were thinking of enlisting in our armed forces to fill up information and application forms.

Philippine Army recruitment