Thai Military Draft A Lottery Many Hope To Lose

[scorecard]

If they paid a decent salary, they'd surely get the recruits they need.

I recently lost a really good assistant chef who drew out the wrong ball in a supplemementary lottery in September, because they didn't have enough recruits from the first trawl.

On the other hand there are many kids for whom a spell in the Army is either a welcome diversion from a monotonous life or welcome for their paretns if they are tearaways.

The other question that could be asked is why do they need so many conscripts? - could some of them be doing work serving high powered generals in their private capacity rather than defending Thailand. One wonders!

Expect its the very low pay, hard work, and barracks life. I read on various posts a conscript gets around 2000 baht/month, which is goes to around 4000 baht/month upon completing graduation. Now if an officer in the Thai military that comes with a "lot of prestige" and much better pay/benefits. I have an in-law who is Navy Commander and he says officers do just fine and me knowing him for many years I can see from his lifestyle and his support of the his family that he does indeed do just fine. But if enlisted, pay is a lot less with a much lower variety of "good jobs." Many of the technical type jobs which results in a lot of training and civilian life job opportunities are done by officers, where as, in western military it usually the enlisted doing the technical jobs and the officers in leadership roles.

We have a number of family friends who won the lottery. Their reactions / comments during and at the end of the subsrcription period are very mixed:

- "I learned some skills which will help me to get a better job in civilian life, and If I didn't go into the military I would still be a labourer."

- "It was a total waste of two years of my life".

- "I had to stop my education and now it's very difficult to restart".

- "Everything is totaly disorganized, nobody ever knows what we should be doing, etc".

- Numerous comments about corruption.

and more

[featography]

A good idea is to take all the Technical College students, who like to have gang wars with other Colleges, and suspend their training, so they can direct all their aggression in a controlled setting. Might turn out find with the correct discipline.

It has worked in the past in other countries.

I like the way you think.

[featography]

Personally, I like Israel's approach. If I'm not mistaken EVERYBODY goes into the military for 2 yrs. I wish this was true in USA. And Thailand certainly might benefit if more Thai "men" went in. Currently it seem most Thai men are spoiled as hell and know nothing of taking responsibility for "little" things like their offspring.

And yes, I'm a US veteran.

Blah blah blah. "Farang" men good, Thai men bad.

Never heard of an American man abandoning his kids or being in arrears of child support.

As a matter of fact, those minority of men in US that dodge responsibility for their offspring, sooner than later get caught by the law, drug into to court and pay arrears, and sentenced to continuing payments until said offspring reach the age or ages of 18.

I am acquainted with many single Thai mothers, and hear stories about a multitude of others, that Thai fathers, do as they please. You dont see Farang fathers, run off and move in with mia nois, or marry a 2nd or 3rd wife.

Your turn

[nurofiend]

It all stinks-money gets you off in LOS

Here here. In Land of Scams money can buy ANYTHING. I know people who got out of service vie payments.

Personally, I like Israel's approach. If I'm not mistaken EVERYBODY goes into the military for 2 yrs. I wish this was true in USA. And Thailand certainly might benefit if more Thai "men" went in. Currently it seem most Thai men are spoiled as hell and know nothing of taking responsibility for "little" things like their offspring.

And yes, I'm a US veteran.

now there's a shock

[Captain Chaos]

We live in Singapore. My stepson (only 10 years old) holds a Thai passport. We're thinking about putting him on Singapore PR status. Several benefits to that. However, with no if's or but's allowed, this would definitely make him liable for Singapore national service (in about 8 years from now, or longer if he goes through university or college). If he's lived here all that time, got his education here and so on, I have no objection to it. But does anyone know whether national service in another army exempts him from (potentially) doing it in the Thai forces? He won't have a Thai ID card (because he lives here) and I heard the one that if you're not "in the system" your name cannot appear in the ballot. But I never actually saw an "official" answer and I ask because if "Junior" elects to return to Thailand at some point in his life, I'd hate it to be a problem that he might be deemed to have "skipped" his NS liability...

Thanks,

CC

[jaideeguy]

Bumping an old thread in the hope that I can get some questions answered.  

If a boy takes advantage of the 'education' deferment overseas and graduates with an associate degree, then returns for the lottery and picks the dreaded red ball and 'winns' the draft......does he enter the military at a higher rank than a dirt poor farm boy with no education or are all draftees ranked equal [as grunts]?? 

[jaideeguy]

Bumping an old thread in the hope that I can get some questions answered.  

If a boy takes advantage of the 'education' deferment overseas and graduates with an associate degree, then returns for the lottery and picks the dreaded red ball and 'winns' the draft......does he enter the military at a higher rank than a dirt poor farm boy with no education or are all draftees ranked equal [as grunts]??