22 January 2013

News Story: PLA to step up war preparedness by military drills


2013-01-21 — The People’s Liberation Army must rid itself of deep-seated habits, cultivated within the military by decades of peace, in order to prepare for war at a moment’s notice, the mouthpiece of the armed forces reported yesterday.

The PLA Daily ran an article yesterday highlighting problems found during a military review on Wednesday of three recent drills in Inner Mongolia involving an unnamed artillery brigade with the 38th Army Corps, which is affiliated with the Beijing Military Command.

One of the problems was that the unit allocated food based on the length of the drill and number of participants, without bringing extra provisions in case of bad weather. Troops also used all the ammunition after a drill without reserving any for a possible ambush on their way back to camp.

“After a long period of peace … some troops have little awareness of war, and their exercises are no longer realistic. They have become a show,” the PLA Daily warned.

Read the full story at China Defense MashUp