- I served as a designated industrial technical personnel (전문연구요원) and went through my first year of reserve forces training in 2024. I'm writing this in the hope that it helps other reservists taking the non-commuter course.
- I did my training at the Bakdal Scientific Reserve Forces Training Center. If you train at a different site, things may differ from what I describe.
- I didn't go to the PX, so there's no explanation of it here. The lines are enormous, so if you're the type who gives up on a famous restaurant when the line is long, you should probably give up on the PX too.
What to Bring
- Fatigues, top and bottom.
- Required.
- Rubber trouser bands
- They don't seem to check for these, but most people come wearing them. It's more comfortable, after all. They don't check whether you have the bands themselves, but at the entrance they do check whether your trouser hems look neat.
- Uniform belt
- They don't check for this either, but if you've lost weight and your pants are loose, it's a good idea to wear a personal belt at least.
- Beret
- Not needed. One or two people wore one on day 1, and from day 2 nobody did. You'll be putting a ballistic helmet on and taking it off at the training ground anyway.
- Reserve forces patch
- It's like a wappen (a unit patch). It's listed among the items to bring in the notice, but you don't need it.
- Combat boots
- Required.
- ID
- Required.
- Sunscreen
- Put on waterproof sunscreen before you come.
- Motion sickness medicine
- If you're taking the shuttle bus run by your local government to the training ground and you get badly carsick, it's a good idea to take motion sickness medicine before you go. I'm mentioning it because someone threw up.
Other Tips
- You don't really need to research the training content beforehand. It's very easy. Since it's the non-commuter course, there are a lot of people in alternative service too, and perhaps for that reason, they seem to go easy on you even if your shooting isn't great.
- The biggest villain in the non-commuter training is not someone who is clumsy, but someone who breaks the time schedule and disappears. Before you go anywhere, let someone in your squad know. Of course, if you're prepared enough to read this post, you're probably not a villain...
- If you can, leave things like your phone or AirPods in the storage locker. The pockets on the combat uniform are big, so perhaps that's why quite a lot of people drop things. A four-day digital detox isn't a bad idea either.