Prayut orders armed forces to study possibility of voluntary military conscription

By The Nation

 

 

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed the armed forces to study proposals to make the current mandatory military conscription voluntary to see whether such a practice would affect national security.

 

 

Defence Ministry spokesman Lt Gen Kongcheep Tantrawanit told a press conference Friday that Prayut gave the instruction in his capacity as the defence minister while chairing a meeting of the National Defence Council.

 

Several activists and the Future Forward Party have called for a halt to mandatory military conscription. The Future Forward said it would propose a bill to amend the Defence Ministry Act so that military conscription was voluntary. The bill seeks to have conscripts undergo training and study courses for four years after which they will be hired as soldiers with starting salary of Bt15,000.

 

Kongcheep said the armed forces were told by Prayut to study whether the military’s personnel structure and its budget would be affected should Future Forward’s bill or a similar draft be deliberated for passage by the House. The armed forces were also told to look at whether other laws would have to be amended if military conscription were to become voluntary, the spokesman added.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30376519

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-09-21

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

imageproxy.jfif

I applaud the very sensible and practical bill by FFP. See the logic of getting the youths off the streets and possibility a career. 

The photo clearly shows his thoughts coming in and orders coming out????

"voluntary military conscription" is a contradiction in terms.

 

Either military service is voluntary, or it's via conscription which has not voluntary element to it.

38 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

Prayut orders armed forces to study possibility of voluntary military conscription

Tokenistic hollow words designed to give the impression he has a modicum of humanity. Career military people don't think in such a way.

Just on principle alone the Phalang Pracharat Party and the PM would never dream of adopting a proposal initiated by the Future Forward Party, even if it was a good idea.

Edited September 21, 20196 yr by Cadbury

'.... to see whether [voluntary military service] would affect national security'.

The junta's answer after carefully considering the matter will be: YES, DEFINITELY - IT WILL RAVAGE NATIONAL SECURITY AND PUT THAILAND AT GRAVE RISK FROM 'BAD PEOPLE'.

 

Discussion over. Militarism, nationalism, control-ism, and junta-ism continue - indefinitely.

There is nothing wrong with the current system of involuntary conscription.  It gives the youth of today a wonderful opportunity to  learn a new skill set.  Where else can You go to become a "Lean Green Killing Machine".

Edited September 21, 20196 yr by Grumpy John

5 minutes ago, Grumpy John said:

There is nothing wrong with the current system of involuntary conscription.  It gives the youth of today a wonderful opportunity to  learn a new skill set.  Where else can You go to become a "Lean Green Killing Machine".

Yes, Grumpy John. And remember that for decades past that lean, green murdering machine has only EVER been turned against - the Thai people.

Also, the system of forced enlistment entrenches notions of hierarchy and unquestioningly knowing one's place all the more fully and effectively.

'Yes, sir!' That is the watchword of the brainwashed, unthinking serf.

I think it's a good idea to make it voluntary, they have to offer something in return though, for example, I joined the British army in 1969 at age 15, they taught me basic military skills a profession and I continued my education and earned the educational certificates that I missed getting at school.

 

I travelled to some very interesting places and made some friends for life that I am still in contact with nearly 50 years later, not such a bad life.

43 minutes ago, Grumpy John said:

There is nothing wrong with the current system of involuntary conscription.  It gives the youth of today a wonderful opportunity to  learn a new skill set.  Where else can You go to become a "Lean Green Killing Machine".

I have a nephew that is in the Thai Army. He works full time in Bangkok at a civilian job. He lets his superiors at the army base have his army pay so that he does not have to report back to duty. Apparently this is a common practice. He is a private but they would promote him 2 grades in rank for 100,000 baht. He decided not to go that way. He gets out of the army in November. 

  By the way, he volunteered. 

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed the armed forces to study proposals to make the current mandatory military conscription voluntary to see whether such a practice would affect national security.

No need for that. You already got a few subs and some armored vehicles from US, and top of that, there's the mandatory TM30 for foreingers to fill out. National security is just fine.

No, you learn to be a service worker for a General. Wife's nephew did exactly that for 2 years. Utterly ridiculous.

There is nothing wrong with the current system of involuntary conscription.  It gives the youth of today a wonderful opportunity to  learn a new skill set.  Where else can You go to become a "Lean Green Killing Machine".

" Yes this is Just For Men extra " ..

 

Asian countries with serious security concerns have a volunteer service.  Thailand has little to worry about and has around  300k men in uniform.  Do those men have something better to do and does the country have a better use for that money?

I'm sorry to repeat myself, once military, always military!
The military horizon is very limited!

9 minutes ago, 30la said:

I'm sorry to repeat myself, once military, always military!
The military horizon is very limited!

Sorry I disagree, I transitioned back into civvy street quite easily & I was involved in the nasty stuff of NI. Thailand's military have no idea about urban warfare.

What a pity, no Katoeys anymore at the conscriptions ........... 

I am not Thai but feel every young man or woman should give a year or two of community service to their country-  not a select few. “Community Service” would not only include the military division, but working at national parks, learning a skill and rebuilding/ updating infrastructure around the various provinces, helping in hospitals, working in government run daycare for working parents in the big cities.  During this time the young adult can pick up a skill and learn about responsibility. 

2 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

Sorry I disagree, I transitioned back into civvy street quite easily & I was involved in the nasty stuff of NI. Thailand's military have no idea about urban warfare.

Sorry, I was talking about just one soldier!

14 minutes ago, 30la said:

Sorry, I was talking about just one soldier!

Ah, you mean the idiot supposedly running the country, my bad, I thought you meant all squaddies, apologies. ????

conscription definition: to force someone by law to serve in one of the armed forces . Makes me think of those oxymorons like "military intelligence"

3 hours ago, yellowboat said:

Asian countries with serious security concerns have a volunteer service.  Thailand has little to worry about and has around  300k men in uniform.  Do those men have something better to do and does the country have a better use for that money?

Half of them are probably the generals and admirals. 

They will have to raise the pay very significantly...like double or triple for enlisted...to have any hopes of achieving an all volunteer force. 

 

But whatever they decide I sure hope they have enough military to defend and enforce the TM30 law as it's a matter of national security!

5 hours ago, Golden Triangle said:

I think it's a good idea to make it voluntary, they have to offer something in return though, for example, I joined the British army in 1969 at age 15, they taught me basic military skills a profession and I continued my education and earned the educational certificates that I missed getting at school.

 

I travelled to some very interesting places and made some friends for life that I am still in contact with nearly 50 years later, not such a bad life.

I served from 1968 to 1988, in what was a conscripted army until it made the transition to a voluntary, professional service starting in the early 1970s. Disregarding any political, moral or ethical rhetoric, this country has so many obstacles towards making such a transition, that I doubt it can be done without a radical change in the educational landscape.

5 hours ago, Grumpy John said:

There is nothing wrong with the current system of involuntary conscription.  It gives the youth of today a wonderful opportunity to  learn a new skill set.  Where else can You go to become a "Lean Green Killing Machine".

I can see your sarcasm there.

Just to explain my Thai brother-in-law's conscription:

He spent months looking after the ageing parents of his commanding officer.

'Looking after' is the wrong phrase - he skivvied for them 24 hours a day, as they were both senile.

 

He had live with them, clean the house, buy food from the market in order to cook for them, make sure they didn't harm themselves as they didn't know what they were doing most of the time.

They constantly argued he hadn't cooked any food food them - when they'd eaten it half-an-hour earlier.

They watched the cartoon channel day-after-day, even the same programmes which they'd seen the day before appeared new to them.

 

"Lean Green Killing Machine"? I'm sure he would have strangled his CO given half the chance.

2 hours ago, 30la said:

I'm sorry to repeat myself, once military, always military!
The military horizon is very limited!

Really?

 

I spent 25 years in the RAF, boy and man. I was taught to be part of a team, to be on my own and to be a leader as well.

 

I got further education and was taught a trade which stood me well when I retired from the RAF at 40. I had a couple more careers after taht and made 2 business for myself.

 

I made friends in quite a few countries and it certainly broadened and expanded my horizons and goals.

 

From your comments I will assume that that you have never served in the military at all.

 

You have missed some damn good times.

2 hours ago, Golden Triangle said:

Ah, you mean the idiot supposedly running the country, my bad, I thought you meant all squaddies, apologies. ????

Oi, don't forget the fish heads and crabfats too.

I served from 1968 to 1988, in what was a conscripted army until it made the transition to a voluntary, professional service starting in the early 1970s. Disregarding any political, moral or ethical rhetoric, this country has so many obstacles towards making such a transition, that I doubt it can be done without a radical change in the educational landscape.

National service ended on the 31st of December 1960 so if you joined in 1968 you were obviously a volunteer not a conscript


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

1 hour ago, bluesofa said:

I can see your sarcasm there.

Just to explain my Thai brother-in-law's conscription:

He spent months looking after the ageing parents of his commanding officer.

'Looking after' is the wrong phrase - he skivvied for them 24 hours a day, as they were both senile.

 

He had live with them, clean the house, buy food from the market in order to cook for them, make sure they didn't harm themselves as they didn't know what they were doing most of the time.

They constantly argued he hadn't cooked any food food them - when they'd eaten it half-an-hour earlier.

They watched the cartoon channel day-after-day, even the same programmes which they'd seen the day before appeared new to them.

 

"Lean Green Killing Machine"? I'm sure he would have strangled his CO given half the chance.

That sounds like Prawit ????