READING

Text 1

Kyrgyzstan Link-up to Foil Insurgents

In preparation for an expected escalation of militant Islamist activity in mid-year, Kyrgyzstan

has held mobilisation and staff exercises involving groups from neighbouring Kazakhstan and

Uzbekistan.

The three-day exercises, held in mid-April under the direction of Kyrgyz Defence Minister

Esen Topoyev, reportedly aimed to improve planning and coordination between the Ministry of

Defence and other central and regional departments, with emphasis on the southern regional

administrations of Osh, Jalalabad, and Batken. The involvement of staff groups from the defence

ministries of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan reflects stepped-up efforts to mount a more integrated

response to what is increasingly a trans-national threat.

Over the past two years, southern Kyrgyzstan has been the scene of incursions by the

Afghanistan-based Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), which has sought to move from bases in

northern Tajikistan through Kyrgyz territory to reach the Ferghana Valley region of Uzbekistan.

Kyrgyz authorities are also concerned over local support for both the IMU and the Hizb ut Tahrir,

another banned Islamist party, which has mounted a leaflet campaign in southern parts of the

country calling for the overthrow of the government and the establishment of a Central Asian

caliphate.

In late March, police in the southern capital of Osh held anti-riot exercises practising the use

of water cannons and tear gas.

1. The three countries held joint exercise to …

A. improve their national mobilization plans

B. train for a possible increase of rebellious actions

C. set up a trans-national regional administration

2. IMU’s headquarters is located in …

A. Afghanistan

B. Uzbekistan

C. Kyrgyzstan

3. A Central Asian caliphate has been advocated by the …

A. Hizb ut Tahrir

B. IMU

C. Kyrgyz public

Text 2

Virtual Deployment: Soldiers May Soon Train Anywhere

Soldiers may be able to train for future peacekeeping deployments from the comfort of their

own dayrooms, if a recent $45 million Army investment bears fruit.

The service is spending the money on a five-year contract with the University Of Southern

California to establish a center for developing cutting-edge virtual-reality training systems. Army

Secretary Louis Caldera opened the center— the Institute for Creative Technologies — Sept. 26 in

Marina del Rey, Calif.

The center plans to team with computer game manufacturers and other entertainment

companies to develop simulation technologies that can be used in both Army training systems and

computer games.

Virtual reality simulation technology is nothing new for the Army. The service already uses it

in simulators like the Close Combat Tactical Trainer. The CCTT simulates the operational

characteristics and performance of a variety of combat vehicles — complete with the sights and

sounds of armored vehicle combat. Troops use it to practice and perfect small-unit skills of shooting,

moving and communicating with each other.

At present, the only way soldiers can train for the challenges of operating in tense

environments like those in the Balkans is to go through rigorous — and expensive — exercises at the

Army’s combat training centers. These exercises feature role players performing as civilians,

presenting the troops with the sort of difficult situations they are likely to encounter during

peacekeeping operations.

While the new simulations won’t replace such training, they will allow soldiers to rehearse

numerous scenarios in a cost- and risk-free environment.

1. The Institute for Creative Technologies is financed by …

A. the Army

B. the University

C. the games companies

2. The Close Combat Tactical Trainer simulates …

A. hand-to-hand fighting

B. armored vehicle operation

C. peacekeeping tactics

3. The combat training center exercises are expensive because …

A. they take place in the Balkans

B. they have to employ people as actors

C. they present difficult situations

Text 3

Reserve Soldiers Called Up to Fill the Gaps

Reservists are being mobilised by the Ministry of Defence to help fill gaps in Britain’s

capabilities exposed by the military campaign against Afghanistan, it emerged yesterday.

The move, to be announced officially today, comes as military planners are wrestling with

plans to deploy ground troops in Afghanistan which they know could be extremely risky.

About 150 reservists will be asked to volunteer for specialist jobs, including interpreting

photographs taken by specially equipped Canberra aircraft, defence sources said.

They have been called up to assess the damage done to Taliban military targets, including

mobile forces, and Bin Laden training camps over the past seven nights of air strikes.

Their mobilisation suggests that military intelligence officers are having difficulty in analysing

the impact of “precision” weapons, including cruise missiles aimed at small targets over large areas.

The reservists are likely to be summoned to the joint air reconnaissance interpretation centre

at RAF Brampton, in Cambridgeshire. Most of the reservists are being asked to help with “battle

damage assessment”, defence sources said yesterday.

They insisted there were no moves to call up medical staff. The Defence Medical Services are

suffering serious shortages, including estimated shortfalls of more than 70% in consultant

anaesthetists, more than 80% in accident and emergency consultants, and 70% in burns and plastic

surgery consultants. Defence officials are coy about discussing the prospect of ground forces in

Afghanistan. Operations involving ground troops are “not imminent”, one official said yesterday.

1. The reservists are being called up to ...

A. increase the efficiency of work already being done

B. join a ground force in Afghanistan

C. replace officers going to Afghanistan

2. The reservists are going to …

A. take photographs of bomb damaged areas

B. indicate targets to be attacked

C. analyse air reconnaissance information

3. The MOD aren’t calling up reservists for the Defence Medical Services because …

A. they do not have properly trained reservists

B. they don’t want to admit they have a problem

C. there is no immediate need for them

Text 4

Record Numbers Desert the Army

The Army has been hit by an unprecedented wave of absenteeism and desertion. Senior

officers and defence experts say the huge numbers of soldiers going absent without leave (Awol)

threatens a crisis that could jeopardise the ability of Britain's armed forces to fulfil their combat and

peacekeeping missions. The Army is already stretched by heavy commitments overseas and has

suffered acute recruitment problems.

Most of the Awols are among the junior ranks of infantry regiments – the lowest paid and

least motivated units in the army. Such soldiers however are indispensable, even on today’s hi-tech

battlefield. Many incidents have been high profile embarrassment for the MoD and have stymied their

recruitment campaign.

According to Brigadier Sebastian Roberts, the Army's director of corporate communications

many servicemen went Awol when they felt there were family situations that demanded their

attention. 'Unfortunately they don't go to their commanding officers, but take matters into their own

hands.'

But experts say the problem will remain chronic until fundamental issues are addressed. 'The

underlying reason for desertion is almost always the treatment meted out to soldiers,' said Robert

Peterson, a – lawyer specialising in military offences.

Of the 200 cases involving Awols that Peterson has handled in the past two years all but a

handful have involved physical and psychological trauma caused by superior ranks or peers. 'I have

only seen one lad who genuinely just couldn’t hack the physical demands of army life. The Army has

been forced to pay out substantial sums in compensation. Earlier this year, the courts awarded

£60,000 to a serviceman who had needed hospitalisation after being beaten by fellow soldiers while

on active service in the former Yugoslavia. Scores of other such cases are pending. If they are

successful, the MoD could be forced to pay out millions.

Academics say that like all 'closed societies' the Army will find it hard to change. They cite

senior soldiers' reactions to anything that smacks of 'political correctness' as evidence of the armed

forces' institutional conservatism.

1. Heavy absenteeism in the British Army may …

A. stop British involvement overseas

B. make a recruitment campaign necessary

C. reduce the number of tasks it does

2. The main reason for desertion is …

A. low wages

B. family problems

C. bullying incidents

3. Inquiries into Awol cases may result in …

A. financial losses for MoD

B. stricter penalties on soldiers

C. the Army becoming less conservative