Mixed responses to calls for ending compulsory military service in Thailand

[billd766]

On 5/11/2023 at 8:00 PM, herfiehandbag said:

Yes, that sounds about par for the course with what my stepson got.

 

Sleeping provision a thin mat on the floor. Washing facilities a cement trough under a tin roofed lean to, doubling up as laundry facilities. 

 

Pay was erratic, they usually got the arrears when going on leave, but there were many stoppages. Things they needed, soap, toothpaste, washing powder, boot polish and so on were all obtained through the NCOs, who were paid off ( at a substantial profit) at pay parade. Corruption of course is everywhere - my boy missed the bus from

Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai going back after a long weekends leave. He was going to be late. I gave him B1000, he gave it to his corporal, the problem went away.

 

Those in his platoon who had parents who could afford it, simply didn't turn up for weeks on end. Parents paid and the platoon NCOs pocketed their pay.

 

My lad got a cushy number, he could use a computer so was made Company Clerk.

 

He finished his basic training dripping with parachute wings, ranger badges, red berets and even a couple of medals. By the end of his stint he had more military bling than I had after 30 years in the British Army, even though, like the Olympic flame he never went out!

 

it was a complete waste of time - skive to survive!

My son,now 18, decided to join the army cadets at school for 3 years, 2 of them during the Covid pandemic.

 

He most probably won't be called up for conscription. It was his choice though I must admit I probably put the idea in his head.

 

The next stage starting in August is uni at Chiang Rai.

[proton]

we paid 20k a few years ago to keep a relative out of the draw, or you can turn up in a dress and lipstick

[billd766]

On 5/12/2023 at 7:39 AM, h90 said:

From my experience being drafted in Europe....You get in contact with narcotics and you smoke and drink like never before + get the worst food you can imagine

In my experience with 25 years in the RAF back in the early 1960s and the first 2 or 3 years with National Servicemen, there were no drugs.

 

Yes we all smoked and drank, but they ate in the same mess and ate the same good food as we did.

 

My maths teacher during training, was a qualified chartered accountant who turned down a short service commission because he could make more money when he came out after 2 years.

Edited May 14, 2023 by billd766
corrected some bad spelling

[MrMojoRisin]

On 5/12/2023 at 12:59 PM, The Fugitive said:

Here is the Royal Thai Army delivering rice to my mother-in-law prior to flooding.

Is this really the role of the military?

Divert the resources away from the Generals and into the correct agencies and I'm sure the money will be much much more efficiently spent.

[zzaa09]

Can never have too much militarism in one's existence and mindset.

[herfiehandbag]

3 hours ago, billd766 said:

My son,now 18, decided to join the army cadets at school for 3 years, 2 of them during the Covid pandemic.

 

He most probably won't be called up for conscription. It was his choice though I must admit I probably put the idea in his head.

 

The next stage starting in August is uni at Chiang Rai.

My daughter is planning to go to Mae Fah Luang University here in Chiang Rai. She is starting M6 tomorrow.

[The Fugitive]

7 hours ago, herfiehandbag said:

My daughter is planning to go to Mae Fah Luang University here in Chiang Rai. She is starting M6 tomorrow.

Raises a good point. There are female Army Cadets at our local high school. Presumably they aren't doing that to avoid National Service as, AFAIK girls are, at present, not required. Maybe that could change? 

[The Fugitive]

10 hours ago, MrMojoRisin said:

Is this really the role of the military?

Divert the resources away from the Generals and into the correct agencies and I'm sure the money will be much much more efficiently spent.

Perhaps could be viewed as relevant training for National Servicemen as it's emergency flood relief. Army take on civilian roles such as firefighting when there is a strike (at least they do in UK).   

[Karma80]

Speaking about this over dinner with a Thai friend,  they commented the army is just for poor people that can't afford 20-30 Bhat not to go.  Inequality in action.

[spidermike007]

It is possible that at one point the army enjoyed a good reputation. Now? They are despised and disliked. Many consider them useless, and many think of them as a useless drain on society, resources and cash.

 

What do they do for the nation? Coup after coup. Do they serve any function, besides sucking the blood of society? 

[The Fugitive]

12 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

It is possible that at one point the army enjoyed a good reputation. Now? They are despised and disliked. Many consider them useless, and many think of them as a useless drain on society, resources and cash.

 

What do they do for the nation? Coup after coup. Do they serve any function, besides sucking the blood of society? 

There is terrorism in the South of course. Burma has it's own problems too. Perhaps border patrols would be a justification for maintaining Army numbers? 

[billd766]

4 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

It is possible that at one point the army enjoyed a good reputation. Now? They are despised and disliked. Many consider them useless, and many think of them as a useless drain on society, resources and cash.

 

What do they do for the nation? Coup after coup. Do they serve any function, besides sucking the blood of society? 

Sadly it is not really the rank and file that are the problem.

 

It is all the generals that are in charge that are the problem. THEY are the ones who run the military and THEY are the root cause of the problem of the coups.

 

They are like cancer  in the human body and need excising and getting rid of.

[spidermike007]

1 minute ago, billd766 said:

Sadly it is not really the rank and file that are the problem.

 

It is all the generals that are in charge that are the problem. THEY are the ones who run the military and THEY are the root cause of the problem of the coups.

 

They are like cancer  in the human body and need excising and getting rid of.

Totally agree. 2,200 generals? Such hubris. The people have allowed the army to get away with far too much, for far too long. 

[herfiehandbag]

5 hours ago, The Fugitive said:

There is terrorism in the South of course. Burma has it's own problems too. Perhaps border patrols would be a justification for maintaining Army numbers? 

A lot of the routine security work - borders, counter terrorist patrolling, checkpoints, searches and cordons is done by the "rangers" - locally raised and trained militia, mainly ex conscripts. The Army rather avoids such squalid matters.

[Dogmatix]

On 5/11/2023 at 10:46 AM, AhFarangJa said:

Several years ago, well, over 10 actually, the Brother in Law was conscripted. He lasted three weeks then went AWOL due to the (in his words), incessant bullying, and slave labour. He came back to the village, but no-one came after him. He hid low around the countryside for a number of years then went to renew his i.d. card thinking they may catch him. Absolutely nothing. I.D. renewed, and never a tweet from the Army.

My company had a driver who had deserted, although I think he was a volunteer but couldn't stand it anyway. My secretary liked him and colluded to employ him without military exemption papers and he didn't dare renew his ID. At first he said he would get the papers from his home upcountry but he never did and she figured out the truth but didn't fire him. Apparently the statute of limitations is 10 years and he was planning to wait it out before getting a new ID card. I left the company and he left soon after and I don't know what happened to him.  There must be a lot of conscripts who desert.  Perhaps the army is scared of adverse public opinion, if they go after them.  May also not get cooperation from police and district offices.

[Dogmatix]

Thai  conscription is obviously completely wasteful and useless. If they need a military at all, they need a much smaller number of well trained, motivated soldiers with good pay and conditions and with better education than the average conscript, so as to be able to learn to use hi-tech equipment.  Training unwilling recruits to serve for only two years just ties up the NCO corps and produces substandard soldiers.