Probe ordered after 17 defence students hospitalised after harsh training

[webfact]

The commander of the Fourth Army Region has ordered an investigation after 17 territorial defence students, in Thailand’s southern province of Narathiwat, were sent to hospital suffering from severe dehydration, some of whom had to be given dialysis.

 

A Facebook post, by someone who calls himself “Sariman”, asked why first year territorial defence students are being sent to hospital after being subjected to harsh training and whether it was worth it. The urine of some of the students had even turned brown, a sign of dehydration.

 

The same netizen posted an update yesterday (Friday), expressing his appreciation to the provincial governor, doctors and some army officers for visiting to the students in hospital.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/probe-ordered-after-17-defence-students-hospitalised-after-harsh-training/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-12-05

 

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[jcmj]

Poor guys being pushed way to hard as usual for. Been going on for years. Hopefully something will change soon but TIT. 

[ikke1959]

In which country is are there so many deaths and injured in the army drills as here in Thailand?? It seems it is an institution that has fun in torture and excessive violence. The culprits should be  thrown out of the army , prosecuted and the trial should be broadcasted live on TV...Hope the boys will be recovered quickly

[RichardColeman]

Wonder if this has anything to do with the young being lazy and sat on their phones playing video games for years before the army ?  I guess the years of kids playing outside running around for hours is over

[roo860]

Denied access to water?

[herfiehandbag]

21 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Wonder if this has anything to do with the young being lazy and sat on their phones playing video games for years before the army ?  I guess the years of kids playing outside running around for hours is over

No, it has everything to do with poor leadership, incompetence and inadequacy in the conduct and supervision of training.

 

These were first year Territorial Defence Students, Matayom 4 students, 16 year old Army Cadets.

 

 

Edited December 5, 2022 by herfiehandbag

[herfiehandbag]

12 minutes ago, roo860 said:

Denied access to water?

Almost certainly.

That and pointless " beasting" because the idiots in charge don't know how to do anything else.

Edited December 5, 2022 by herfiehandbag

[Srikcir]

52 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Wonder if this has anything to do with the young being lazy and sat on their phones playing video games for years before the army ?  I guess the years of kids playing outside running around for hours is over

Yeah, the military should instead focus on the Thai youth gangs whose aggression is more inline with Thai military doctrine.

[IAMHERE]

A synic would assume the opposition is winning when your own does such things to their own. What the heck where they training those conscripts for ?

[bamnutsak]

They just love abusing their young people. And they love their hazing rituals.

 

Just a few weeks ago they roasted ~ 1,000 school students in Surin in 39 C heat to try for a Guiness Record.

 

 

[Barnet1900]

1 hour ago, bamnutsak said:

They just love abusing their young people. And they love their hazing rituals.

 

Just a few weeks ago they roasted ~ 1,000 school students in Surin in 39 C heat to try for a Guiness Record.

 

 

Spot on 

 

We are older and hide our incompetence by bullying you into accepting that you dare not question our stupidity.

 

It's not only the military, it's every area of Thai society.

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

The same netizen posted an update yesterday (Friday), expressing his appreciation to the provincial governor, doctors and some army officers for visiting to the students in hospital.

Delivering a basket of "chicken delight" and a message of get well soon and stay schtum?

[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Wonder if this has anything to do with the young being lazy and sat on their phones playing video games for years before the army ?  I guess the years of kids playing outside running around for hours is over

Nothing to do with the above... it's about being forced to exercise in 30C + temps without proper hydration.

[Bangkok Barry]

4 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

In which country is are there so many deaths and injured in the army drills as here in Thailand?? It seems it is an institution that has fun in torture and excessive violence. The culprits should be  thrown out of the army , prosecuted and the trial should be broadcasted live on TV...Hope the boys will be recovered quickly

They learn it at uni with the illegal but ignored hazing rituals. What it comes down to is that humans really don't like fellow humans very much, anywhere. Schoolyard bullying, not wanting someone sitting next to you on a bus or train, people seeking solitude on holiday or elsewhere. We're a strange species.

[Harveyboy]

3 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Wonder if this has anything to do with the young being lazy and sat on their phones playing video games for years before the army ?  I guess the years of kids playing outside running around for hours is over

yes you may have something there mate  ain't what they used to be way to soft..this is probably no tougher than the g training we did in the British army  many years ago ..before these times where snowflakes cry at the scream of a drill sergeant 

[Burma Bill]

4 hours ago, roo860 said:

Denied access to water?

Thanks - exactly what crossed my mind (the brown - or maybe orange) urine. If the harsh training was completed in full military kit, surely a water bottle is part of that kit. If in just PE kit then dehydration is possible if no water supplied. Whatever, those officers in charge should be reprimanded.

[roo860]

1 hour ago, Harveyboy said:

yes you may have something there mate  ain't what they used to be way to soft..this is probably no tougher than the g training we did in the British army  many years ago ..before these times where snowflakes cry at the scream of a drill sergeant 

You'd get a kick up the <deleted> from the PTT's for slacking when I was in my training Regiment.

[Harveyboy]

2 minutes ago, roo860 said:

You'd get a kick up the <deleted> from the PTT's for slacking when I was in my training Regiment.

yep the 70s in the British army  no snowflakes then different breed 

[BritScot]

2 hours ago, Burma Bill said:

Thanks - exactly what crossed my mind (the brown - or maybe orange) urine. If the harsh training was completed in full military kit, surely a water bottle is part of that kit. If in just PE kit then dehydration is possible if no water supplied. Whatever, those officers in charge should be reprimanded.

A water bottle of water doesn't last long especially in heat. There is also a possibility that they were prevented from drinking their water. I remember every run in full webbing water bottles checked before and after.

[BritScot]

9 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

In which country is are there so many deaths and injured in the army drills as here in Thailand?? It seems it is an institution that has fun in torture and excessive violence. The culprits should be  thrown out of the army , prosecuted and the trial should be broadcasted live on TV...Hope the boys will be recovered quickly

You might be surprised at the number of deaths allowed on an exercise in the British army before End Ex is called (14 is a number I recall). Deaths on major exercises are common. In Germany training in the 1980's deaths commonly happened normally from accident and stupidity like sleeping under a 432 in the rain or being run/reversed over.

[herfiehandbag]

4 hours ago, BritScot said:

You might be surprised at the number of deaths allowed on an exercise in the British army before End Ex is called (14 is a number I recall). Deaths on major exercises are common. In Germany training in the 1980's deaths commonly happened normally from accident and stupidity like sleeping under a 432 in the rain or being run/reversed over.

The deaths and injuries were a "by product " of an inherently dangerous activity - large scale manoeuvres by maybe 10,000 or more troops mounted in armoured vehicles. These were Field Training Exercises in Germany, conducted day and night over open ground and lasting a couple of weeks. The budgets for exercise damages were very large, and a number of deaths and injuries were expected. I remember being on a couple of FTXs which were cut short because the budget for damage was used up, and one because of too many deaths. Mind you, this was in the context of NATO facing off the Warsaw Pact. If the Soviets had crossed the Inner German Border (" When Ivan comes over the IGB, hurrah, hurrah") the damage budget would have been massive!

 

But these were school cadets. They normally do a couple of field days and one weekend a term, with a five day camp in the summer vacation. Every province has a training centre, staffed by a cadre from the regular army, with a range and a small training area where these field days and weekends are held. Their kit is minimal, basically boots, a set of denims (fatigues) and a beret. School backpacks are used as they have no webbing or canteens. Deactivated Garands and M1 carbines are used for training. A few M16s are available for musketry training.

 

I would hazard a guess that these youngsters ended up in hospital as a result of "beasting" ( repetitive, prolonged, arduous physical exercises) in very hot conditions with no thought given to provision of water or use of shade.

 

Of course there is a place for such activities (properly supervised) by instructors who know exactly how far to go, with recruits who have reached a properly assessed level of fitness. Not with teenage school cadets. The instructors should be sacked.

Edited December 5, 2022 by herfiehandbag

[BritScot]

19 hours ago, herfiehandbag said:

The deaths and injuries were a "by product " of an inherently dangerous activity - large scale manoeuvres by maybe 10,000 or more troops mounted in armoured vehicles. These were Field Training Exercises in Germany, conducted day and night over open ground and lasting a couple of weeks. The budgets for exercise damages were very large, and a number of deaths and injuries were expected. I remember being on a couple of FTXs which were cut short because the budget for damage was used up, and one because of too many deaths. Mind you, this was in the context of NATO facing off the Warsaw Pact. If the Soviets had crossed the Inner German Border (" When Ivan comes over the IGB, hurrah, hurrah") the damage budget would have been massive!

 

But these were school cadets. They normally do a couple of field days and one weekend a term, with a five day camp in the summer vacation. Every province has a training centre, staffed by a cadre from the regular army, with a range and a small training area where these field days and weekends are held. Their kit is minimal, basically boots, a set of denims (fatigues) and a beret. School backpacks are used as they have no webbing or canteens. Deactivated Garands and M1 carbines are used for training. A few M16s are available for musketry training.

 

I would hazard a guess that these youngsters ended up in hospital as a result of "beasting" ( repetitive, prolonged, arduous physical exercises) in very hot conditions with no thought given to provision of water or use of shade.

 

Of course there is a place for such activities (properly supervised) by instructors who know exactly how far to go, with recruits who have reached a properly assessed level of fitness. Not with teenage school cadets. The instructors should be sacked.

Yes you are right about cadets and even recruits (training recruit exercises obviously have a very low level of expected serious injuries and deaths). These kids shouldn't even be doing full assault courses.  Training for cadets should always be fun and not harsh.