12 days a conscript

@Andrew0409 yes they are MD and licensed, I’m positive about that. They have explained it clearly to me. Every doctor i have talked to also said the same thing, even the doctor from the therapy clinic and my mother’s friend who is also a doctor all of them are MD… i just got tired of it… thanks for the concern though

hi andrew!

i have reviewed your story and so far this are the questions i have:

UNIFORMS
are you always in uniforms? like the green shirt you said. or do you got to change something comfortable on break times or sleeping time? like wearing shorts or sandos.

SHOWER
I’m sorry if this weird I’m just very concerned with hygiene haha. is it like a huge shower room where all of you take a shower together? or is it a cubicle type?

BAG
do i really have to use the ridiculous bag that they gave me? i was planning not to use it.

WRITING
you mentioned to be friendly so someone would help me with writing. are you referring to personal details such as address, parents name, etc. or there is something else along the way?

SIT OUT
you advised me to sit out when they asked me to do something? are you talking about the drills? like running, push ups, etc.

MEDICATION
will they ask too much about the medicine? because most of my medicine are not from here in taiwan. Most likely i will bring vitamins and some supplements for my back, and some basic for head ache, colds, diarrhea.

CLASSES
will it be a problem if i can’t understand most of it?

HAIRCUT
since they shaved your hair there. I guess it’s okay if i won’t bother having a haircut before my conscription?

btw i am very concerned about the hygiene part, especially when you said people are starting to get sick. i gues i better bring my own alcohol? :joy:

that’s all i got so far, since everything you shared seems to be clear and very helpful. thanks!

I think he meant writing in Chinese, if you’re not good at it. (Andrew won’t be able to respond for a little while. Don’t ask. :speak_no_evil:)

okay @yyy thanks for letting me know

hey guys I’m going in today for my conscription.
funny, i’m the only one from our city and also the only who brought a lot. i have 1 backpack and 1 hand carry. then all of them brought 1 bag only.
anyways i just followed Andrew’s advice and maybe because i have 3 liters of water with me haha. but i guess i didn’t have to because they said there is a Ok Mart inside…

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Good luck!

Thanks @Andrew0409 this has been really helpful as a Taiwanese growing up in New Zealand this conscription has been a nuisance ever since college. I must ask, do they do a health check again when you arrive at the training camp? I ask because I’ve been lucky enough to be selected for the alternative 12 day conscription because of my weight. However, a little dehydration in the morning and I’ll suddenly be 100g to even 1kg below the minimum weight requirement for alternative service. This is to say I was lucky that day I went for the health-check as I was one piss away from a 4 month service. My biggest concern right now is showing up at the training camp on the 25th this month and they weigh me again and I’m below the cutoff point…

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I don’t recall doing another physical at the base so you should be fine.

I wasn’t aware you could be a certain weight to do alternative service. Was it based on BMI or your height? Because I can get over 100kg from working out without being fat.

BMI based apparently
a BMI of 31.6>= is no service 16.4<= is also no service
16.5~16.8 and 31.1~31.5 BMI is alternative service. I’m on 31.1 exactly so worried I might be a little off if I get weighed again.

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Surely the best thing to do is to have a massive pizza the night before.

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Anyways thanks @Andrew0409
And @BigDave I’ll probably go for a McD run before heading on the train and scull a liter of water haha

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Perhaps not the right thread to ask in, but if one unergoes the 4 month military service, is there any in person contact with family? Are you allowed to go home on weekends or anything like that?

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When my second son did his four months, the army called every time he was on leave, which was often.
Military Contact “Where’s your son?”
Me: “I dunno. Out.”
MC: “Your son is out at night and you don’t know where he is?”
Me: “No. He’s 22.”
He and his fellow draftees came home on weekends so much that I used to joke that the military had a standard telephone reply:“We’re sorry, no-one is available to respond to your invasion. Please come back and re-invade on Monday.”

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Really…what is the point to a 12 day or 4 month conscription if nothing about the military is taught? Not everyone during a conflict will be carrying a weapon so how about at least some training regarding the support groups…or is are issues like back-end logistics too secretive to share with non-military personnel?

My wife and I know few young people who actually did their service as most got medical waivers. The few who did serve never saw a gun or received any type of military related training.

When I did mine there was minimal weapons training… but there are weapons training. Most the time it’s polishing stuff, cleaning stuff, moving stuff from one floor to another then back again. It’s basically a waste of time.

But then logistics is really important, this is why the US win wars. For every soldier fighting you need about 10 doing logistics.

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A post was split to a new topic: US military failures since WWII (sorry, mod too lazy to figure out where to put this)

How long ago was your training? I asked the young people or their parents about gun training. Not one in last ten years touched a gun.

Yes…even minimal training regarding warehousing might help. I mean any type of training might help. Or maybe the Taiwan military has the same low opinion of most young people as I do. Even a serious six month training might not be enough to get 90% of the guys in any position to do any good in a war. Most are mama boys who haven’t had any responsibilities thrust upon them. Yes, there are some mature young people but I haven’t bumped into many anymore. Sorry…maybe I just know too many rich people who spoiled their kids.

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Taiwan is a very non militaristic society, probably due to bad memories from martial law era… in my years here i never once met a person proud of his service, only proud how they managed to shorten it or scam the system.
its a shame really… im not saying TW should become Sparta, but to have some more “dont mess with us” attitude wont be bad.

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The 12 day one is for support units. Like the ones who go and set up and dig trenches or whatnot. We are not going to be on the front lines of combat until it’s the last resort.

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During the 12 day stint are conscripts taught how to dig trenches? Seems are not taught anything useful.