Taiwan has extended mandatory reserve training from seven to 14 days and will introduce drone and Himars rocket system instruction, while Ukraine’s government has approved a reform setting fixed service contracts of six to 24 months and sharply raising combat pay. Both moves, confirmed in recent weeks, aim to reverse acute personnel shortages that defence planners in Taipei and Kyiv say threaten operational readiness.

According to Taiwan’s defence ministry, the new 14-day call-up programme replaces a five- to seven-day system and returns reservists to units matching their active-duty roles, a policy it calls ‘returning personnel to their original positions’. The ministry, addressing legislators last month, linked the overhaul to a shrinking conscript pool: the number of eligible men fell below 100,000 in 2023 for the first time and is projected to drop further next year. Ukrainian officials state that their reform — approved by the cabinet and awaiting final parliamentary endorsement — is designed to attract volunteers by offering monthly salaries of up to €6,000 for front-line infantry, double the current rate, alongside guaranteed leave after completion of a contract. However, soldiers interviewed by Ukrainian media note that the pay gap between front-line and rear-echelon roles, where wages rise to only about €600, risks resentment among veterans and wounded personnel now limited to support duties.

In Latin America, mandatory service remains the norm but is being recalibrated. Colombian law, under a 2017 statute, requires all men aged 18 to 24 to serve for 12 to 18 months, for which they receive a monthly payment approaching the minimum wage, plus food, lodging and medical care. Exemptions cover students, sole breadwinners, indigenous communities and married fathers. Mexico’s Sedena has ordered conscripts assigned to the ‘encuadrado’ modality to report on 1 August 2026 for a three-month training cycle, with food, accommodation and a military life insurance provided. Argentina, by contrast, has opened a voluntary service in its air force for citizens aged 18 to 24, offering a two-year contract, a salary with social benefits, and vocational training after a course of admission.

Analysts in Taipei warn that extending reserve training alone will not fix morale problems: many recalled specialists are family breadwinners and resent repeated mobilisations while others escape call-up, a pattern that Taiwan’s defence ministry acknowledges requires widened training to spread obligations. In Kyiv, a defence ministry statement said a phased leave programme for long-serving veterans will begin only by end‑2026, depending on battlefield conditions, leaving open the risk that inexperienced recruits will not quickly replace those with years of combat experience. Ukraine’s parliament is expected to approve the reform without major obstacles; Taiwan’s related legislative amendments are under discussion in committee.