Front-line army company commanders in South Korea, are facing a growing operational burden due to a significant decline in military personnel. These commanders are now taking on multiple roles, including administrative tasks, driving, and maintenance, as there is an accelerating shortage of enlistable men and a lack of junior officer support.
In Gangwon Province, a 29-year-old army company commander, Captain A, has been taking on additional responsibilities due to a shortage of personnel in his unit. With only 100 members instead of the original 120, his unit lacks designated signalmen and drivers, prompting him to fill those roles himself during operations.
Captain A mentioned that the unit has not been properly replenished with new recruits since last year, resulting in him having to execute operations without the assistance of non-combat staff who are typically assigned to help company commanders.
Due to a decrease in population, there has been a significant reduction in military personnel. As a result, company commanders at the front lines are facing a heavier workload. In military operations, a company is the smallest operational unit, usually comprising of 100 members. Company commanders play a crucial role in ensuring the success of military operations. However, due to the shortage of enlisted soldiers, they are now having to perform tasks that would normally be carried out by them.
Captain B is a 29-year-old company commander who is currently serving at a General Outpost Position (GOP) in Gangwon Province. He spends 3-4 hours a day on paperwork since his administrative clerk was reassigned two months ago due to a shortage of clerks at the battalion level. Unfortunately, a replacement has not been found yet. Due to the unavailability of a designated driver, Captain B has to personally drive military vehicles to inspect his troops. This has resulted in him getting only four hours of sleep per day on average.
Captain C, another company commander in a rear-area brigade, has to perform multiple roles. Not only does he maintain fences and transport goods but he also mows weeds. According to him, “Nowadays, a company commander always has to play multiple roles.”
The commanders are further burdened by a lack of junior officers. In Gyeonggi Province, one company commander mentioned that after a platoon leader left seven months ago, his replacement had not arrived yet. This has forced neighboring platoon leaders to take on additional duties.
What makes the situation worse is the decline in military manpower resources is accelerating. The number of men who are eligible for enlistment in the army, aged 20, has significantly decreased from 322,000 in 2019 to 245,000 this year, resulting in a reduction of 77,000 in just five years. This shortage has led to the disbandment of new recruit training battalions in front-line divisions such as the 1st, 9th, and 25th Infantry Divisions.
Shin Jong-woo, the Secretary-General of the Korea Defense and Security Forum (KODEF), has pointed out that the lack of troop replenishment has put an increased burden on company commanders, indicating problems in the military personnel management plans of higher authorities like the Ministry of National Defense.
“To address this issue, higher authorities need to boldly reduce administrative units to reallocate manpower, allowing commanders to focus more on operational duties,” said Shin.
