Page 99 - 2018 Defense White Paper

experience programs starting in 2019.

| Pilot Operation of Reserve Noncommissioned Officers’ Training Corps | Since 2015,
the MND has set up and operated a “Reserve Noncommissioned Officers’ Training Corps

(RNTC)” pilot program in 6 two-year technical colleges to gain stable access to outstanding
NCO candidates. Two classes of RNTC—145 persons in the first class of 2017 and 173 persons
in the second class of 2018—have been commissioned as NCOs, and the third and fourth classes

are in school. In 2017, the MND evaluated the achievements of the f irst class to decide whether
to continue operating the RNTC program. With the comprehensive consideration of the cadets’
Chapter 3
qualif ications, demand for NCOs, preference over the university, and changes in the future

population structure, the MND decided that it is necessary to continue the RNTC program,
which is expected to become a regular program and be expanded starting in 2019.

| Vitalizing Defense Online Education | The ROK Armed Forces has been expanding its

online education offerings so that f ield units can minimize time out of the off ice that on-site
education entails and quality education is promptly provided to a large number of trainees.

Online education is operated mainly in a way that trainees take orientation programs in online
lectures linked to the on-site education programs of educational institutions of various levels.
This way, trainees can complete the courses without having to stretch the duration of on-site
education.

The ROK Armed Forces also operates open online courses to allow the servicemembers
of field units, who do not participate in on-site education, to take the various online classes
provided by the military’s outstanding educational institutions without temporal and spatial

constraints. In 2017, the Military-Massive Open Online Course (M-MOOC) 35) program was
launched, allowing all servicemembers to complete necessary courses online from their service
site and thus improve their military expertise and job competency.

Military open online courses became available in 2015 when the Joint Forces Military

35) A military education system without maximum enrollment limits and open to all that
offers web-based courses

Joint maritime training for
Army, Navy, and Air Force cadets

Section 6 Strengthening Education and Training Focused on Combat Missions 97