Thai Special Forces

[Mr Helper]

There's also the 'White Elephants'

[rod_kalashnikov]

 

[penelope]

F*** being in the special forces. I would wanna brag about being a lethal bad ass super commando , but these guys have to remain completely confidential and hush-hush. That's why it is so easy to spot a barstool lier...a real operator would never tell you !!

[rod_kalashnikov]

 

[Pies]

Exactly Right Rod!

And another dit from the Falklands..a Gurkha stopped the advance of 40 Commando Royal Marines (the whole unit) ..because his Officer had told him nobody could proceed down the trail he was guarding! After his boss was brought it got sorted and the war was allowed to resume!

[Jowels]

There's a group of American DEA officers working in Songkhla now. For obvious reasons they're trying to keep a low profile.

[IamMaiC]

There's a group of American DEA officers working in Songkhla now. For obvious reasons they're trying to keep a low profile.

Are you sure their DEA??

[Johpa]

US Special Forces maintain a small low-key permanent presence in Thailand under the banner of of JCET (Joint and Combined Exchange Training) ...nction.

The US guys on Okinawa, 1st of the 1st, use to show up in Chiang Mai twice a year to train the Thai military in the area. After the "hostess" bars were unofficially declared off-limits they found the local teacher's and ex-pat's watering hole, the ol Cottage Bar. I had some great times with those fellows as we all shared the experience of teaching Thai folks. They sure broke whatever stereotypes I had of SF people, not a Rambo in the bunch.

Up north there is the 5th Special Forces unit, a traditional SF battalion, whose base is just outside of Mae Rim. I don't know how many combat guys are attached to that place and I have never met any military guy in Mae Rim who claimed to be based there. But it is not exactly hidden and there is a large sign at the front gate. I think the central command for the Thai army SF is in Lopburi while the Thai SF Marines, akin to the US SEALS, are based down in Sattahip. I suspect that most of the Thai army SF units descended from the Police Aerial Reinforcement Unit (PARU) set up by Bill Lair.

The Thais at one time employed some irregulars up along the Burmese border. Not exactly SF in the traditional sense, not so well trained or equipped. But the commanding officer of the unit, which happened to be based where I was living at the time, was from the Lopburi center and spoke decent English. His top sergeant spoke some English which was quite rare that far back. The soldiers were equipped with an odd assortment of older miscellaneous weapons and each guy was bedecked with countless Buddhist amulets. These guys kept making forays into nearby Burmese territory for god knows what reasons. Ah, there is nothing like drinking cheap Thai whiskey with grenades on the table, a group of guys whose bodies are covered in tatoos, a dozen amulets hanging from each neck (early Thai bling-bling fashion), and who are playing catch with the ammo for their M-79. But I must say, as off beat as these guys were, the commanding officer kept them very well behaved towards the local populace, something that could not be said about other government groups.

[rod_kalashnikov]

 

[rod_kalashnikov]

 

[Jowels]

There's a group of American DEA officers working in Songkhla now. For obvious reasons they're trying to keep a low profile.

Are you sure their DEA??

I don't know specifically what they're doing, but I'm 100% sure they're DEA. I have a contact in the Thai government who's working with them. They'll here until 2006.

[rod_kalashnikov]

 

[Padkapow Guy]

Rod

I remember they said the ceremonial kukri had to be sharp enough to take a water buffalo's head off in 1 swipe or it meant bad luck for the unit.

I also heard that when they are young men they travel for 6 months to try out to be part of the Queens honor guard, and if they don't make it they have to turn around and travel for 6 months back home.

Are these true or not?

[meom]

Interesting topic. What about the guys up in Israel? I would assume they have the most practical experience.

[Erawan]

No offence intended rod (I think you know that), I call my cat a monkey, a bat and a bear - never a cat though...

When someone mentioned they were short, I just can't help envisaging a Gurkha as a midget/dwarf.

Anyway, how'd you amass all this info rod? It's all very interesting stuff though.

[rod_kalashnikov]

 

[rod_kalashnikov]

 

[Limbo]

What has the SAS to do with this. My son in law is actually pilot there and he is normally shaped and he talks normal as well.

For the time being he still flies within Scandinavia and untill now nobody told him to get tattoed. My daughter wouldn't like him to have tattoes.

As a lawyer she meets too much of that kind already.

[rod_kalashnikov]

 

[Pies]

In the 80 (1980's not 1880's) i was based in HMS Tamar Hong Kong..we had Gurkha Sigs , Engineers and Drivers..when they were due leave they got 6 weeks walking time ..when they flew into Katmandhu they would hire porters to carry their bags and walk home.

Generally if not accepted by the British they try there luck at getting into the Indian version as it is a big loss of face to go home.

[Johpa]

The Thais at one time employed some irregulars up along the Burmese border. Not exactly SF in the traditional sense, not so well trained or equipped. But the commanding officer of the unit, which happened to be based where I was living at the time, was from the Lopburi center and spoke decent English. His top sergeant spoke some English which was quite rare that far back. The soldiers were equipped with an odd assortment of older miscellaneous weapons and each guy was bedecked with countless Buddhist amulets.

If you're talking about the 1960s and the soldiers looked "local" then they were most likely Nung mercenaries on the CIA/DEA payroll, in co-operation with the Thai government. There wera a few Karen mercs and a couple of bad-arsed Mongols around in those days too, but "bedecked with countless Buddhist amulets" sounds like Nung. (Buddhist Nung are pantheistic and very superstitious and they wear amulets and tattoos dedicated to gods no-one else has ever heard of.)

These guys kept making forays into nearby Burmese territory for god knows what reasons.

Khun Sa knew.

I am referring to events around 1983, and they were all Thai guys. I find that most Buddhist Thais are, like your Nung description, animist underneath a thin veil of Bhuddism. They may not be pantheistic like the Nung, but they make up for it with a fervent belief in spirits and the like. But you don't see the older style tatoos as much anymore. My father-inlaw is covered in faded indecipherable script.

Not only did Khun Sa know, but so did his close associate and my neighbor, Laota. At that time, for whatever reasons, Khun Sa was being pushed further west. This was all before the dog and pony show ar Doi Lang.

[Johpa]

Interesting topic. What about the guys up in Israel? I would assume they have the most practical experience.

There is a good website at http://www.specwarnet.com/. And an Israeli SF site at http://www.isayeret.com. That site does not mention the number of former Israeli SF guys who went to work for certain South American business interests after the disbanding of a certain SF unit tasked to the northern border in the 1970s after it was decided their actions had gone beyond the pale even by the low standards of the Middle East.

[IamMaiC]

I thought I started this about THAI Special Forces Only kidding guys

[rod_kalashnikov]

 

[Erawan]

Ok, going to back to Thai special forces for IamMaiC (what does that name stand for anyway?), does anyone know how people are selected for it? Drafted or people go and apply? How long is the training? What does it entail? Is it similar to British Royal Marine Commandos or what? I hear that they have the longest training in the world, it was... erm... 100... something, days? God, I can't remember the advert for the RM Commandos...

How good are the Thai special forces? Any idea anyone?

[Erawan]

Oh I forgot two more things, what length of service do they do? And do they really see much action? I haven't heard of them in action before.

[wolf5370]

Saw a TV program a few years back about the Gurkas. They whittled many thousands down to a couple of thousand very quickly with age, weight, etc type of catagorising.

They then gave them fitness trials and further whittled them down to about 3-500. These spent about a week doing tests (fitnes, team work, fighting) etc. The final couple of hundred are sent on for training. The recruitment lasted about a week and was held in a tent in some rough ground. All you could see was young men walking in - from everywhere - at all hours and waiting patiently to have their names taken. Many were too old/young, disbled etc and got nowhere.

Can't remember actual tests they did or anything, but remember they were physically demanding.

Was a weekend Para (UK Paras TA) for a while. Training was hard - to get in you have a h3ll week type of thing - included running 10K with a team of 9 carrying a telegraph pole (8 carrying - 1 resting). Lots of pointless running up and down hills (rocky loose surface - very steep) over and over. Milling - basically one-on-one boxing that is timed for 1 minute. No blocking or ducking allowed. And some high tower stuff. Basically a large climbing frame with jump gaps at up to 5 meters above the ground. Everything is timed. There are absolute minumums. Blisters are a given - shoulders and feet. The SAS are mostly picked (applicants mostly come from) the Parars. They only pick the elite of the elite. The training is bloody hard.

A friend of mine in the did a joint fox-and-hound war game. It was a one off I think. He was an RO, so just drove a van around keeping track of the 'game'. It was in a forrest and consisted of a 2 small teams made of a small SAS contingent with another army group (can't remember who) against a small Para contingent with a guest unit (Commando's I think - again can't remember the details). However, only one SAS soldier was even seen in the whole thing - he was in a sleeping bag lashed to a log sitting in the middle of a fast flowing river! nuts. A Para went in after him, but due to the route he had to take to get to the log, the sleeping bag was empty when he reached it. He swore the guy had been asleep in the bag when he saw him from the shore! My mates van was attacked (even though he was an official and not supposed to be part of the game) and found himself being interogated with a flash bomb shoved down the front of his trousers and a wet hessian bag on his head. He was bound and left sitting by the side of the track - they never found out who the attackers were - or what they used the van for. How does it go "Improvise and overcome!"

[Erawan]

Yet ANOTHER thought has crossed my mind, does the Thai government actually pay the special forces a decent wage? Or do do work on the side like the regular army as a means of supplementing their income?

[Fabian]

There is only one force.

The SAS.

I'm inclined to agree with you on that one.

What about KSK (Kommando Spezialkräfte)?

[Limbo]

There is only one force.

The SAS.

I'm inclined to agree with you on that one.

What about KSK (Kommando Spezialkräfte)?

And what about the Red Barets, also called The Tomatoes, of the Icelandic army.

They move under the ground and can pop up from any geyser. Their faces are very red (it is really hot down there), that's why they are called The Tomatoes. The colour of their barets has nothing to do with this nickname, but it matches quite well.