Conscription Of Your Son

[chris1dna]

Oz. I did see your post. If I was from Australia it would have helped. If the post has something underlying that answers my question, I'm pressed to find it. Thanks though. And, really? I can contact the American embassy? Great advice. I knew at least one TV expat would have all the answers. My concern was more about his possibly having problems with his US citizenship. The info ive been able to ascetain thus far is that the US under no cicumstance allows its citizens to serve in foreign military's. Is there a way around this should my son wish to serve in th Thai military? If push came to shove I would urge him to retain his US citizenship above all else. Thanks OZ.

Edited July 30, 2012 by chris1dna

[farang000999]

Conscription in 2012 is pathetic. I have a daughter but if I had a son I would never encourage them to take part in such nonsense.

[farang000999]

I have sons and i wil see hell freeze over before i let them get conscripted to the Thai army.

Who do you think was doing the flood relief work last year? Conscripts.

Which units are deployed after general flooding or catastrophe? Conscripts.

If you have lived in Thailand such that your son is now conscription age, then you will have benefited from the concripts being deployed after a natural disaster. Why then, would you expect someone else's kids to save you and them?

You like living in Thailand, but who is there to patrol the oceans keeping pirates at bay, to secure the borders, and to undertake social advancement projects? The full time defence forces can only do their job if the conscripts are there to take care of the non combat activities.

How about having a volunteer army like the rest of the civilized world. You know, offer benefits and opportunity to conscripts who choose to join.

[farang000999]

Don't you know that you can pay a small amount of money to exclude your son from conscription?

The reason why there is conscription in Thailand is that it is just another way to remind everyone how society works and their role in the caste system. The army provides ample opportunity to salute, grovel and kowtow - the most important aspects of becoming a good mannered and well behaved peasant.

[mjj]

I have no objections to a lost generation of youth THAT NEED GUIDENCE being conscripted.

Ah. So what yer saying is that you've got no problems with other people's sons being conscripted, but not your own. Just so we're clear on this...

Do you really think I view all children with the same care and affection as my own?

This debate is getting beyond ridiculous! Wow.

If you care so much about other peoples children, what are you doing for the parents that are watching their children die in their arms from lack of water and food? My guess is not a lot, you would rather spend you money on a car or motorbike or new phone or KFC.

People are bad. Some are better than others, but don't ever think you are a good person because all of us on here could save lives in Africa, but we don't. Well, certainly not enough.

[elwood]

To all the armchair Generals on here - You talk the talk!

In reality would you really send YOUR sons to fight for another mans army?

Do you see the sons of politicians, Royality and god botherers in the front line?

What is a disgrace is to bring up, love , educate and cherish your son to see him snatched away at 18 to die for some false ideals.

No way will my sons ever be conscripted!

Perhaps you have forgotten that Queen Elizabeth's son Prince Andrew fought in the Falklands War, and Prince Harry has served in Afghanistan.

And they were not in desk-jobs behind the front line action!

Media can be manipulated, do you seriously think the royals where put in danger. It was all for show!

Prince Andrew was a helicopter pilot, flying anti-submarine missions from the Invincible, which was heavily involved in the fighting. The media didn't invent that! Prince Harry was flying helicopters in the war zone - another media invention? And no doubt all their comrades who talked about them were also lying?

All for show - yes of course if a bloke on TV says so!

[geriatrickid]

There are no pirates in Thai waters

Thailand's fishing vessels ply their trade in other areas. Do you remember the Thais held hostage by the Somalis?

In respect to Thailand's coastal waters, the navy is tasked with protecting the coastline from thieves, smugglers and trafficers of humans.

[geriatrickid]

I have sons and i wil see hell freeze over before i let them get conscripted to the Thai army.

Who do you think was doing the flood relief work last year? Conscripts.

Which units are deployed after general flooding or catastrophe? Conscripts.

If you have lived in Thailand such that your son is now conscription age, then you will have benefited from the concripts being deployed after a natural disaster. Why then, would you expect someone else's kids to save you and them?

You like living in Thailand, but who is there to patrol the oceans keeping pirates at bay, to secure the borders, and to undertake social advancement projects? The full time defence forces can only do their job if the conscripts are there to take care of the non combat activities.

Yo, why then are you constantly against the military in the name of your so-called democracy upholding people who are doing nothing in the name of democracy while destroying the country? I think you are riding on your high horse. Stop impressing people in a wrong way. TIT as you said and you should stop "preaching"/

My concerns with the army are in respect to the army command staff that seem to think that they have a right to usurp an elected government. The navy and airforce command officers for the most part avoid the ruthless political meddling that characterizes the various "elite" army regiments. I have no quarrel with the rank and file military. I don't know what impressing anyone has to do with anything. Either people will agree with me or they won't. That's life.

BTW are you even aware of what goes on for the 1st 3 months of the typical conscript's life? They are taught subjects such as basic hygiene and sex education. Yes, that's right, sex ed. For many conscripts, the military is the first time in their lives where they are taught how to clean something, and how to care for a diverse range of things from clothes to vehicles. Talk to some of the training personnel. They get kids from impoverished rural areas that have not been exposed to all the gizmos and gadgets like big city residents. There are people who have never worn proper shoes. The military experience gives a large segment of the population access to knowledge they would not have otherwise and it exposes many to something called discipline.

I also suggest you pull up some of the health science literature on the Thai approach to conscripts.Had it not been for military service, many infected males would be circulating infecting people and eventually succumbing to the disease. Need an example?

HIV screening was done on 29,858 conscripts who were part of the May 2006 group. 161 HIV-1 seropositive specimens confirmed of which 29 seropositive specimens were classified as recent infections. Source: Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (AFRIMS), , 2 Army Institute of Pathology, Bangkok

The Thai conscript pool provides tremendous benefits to Thailand's national health policy. It's the one time where a portion of the population is screened for TB and HIV. Eventually hepatitis screening will be implemented. I am not justifying conscription for its public health benefit, but it is one of the benefits that accrue and one which I think most foreigners are unaware of.

[mjj]

And you are making the assumption that the soldiers that are infected with HIV would act appropriately. Hmmm.

[Soutpeel]

Oz. I did see your post. If I was from Australia it would have helped. If the post has something underlying that answers my question, I'm pressed to find it. Thanks though. And, really? I can contact the American embassy? Great advice. I knew at least one TV expat would have all the answers. My concern was more about his possibly having problems with his US citizenship. The info ive been able to ascetain thus far is that the US under no cicumstance allows its citizens to serve in foreign military's. Is there a way around this should my son wish to serve in th Thai military? If push came to shove I would urge him to retain his US citizenship above all else. Thanks OZ.

Certainly in the case of the UK ...dual nationality & military obligations in the "other" country does not affect citizenship.

ie Numerous citizens of former British commonwealth countries who hold dual citizenship have served in their own countries and then gone into the British military. ie Aussie, New Zealand, South African, Canada and quite a few others, of course the difference here is all these countries are British commomwealth

in the case of the US beleive the below would what would be imposed, although doesnt directly address being in "another army" beleive the basically says you if a dual national you have to be one or the other if going into the US army, may not fully answer your question, but guess it gives and idea of the thought process

ECM Para 2-4 (9)

"Applicants who possess dual citizenship cannot enlist as both an alien and a citizen. They must choose and declare citizenship of one country and renounce the other. Applicants must have legal permanent resident alien status (thereby renouncing U.S. citizenship) or have filed for proof of U.S. citizenship (thereby renouncing the non-U.S. citizenship)."

[Trembly]

If your son, blood son and not step son, cannot get into the military academies to possibly rise to the highest level he could possibly achieve and if he could not join the police academy to do like wise and eventually create a never ending stream of cash flow, then why should we be ok for him to be conscripted ?

That is if the statements in this thread are correct about a half thai child not being allowed into the elite.

God help if he became a prime minister.

I'm afraid that the aforesaid statements are a load of old knob.

The only rigid bar to certain trades / ranks / appointments would be a failure to be security cleared for same. There are certain jobs that are considered to be too sensitive for people who do not have anywhere from chuea-chat Thai (Thai extraction), both parents being Thai, both grandparents being Thai, or even both great-grandparents being Thai, whilst there are many trades / jobs / postings / appointments that are open to anyone with a National ID card which states their chuea-chat (extraction) as being Thai, as any loog-krueng should have.

No different in the UK Armed forces, who are stricter about this than many might think.

And to muse idly, it would take virtually a whole career for someone to become Surpreme Commander of any service branch after passing out from the unofficially pre-requisite Armed Forces Preparatory Academy and by then (if you start counting now) Thailand could be a very different place.

Edited July 31, 2012 by Trembly

[Soutpeel]

If your son, blood son and not step son, cannot get into the military academies to possibly rise to the highest level he could possibly achieve and if he could not join the police academy to do like wise and eventually create a never ending stream of cash flow, then why should we be ok for him to be conscripted ?

That is if the statements in this thread are correct about a half thai child not being allowed into the elite.

God help if he became a prime minister.

I'm afraid that the aforesaid statements are a load of old knob.

The only rigid bar to certain trades / ranks / appointments would be a failure to be security cleared for same. There are certain jobs that are considered to be too sensitive for people who do not have anywhere from chuea-chat Thai (Thai extraction), both parents being Thai, both grandparents being Thai, or even both great-grandparents being Thai, whilst there are many trades / jobs / postings / appointments that are open to anyone with a National ID card which states their chuea-chat (extraction) as being Thai, as any loog-krueng should have.

No different in the UK Armed forces, who are stricter about this than many might think.

And to muse idly, it would take virtually a whole career for someone to become Surpreme Commander of any service branch after passing out from the unofficially pre-requisite Armed Forces Preparatory Academy and by then (if you start counting now) Thailand could be a very different place.

Certainly in the case of the US military, were security clearance is required ie for officers a Dual national in most cases will not get the security clearance unless they formally renounce their "other citizenship" certainly the caseif they have a passport from the "other" country

[Trembly]

Perhaps it's best for me to post a new topic on this but there seems to be some knowledge here already. I've read the first page and the last two pages and haven't seen any mention of US/Thai young men discussed. My question is this. My son was born in the US and currently holds a Thai and US passport. If he conscripts in the Thai military does he have to give up his US citizenship? What are the ins and outs regarding US/Thai citizens and this issue? Any help would be great.

(moderator feel free to move this post if more appropriate elsewhere. )

It doesn't affect his US citizenship. As far as I'm aware South Africa is the only country that has passed a law forbidding SA citizens to serve in the armed forces of other countries.

[kikoman]

No, she was not she joined freely as a US citizen!

Conscription has been a way of Thailand's citizens fullfilling their military duty to their country. When one chose to be a resident in Thailand and had a male Thai child, it is a universal obligation for that person to present himself to the draft/consription in Thailand at a certain age.

You already made that decision for him, you should have considered that before you had a child that must complied with the laws of the country of his birth.

Cheers:

What a croc...answer my post #79 above then if we are talking whats fair and equal.

I am not addressing what is fair and equal, I am addressing one's obilgations to a country they are born in. Thai males must present themselves to the Thai consription at a certain age, that is the law of the land.

A person that disagrees with that law of the land, should not reside in that country or have a child that comes under Thai consription laws plain and simple, nary a croc!!

I had a post removed yesterday by meerly repeating what was said in post #89 and a few post after that. Maybe to you that is fair and equal, to me it is not if my post was considered racist then those other post should not have been there for me to read!

Cheers:

[Johnniey]

There are no pirates in Thai waters

Thailand's fishing vessels ply their trade in other areas. Do you remember the Thais held hostage by the Somalis?

In respect to Thailand's coastal waters, the navy is tasked with protecting the coastline from thieves, smugglers and trafficers of humans.

No, I don't - in Somalia?

I know navy guys and they told me often that there is no problem with the Thai coast. The nearest problem is in Malaysia.

[maxme]

There are no pirates in Thai waters

Thailand's fishing vessels ply their trade in other areas. Do you remember the Thais held hostage by the Somalis?

In respect to Thailand's coastal waters, the navy is tasked with protecting the coastline from thieves, smugglers and trafficers of humans.

No, I don't - in Somalia?

I know navy guys and they told me often that there is no problem with the Thai coast. The nearest problem is in Malaysia.

[Soutpeel]

Perhaps it's best for me to post a new topic on this but there seems to be some knowledge here already. I've read the first page and the last two pages and haven't seen any mention of US/Thai young men discussed. My question is this. My son was born in the US and currently holds a Thai and US passport. If he conscripts in the Thai military does he have to give up his US citizenship? What are the ins and outs regarding US/Thai citizens and this issue? Any help would be great.

(moderator feel free to move this post if more appropriate elsewhere. )

It doesn't affect his US citizenship. As far as I'm aware South Africa is the only country that has passed a law forbidding SA citizens to serve in the armed forces of other countries.

Believe that was enacted post 1996 or so and reason was former SA military were serving as Mercenaries, if you remember the Mark Thatcher, Equatorial Guniea fiasco, so are far as i know law was put into place for a different reason than the dual nationality/ conscription debate

[Trembly]

Perhaps it's best for me to post a new topic on this but there seems to be some knowledge here already. I've read the first page and the last two pages and haven't seen any mention of US/Thai young men discussed. My question is this. My son was born in the US and currently holds a Thai and US passport. If he conscripts in the Thai military does he have to give up his US citizenship? What are the ins and outs regarding US/Thai citizens and this issue? Any help would be great.

(moderator feel free to move this post if more appropriate elsewhere. )

It doesn't affect his US citizenship. As far as I'm aware South Africa is the only country that has passed a law forbidding SA citizens to serve in the armed forces of other countries.

Believe that was enacted post 1996 or so and reason was former SA military were serving as Mercenaries, if you remember the Mark Thatcher, Equatorial Guniea fiasco, so are far as i know law was put into place for a different reason than the dual nationality/ conscription debate

Indeed, but it has had unintended consequences for those such as the many SA nationals who are applying to join the UK armed forces.

[samran]

Oz. I did see your post. If I was from Australia it would have helped. If the post has something underlying that answers my question, I'm pressed to find it. Thanks though. And, really? I can contact the American embassy? Great advice. I knew at least one TV expat would have all the answers. My concern was more about his possibly having problems with his US citizenship. The info ive been able to ascetain thus far is that the US under no cicumstance allows its citizens to serve in foreign military's. Is there a way around this should my son wish to serve in th Thai military? If push came to shove I would urge him to retain his US citizenship above all else. Thanks OZ.

Certainly in the case of the UK ...dual nationality & military obligations in the "other" country does not affect citizenship.

ie Numerous citizens of former British commonwealth countries who hold dual citizenship have served in their own countries and then gone into the British military. ie Aussie, New Zealand, South African, Canada and quite a few others, of course the difference here is all these countries are British commomwealth

in the case of the US beleive the below would what would be imposed, although doesnt directly address being in "another army" beleive the basically says you if a dual national you have to be one or the other if going into the US army, may not fully answer your question, but guess it gives and idea of the thought process

ECM Para 2-4 (9)

"Applicants who possess dual citizenship cannot enlist as both an alien and a citizen. They must choose and declare citizenship of one country and renounce the other. Applicants must have legal permanent resident alien status (thereby renouncing U.S. citizenship) or have filed for proof of U.S. citizenship (thereby renouncing the non-U.S. citizenship)."

Remember reading this article a while back, but it implies that is certainly possible for a US citizen to serve in another army, subject to some sort of approval process by the State Department

http://www.stripes.com/news/serving-down-under-australia-offers-military-jobs-to-us-troops-facing-separation-1.176622

Having said that, I do wonder what the process is for (what must be) hundreds of dual US-Israeli citzens who go and serve in the IDF?

[Trembly]

Oz. I did see your post. If I was from Australia it would have helped. If the post has something underlying that answers my question, I'm pressed to find it. Thanks though. And, really? I can contact the American embassy? Great advice. I knew at least one TV expat would have all the answers. My concern was more about his possibly having problems with his US citizenship. The info ive been able to ascetain thus far is that the US under no cicumstance allows its citizens to serve in foreign military's. Is there a way around this should my son wish to serve in th Thai military? If push came to shove I would urge him to retain his US citizenship above all else. Thanks OZ.

Certainly in the case of the UK ...dual nationality & military obligations in the "other" country does not affect citizenship.

ie Numerous citizens of former British commonwealth countries who hold dual citizenship have served in their own countries and then gone into the British military. ie Aussie, New Zealand, South African, Canada and quite a few others, of course the difference here is all these countries are British commomwealth

in the case of the US beleive the below would what would be imposed, although doesnt directly address being in "another army" beleive the basically says you if a dual national you have to be one or the other if going into the US army, may not fully answer your question, but guess it gives and idea of the thought process

ECM Para 2-4 (9)

"Applicants who possess dual citizenship cannot enlist as both an alien and a citizen. They must choose and declare citizenship of one country and renounce the other. Applicants must have legal permanent resident alien status (thereby renouncing U.S. citizenship) or have filed for proof of U.S. citizenship (thereby renouncing the non-U.S. citizenship)."

As far as my reading goes I don't think that really has any bearing on the case of chris1dna's son entering Thai service. The above paragraph only concerns holders of multiple (including US) citizenship who are entering US military service; that such persons must choose and stick to one citizenship (and thereby any particular rules and regulations concerning servicemen of that citizenship) for the purposes of DoD admin.

The Thai MoD's attitude to multiple citizenship appears to be more akin to that of the British MoD; any other citizenships you may hold are irrelevant as long as they don't constitute a security risk.

Edited July 31, 2012 by Trembly

[bina]

You seem to have trouble distinguishing between a professionally run armed forces and the Thai one. Conscription into a professional organisation that offers all the modern day benefits of an education, career and future, against Dad's army trained by the 3 stooges littered with corruption. Up to you.

You seem to have trouble distingushing between conscription and going into the military as a career, nowhere in the world were conscription is used are constricts afforded an education, career and future, thats not the purpose of conscription.

Been there seen that done it, did I want to go ?, not really, do I regret doing it no, in hindsight it actually was good for me to learn some self disipline ....

wrong!!.. IDF (israeli army) conscripts , not volunteers although those with medical problems and also handicapped can volunteer for special stints, and poeple fight for the oppurtunity to volunteer), and does offer higher education: my son for instance didnt finish all school exams asn was offerred second chance , free, thru the army, usually costs lots of money to do high school exams after finishing high school. duaghter received two years of credits towards teaching career while being a soldier teacher, which would give save her money and time were she to continue in this subject; engineering, medical, large vehicle driving and maintenance )offerred at present to my youngest daughter who has a low medical profile for army service) plus other career oppurtunities,including career officers. btw, i know of two children personally who are thai/israeli mixed and they are both officers in naval forces although israel is definately a racist country, in the army, even druze and beduin have a chance and do become officers. army also offeres second language instruction for those that dont speak hebrew, and therefore shorter active duty; benefits for homeless or orphaned/special financial need soldiers; housing for some, etc. ok, here the chance of dying int he army either by enemy fire, home fire accidents or army accidental deaths is a possibility, but most still do it, most survive, most see it as a maturing factor (although not all, some kids really suffer), and it is a neccessity.

food for thought.

bina

[Soutpeel]

You seem to have trouble distinguishing between a professionally run armed forces and the Thai one. Conscription into a professional organisation that offers all the modern day benefits of an education, career and future, against Dad's army trained by the 3 stooges littered with corruption. Up to you.

You seem to have trouble distingushing between conscription and going into the military as a career, nowhere in the world were conscription is used are constricts afforded an education, career and future, thats not the purpose of conscription.

Been there seen that done it, did I want to go ?, not really, do I regret doing it no, in hindsight it actually was good for me to learn some self disipline ....

wrong!!.. IDF (israeli army) conscripts , not volunteers although those with medical problems and also handicapped can volunteer for special stints, and poeple fight for the oppurtunity to volunteer), and does offer higher education: my son for instance didnt finish all school exams asn was offerred second chance , free, thru the army, usually costs lots of money to do high school exams after finishing high school. duaghter received two years of credits towards teaching career while being a soldier teacher, which would give save her money and time were she to continue in this subject; engineering, medical, large vehicle driving and maintenance )offerred at present to my youngest daughter who has a low medical profile for army service) plus other career oppurtunities,including career officers. btw, i know of two children personally who are thai/israeli mixed and they are both officers in naval forces although israel is definately a racist country, in the army, even druze and beduin have a chance and do become officers. army also offeres second language instruction for those that dont speak hebrew, and therefore shorter active duty; benefits for homeless or orphaned/special financial need soldiers; housing for some, etc. ok, here the chance of dying int he army either by enemy fire, home fire accidents or army accidental deaths is a possibility, but most still do it, most survive, most see it as a maturing factor (although not all, some kids really suffer), and it is a neccessity.

food for thought.

bina

bina..how long is the minimum conscription duration in the IDF ie the least amount of time one has to do ?

[bina]

samran, nothing happens. since people here are conscripted not volunteers, and no one is yet fighitng the states, nothing happens. daughter is dual, cant even get 'foreign student benefits' although has never lived in states; son just discharged from three years of being commander in IDF, holds dual; youngest has conscription date set for next august, will be doing year of volunteer community work first with teens at risk... the only thing she needs is permission from the army here to leave to visit the states (to make sure she comes back to do service or she would be considered AWOL), but that permission is not needed to enter the us of a. OTH, israelis holding dual that are in the states have to come back to serve here although it is called voluntary conscription. they have to apply and then can get various ways out of the situation, depending on how long they were in israel previous, how old etc.

one other point, anyone that has served in an other army prior to getting a consicription notice from IDF will not have to do army again, or at most, three months of 'cultural army' (with other foreign conscriptees, mostly language, hiking, history, sort of civics classes in uniform, but gives the guys-mostly- the advantage of saying they were in army cause employers look for that when applying for jobs. the russian men notably, had army backgrounds, so most didnt have to do it again. very few brits/aussies/americans taht came over have done army any where else so did have to do short or full time service here.

bina

[bina]

three months is aplicable only to those that are from other countries that have moved here and are new citizens and would be for those that are almost too old to do army ; everyone else does either two years (girls) or three years (boys) or extra two years for male/female that become officers and sign on. the extra two years are paid a salary and benefits as a career officer, not as a conscripted officer.

the only other shortened service is for handicapped /medical volunteers (being blind or deaf not neccessarily included as recently two different girls fought to do regular and not shortened (therefore 'easy' )service. poeple with down syndrome /asperger and other syndromes have special units (w/o guns) that are not active front line obviously, but they do field training, uniforms, etc. others, like my youngest who have a low profile (47) because of asthma, and also has learning disabilities but with regular or above intelligence, will do regular girls training but a shortened and somewhat easier 'boot camp' training, since she cannot run for long periods of time, etc. but she will do weapons training and will get a gun, etc. ; her commanding officer will be aware of her learning disablities although mostly that gets ignored and frankly most kids manage, develop coping methods for organizational skills etc (she came back from teenage barcelona trip leaving bag of shopping at hotel lobby. if she forgets her gun, she gets jailed so incentive is a bit more harsh, so she will find a way to not forget. she works with autistic kids and made it thru acting major w/o forgetting a single line so she does have coping methods. she doesnt do well under pressure and army is all about pressure (30 seconds dressed, bed done, move!) but she always manages with help from peers which is what army aims to do also.

friend's blatantly bisexual duaghter made it thru army and loved every minute; actually i see lots of kids that seem 'soft' or 'difficult teens' become great people thru the army, alot depends on officers in command, commanders, peer groups, and parental attitude at home for support, obvously active front line service with action does take its toll unfortunately, but in general, i think its a fairly positive experience, exposing kids to many facets of people: poor, spoiled rich, farm, city, various shades of skin colour, religioun including moslems (son had three moslem kids under him, its all about respect). volunteer armies automatically winnow out thsoe that have money adn go to study, and might attract more 'lethal'l types. conscription puts everyone in the same conditions: bad food, showers, boots, freezing nights, boiling days, etc.)

thai army might be more soldiers vs. officers but not sure its not a good thing that is also conscipt and not eveyrone buys out of it. i met a lot of thais that went thru army, it does give them an extra boost of responsibility, self control etc. ;

[DP25]

There are no pirates in Thai waters

Thailand's fishing vessels ply their trade in other areas. Do you remember the Thais held hostage by the Somalis?

In respect to Thailand's coastal waters, the navy is tasked with protecting the coastline from thieves, smugglers and trafficers of humans.

No, I don't - in Somalia?

I know navy guys and they told me often that there is no problem with the Thai coast. The nearest problem is in Malaysia.

There is little problem with pirates on the Thai coast because the navy is there keeping them away. Indonesia used to be infested with them, they would have happily operated more often in Thailand if they could. And the Thai navy DOES participate in anti piracy patrols in Somalia as well.

[chris1dna]

Thank you soutpeel and trembly. Much appreciated.

Edited July 31, 2012 by chris1dna

[chrisinth]

There are no pirates in Thai waters

Thailand's fishing vessels ply their trade in other areas. Do you remember the Thais held hostage by the Somalis?

In respect to Thailand's coastal waters, the navy is tasked with protecting the coastline from thieves, smugglers and trafficers of humans.

No, I don't - in Somalia?

I know navy guys and they told me often that there is no problem with the Thai coast. The nearest problem is in Malaysia.

I've heard the western coast of Issan is a hotbed for the pirates as well.

[GuestHouse]

Surely the Thai military must rank amognst that elite group of national defense forces who have killed more of their own citizens than they have foreign 'enemies'.

[TwoDogz]

Surely the Thai military must rank amognst that elite group of national defense forces who have killed more of their own citizens than they have foreign 'enemies'.

and how many by accident ?

[AmusingBellyDancers]

Surely the Thai military must rank amognst that elite group of national defense forces who have killed more of their own citizens than they have foreign 'enemies'.

and how many by accident ?

Very contentious. Do you have figures?