US Taiwan Defense Command: Civilian Employee Pamphlet

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Civilian Employee Pamphlet

Just as at other military organizations around the world, Department of Defense civilians contributed greatly to the successful operation of USTDC. In most cases, these folks were career civil servants who voluntarily relocated to Taiwan, bringing their families and household goods with them.

Moving to a new place is often a challenge, especially when that place is halfway around the world. So in 1962, the Pacific Air Command (PACAF) published a pamphlet specifically for DOD civilians moving to Taiwan. It was similar to the "Taiwan Report" brochure that USTDC published for incoming military personnel, but addressed some issues that were unique to civilian employees.

Scott in Taiwan was kind enough to provide me with images of every page from that document a while back. I converted them to a single PDF (Adobe) document and I've made it available for download. If you'd like to have a copy, just click HERE.

2 comments:

Victor said...: The image on the cover page is Lotus Lake(蓮池潭), Kaohsiung. The hill in the background is Banping Mountain(半屏山).
http://amazingtourismtraveling.com/lotus-lake-spring-and-autumn-pavilions-the-dragon-and-tiger-pagodas-and-the-confucian-temple
http://global-mariner.com/index92Kaohsiung.html; 15 February, 2012 23:16
Victor said...: It's very interesting to see a comment on page 2 of this 1962 pamphlet.

"The inhabitants of Taiwan and off-shore islands number over 11 million... Taiwan has a high birth rate, with its relatively high standards of public health, and a low death rate. The current rate of population increase has been estimated at more than 3% annually, which would result in a doubling of the population within 20 years."

The number of the population of Taiwan is as follows. Guess the prediction wasn't so accurate.
1962 11,584,942
1982 18,515,754
1999 22,092,387
2008 23,037,031

Ironically, now Taiwan has the lowest birth rate in the world after 50 years.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/Taiwan-Birth-Rate-Falls-to-Worlds-Lowest-Challenging-Productivity-127933153.html; 19 February, 2012 19:40

Overview

The United States Taiwan Defense Command was a sub-unified command which reported directly to the Commander-in-Chief Pacific (CINCPAC). The command was composed of personnel from all branches of the U.S. armed forces and had its headquarters in Taipei.

Operational since November 1, 1955, USTDC was a planning headquarters for the defense of Taiwan and the Pescadores. In the event of hostilities, the Commander, USTDC, would have assumed an operational role and coordinated with the Government of the Republic of China in the defense of Taiwan and the Pescadores. In the event of such a contingency, three existing service commanders would have reported to the U.S. Taiwan Defense Command commander. The 327th Air Division commander would be the air component commander, the Taiwan Patrol Force commander would be the naval component commander, and the Chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) would be the Army component commander.

In addition to planning and peacetime responsibilities, the Commander of USTDC was assigned as the Single Senior Military Representative of Commander-in-Chief Pacific (CINCPAC). As such, he served as CINCPAC's single military spokesman on Taiwan -- exclusive of the miliitary assistance program -- and assumed responsibility for coordinating administrative and other policy matters for all U.S. armed forces on Taiwan on behalf of CINCPAC.

After twenty-three years, five months and twenty-six days of operation, the U.S. Taiwan Defense Command held its final flag retreat ceremony during the afternoon of April 26, 1979. Marine SSG D. J. Gemmecke lowered the colors for the last time.

Rear Admiral James P. Linder, the last USTDC Commander, departed Taiwan on April 28, 1979, accompanied by his wife Patricia.

Today there is no trace of the large American military compound on Chung Shan North Road in which USTDC was located. The area now contains a modern art museum, a park and a large sports stadium.

I am not a historian, but I do recognize that history unrecorded is history lost. My objective here is simply to record some of my own experiences as an Air Force enlisted man during my assignment to USTDC from 10 June 1973 until 4 September 1974, and to provide a platform for others to do the same.

Feel free to comment on any of these entries or to e-mail me with your own experiences and photographs. My e-mail address is displayed at the top and bottom of this column, or you can comment on any of my entries by clicking on "Comments" directly under each one.

Don Wiggins
SMSgt (Ret), USAF
Arkansas, USA
USTDC, J-12

Regarding Photographs

To the best of my knowledge, all photographs on this blog are either in the public domain or are displayed with the permission of their owners.

Owned photographs remain the sole property of the individuals who provided them. They are not to be downloaded, copied or reproduced in any form without the expressed written consent of their owners.

Send all requests for consent to me, through the email link at the bottom of this column, and I will pass them along to the owner of the photographs.

If you see any photographs here, past or present, which you believe have been inappropriately posted, contact me at the email address shown at the bottom of this column and they will be removed.

USTDC

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Civilian Employee Pamphlet

2 comments:

Taipei

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