Thailand: Land of a thousand generals

[webfact]

Thailand: Land of a thousand generals

Generals in actual command positions represent only a fraction of the total

DOMINIC FAULDER, Nikkei Asian Review associate editor

 

Many Thai generals busy themselves with tasks that are often performed by those of lower ranks in other military forces.   © Reuters

 

BANGKOK -- By September each year, virtually all Thailand's newly promoted generals, air marshals and admirals have been confirmed in their new positions.

 

2019 was fairly quiet with just 789 appointments, well below the 980 seen in 2014 and 944 in 2017, according to the Royal Gazette, the official organ in which new laws are promulgated and public sector appointments announced.

 

Thailand's epic number of flag officer promotions amounts to more than double the 400 or so managers Tesco employs for stores larger than 1,000 sq. meters.

 

In a 2015 paper for the Peace Research Institute of Frankfurt, U.S. academic Paul Chambers, a leading authority on Thailand's military, reported 306,000 active duty military personnel and 245,000 reserves for a total of 551,000 -- about 0.8% of the population. It also reported that there is one general for every 660 lower-ranking members.

 

Full story: https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Thailand-Land-of-a-thousand-generals

 

-- NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW 2020-01-01

[steven100]

so there you have it …..

[ezzra]

The case of too many chiefs, not enough Indians...

[Samui Bodoh]

"...The question of whether the military is fit for its main purpose -- national defense -- is moot in the absence of any credible external threats..."

 

This is the most relevant sentence in the article.

 

When a military does not need to focus on external threats, it focuses on 'internal threats', real or perceived, in order to justify its existence. And, when those 'internal threats' aren't seen as sufficient to justify billions spent on the military, it then launches a coup to ensure its continued unfettered and unaccountable access to the national budget.

 

Imagine what a wonderful country Thailand would have become without the parasitic nature of its military; it might have achieved the status that the current crop of Generals would have you believe it has...

 

...and yes, perhaps the Thai language would be spoken somewhere outside the country's borders. And yes, perhaps it would have become a model for others. And yes, the Thai people could have held their heads up high, justifiably.

 

 

[z42]

Combined with seriously deficient amounts of moral fibre per "General" too, it's a really ghastly sight to see

[neeray]

Quite possibly the biggest "old boys club" in the world.

 

Can't figure out "up from down" on the economy but sure know how to load and point a gun.

[fforest1]

The thing I have always wondered is what all the Generals actually do? There can not possibly be enough work for

all of them.....Do they just show up for work and surf the internet or what?

 

 

[fforest1]

Generals flag officers Thailand 1,750

 

Generals flag officers USA ....231 Army 162 Navy  198 Air force

 

So Thailand has 3X as many flag officers than in the USA....

[Oxx]

14 minutes ago, fforest1 said:

The thing I have always wondered is what all the Generals actually do?

 

They have hobbies to keep themselves busy such as watch collecting.

[colinneil]

First BS story of the new year... Many generals busy themselves with tasks often performed by lower ranks... Ha ha ha.

[jerojero]

1 hour ago, Samui Bodoh said:

"...The question of whether the military is fit for its main purpose -- national defense -- is moot in the absence of any credible external threats..."

 

This is the most relevant sentence in the article.

 

When a military does not need to focus on external threats, it focuses on 'internal threats', real or perceived, in order to justify its existence. And, when those 'internal threats' aren't seen as sufficient to justify billions spent on the military, it then launches a coup to ensure its continued unfettered and unaccountable access to the national budget.

 

Imagine what a wonderful country Thailand would have become without the parasitic nature of its military; it might have achieved the status that the current crop of Generals would have you believe it has...

 

...and yes, perhaps the Thai language would be spoken somewhere outside the country's borders. And yes, perhaps it would have become a model for others. And yes, the Thai people could have held their heads up high, justifiably.

 

 

And you-know-who repeatedly supports the overbearing military and repeated coups.  Continued population dominance by a select few entities. 

[bangkokfrog]

41 minutes ago, fforest1 said:

The thing I have always wondered is what all the Generals actually do?

They serve a very useful role by training military conscripts in important national security work such as how to garden, be a good house boy, etc.

[Somtamnication]

If I remember correctly, Thailand has over 2000 generals, while the US has about 220.

[RichardColeman]

Generally Rich

Generally Useless

Generally Overpaid

Generally self-serving

Generally on the gravy boat

Generally...................

[Odysseus123]

54 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Generally Rich

Generally Useless

Generally Overpaid

Generally self-serving

Generally on the gravy boat

Generally...................

I can't quite figure out what you are trying to say here..

 

Noble chaps-parachutists all.

 

[AhFarangJa]

2 hours ago, ezzra said:

The case of too many chiefs, not enough Indians...

Sorry, but you are definitely wrong here.

TAT has already stated that the Indians will be here in their thousands spending millions of Baht in the next few months.......

[Lacessit]

I'm just wondering how many of these "generals" would be effective in a real crisis, and how many would run around like headless chooks.

[Odysseus123]

12 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I'm just wondering how many of these "generals" would be effective in a real crisis, and how many would run around like headless chooks.

Well..considering that the Laotians and Cambodians give them a good flogging from time to time-I would say that recent history answers your question.

[legend49]

2 hours ago, fforest1 said:

The thing I have always wondered is what all the Generals actually do? There can not possibly be enough work for

all of them.....Do they just show up for work and surf the internet or what?

 

 

They supervise Thais building bigger feed troughs. This is a reserved job so farangs dont apply.

[Just1Voice]

2 hours ago, fforest1 said:

Generals flag officers Thailand 1,750

 

Generals flag officers USA ....231 Army 162 Navy  198 Air force

 

So Thailand has 3X as many flag officers than in the USA....

With a combined military one fifth that of the U.S. 

[Pilotman]

This is no different to many Military forces the world over.  Far too many top end hangerts on. UK is terrible in this respect, just as bad as Thailand, if not worse.  

[Pilotman]

34 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I'm just wondering how many of these "generals" would be effective in a real crisis, and how many would run around like headless chooks.

'run around'?  I doubt that.  This is Thailand after all, people don't run. They would have a big conference in a large hall and then take lots of pictures for the media. 

[Orton Rd]

37 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I'm just wondering how many of these "generals" would be effective in a real crisis, and how many would run around like headless chooks.

None of them would be up to much as they would need to stop every 2 hours for eating and snoozing

[Odysseus123]

3 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

This is no different to many Military forces the world over.  Far too many top end hangerts on. UK is terrible in this respect, just as bad as Thailand, if not worse.  

Very,very true of third world nations, tribes and clans that's for sure.

 

If in doubt always try for "whataboutism" a tried and true method of intellectual indigence on the forum.

[laocowboy2]

3 hours ago, ezzra said:

The case of too many chiefs, not enough Indians...

More than enough Indians for any realistic threat . . . but far, far too many Chiefs.

[Grumpy John]

I am guessing, but going by the number of Generals in the US military as being a balanced number against the total number of service personal and extrapolate that to the top 10 military services world wide I am guessing Thailand would have more Generals than the top 10 put together!  It's actually totally and unequivocally insane! 

[klauskunkel]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Many Thai generals busy themselves

with dreams of coups

[tinca tinca]

3 hours ago, Oxx said:

 

They have hobbies to keep themselves busy such as watch collecting.

and bmw's and merc's !!!

[tinca tinca]

17 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

None of them would be up to much as they would need to stop every 2 hours for eating and snoozing

and to play mobile !!!

[Yadon Toploy]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand's epic number of flag officer promotions amounts to more than double the 400 or so managers Tesco employs for stores larger than 1,000 sq. meters.

Speaks volumes when your military gets compared to Tesco.