Taiwan All Volunteer Force

I thought some of you might be interested in this item from the US Air Force Personnel Center News Service:

Dec. 18, 2008
Release No. 147

Taiwan Air Force visits AFPC to exchange personnel ideas

by 2nd Lt. Gina M. Vaccaro, Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas – Members of the Taiwan air force visited the Air Force Personnel Center here Dec. 12 to gain knowledge on how to establish an all-volunteer force.

Fifteen members of the TAF, including Taiwan’s Administrative Deputy Minister of Defense Lt. Gen. Yu-Pao Lin and Rear Adm. Chih-lung “Larry” Tan, director general of Taiwan’s Defense Mission in Washington D.C., toured AFPC’s directorates and received overviews on how the Air Force manages the force.

“We were honored and delighted to welcome the delegation to the Air Force Personnel Center,” said Sheila Earle, executive director, AFPC “We were glad to share some of our procedures with them and to learn about some of theirs.”

The TAF officers received briefings on personnel topics including enlisted and officer career cycles, officer force development, rated officer and enlisted retention initiatives, officer and enlisted promotions, Air Force evaluations, Air Force services, and the workings of Airmen and Family Readiness. Participants from both air forces exchanged ideas about how each nation’s procedures are similar or different, with an emphasis on recruiting and management of the force.

“Taiwan is shifting from a conscription force to an all-volunteer force,” the U.S. escort from the American Institute in Taiwan said. “They want to learn how the U.S. Air Force conducts programs for recruiting and management of the force so they can learn from them.”

Prior to their visit to AFPC, the delegation traveled to the U.S. Marine Corps Recruiting Command in Washington D.C. and to Fort Knox, Ky., where they met with the U.S. Army Recruiting Command.

“General Lin was thankful for the kindness of the members of the AFPC team who took time out of their busy schedules to provide detailed briefings and who engaged in an insightful Q and A session in response to the many inquiries from the Taiwan delegation,” a U.S. escort said. “He was impressed with the effectiveness and the efficiency of the U.S. Air Force’s personnel recruiting and retention system. The delegation members identified many ideas that could be adopted in Taiwan.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, General Lin thanked the presenters. “You really did help us and you have made us feel like we are at home here,” he said.

The TAF delegation also visited the Air Force Recruiting Service while on Randolph AFB.