Disaster rescue operations, including mobilizing specialized equipment and operating diving and salvage missions, will be included in next year's combined services Han Kuang military exercises for the first time, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement Friday. In view of the indispensable role of the military in post-disaster rescue efforts and resettlement management, the Defense Ministry will also reinforce personnel training and upgrade related equipment and technologies, the statement said. The ministry has set aside more than NT$5 billion (US$156 million) in fiscal 2010 to purchase equipment such as cranes, trucks, dinghies, forklifts and sanitation and quarantine devices to use in rescue missions in various environments and situations. Servicemen have been the major force in post-disaster rescue missions and clean- up operations in Typhoon Morakot-ravaged areas over the past four weeks. To date, servicemen have worked 510,000 shifts, 5,000 helicopter missions have been flown, and 22,614 military vehicles have been mobilized during the rescue and relief operation, according to the ministry. To find shelters for those rendered homeless by typhoon-triggered floods and mudslides, the government has also temporarily sheltered 3,701 typhoon victims in military barracks in southern Taiwan. 