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| ▲ This file photo, taken on March 4, 2019, shows members of reserve forces staging a street fighting drill at an Army unit in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province. (Yonhap) |
military-coronavirus
Military calls off reserve forces' training this year due to COVID-19
SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) -- The military called off the already postponed annual training for reserve forces due to explosive spikes in COVID-19 cases, the defense ministry said Wednesday.
It is the second straight year that the military canceled the annual training. The training program had never been skipped before since its introduction in 1968.
In January, the ministry decided to postpone this year's training for the country's 2.75 million-strong forces to the second half given the virus situation, though it was supposed to begin in March across the nation.
"In consideration of the COVID-19 status and other conditions for the training, however, we've decided not to hold this year's training for reserve forces," the ministry said in a release.
Training programs for reserve forces are supposed to involve around 100 to 500 members, which is possible only when the country implements the social distancing scheme of Level 1. Currently, the greater Seoul area has been placed under the strictest Level 4 guidelines.
Another factor for the decision is that most of the reserve forces are in their 20s and vaccinations for the age group are supposed to begin in end-August to enable the achievement of their herd immunity in October at the earliest, the ministry noted.
"Instead, we will provide online programs to replace indoor education for volunteers, and around 3,000 reservists in charge of major posts of reserve forces units will go through field training on a smaller scale under strict quarantine schemes," a ministry official said.
South Korean reservists are required to go through one training session of one to three days per year.
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