My wife's young cousin just arrived today on 10 days leave, after having served 13 of his 24 months in the Army.

I asked where he is stationed, and it was in Korat.

Noticed he had lost some weight. He was more slim now.

He is a big lad, about 6 feet and strong (farm boy).

I guessed it was a lot of hard exercises/war games, and regular food (less drinking) which made him this slim.

Nope, it was because he had to get up at 3 AM each morning to tent to one of the superior Officer's private mushroom farms.

He made some extra money out of it as well he said.

Makes me wonder, after reading on Wiki that The Royal Thai Army has prox 300 000 men and women in uniform.

Which is a big army considering it is NOT deployed too much abroad.

What the hell are they all doing, farming for the senior Officers?

I guess it is better than being deployed to Pattani.

How many of them were working on the mushroom farm?

Have you never heard the saying.

Fed shit kept in the dark.

Ie,mushroom.

Armed forces worldwide.

At least he gets to do something meaningful. Work for work's sake is a real bummer. The memories, sweeping puddles...shudder.

They just look after old Papa

My Thai neice and her classmates are utilised as gardeners at her school.

She was telling me how hot it was and how much digging they did to plant fruit trees. Did they get to eat any fruit? Nah, the teachers did though.

Cultural stuff, hard to understand.

On another note though, a soldiers primary task is to do as he is told.

It's because of them we sleep safe at night.

The Thai-Army is a "defensive-oriented" army, designed to counteract "invading-forces". So, exept for training and occasional "war-games" = Not much to do!

But: For a young Thai-Male, if not having the opportunity to study at a university, the army may still be his road to the future:

- If he takes good care of the mushrooms of his superior, the superior may open a few doors for him, once he leaves the military. So, if I were in his shoes, I would take real good care of those mushrooms!

Cheers.

How many of them were working on the mushroom farm?

Him, and old lady, and a younger guy.

My wife's cousin is every morning cycling to the local marked and sell a basket with mushrooms, and bring the money back to the his superior Officer.

Private army?

Private workforce more like it.

Years ago when we built the Yadana pipeline, when blasting was required in the rock areas of the mountains a deal was made with the army to do it. Supposedly trained demolitions crews.

Kids showed up dressed in green handling explosives like sacks of rice, they worked liked galley slaves in the heat for months, drilling blast holes by hand. The money went into the officers pockets. Lots of new pickup trucks appearing on the base.

Just a nice little sideline for them, free labour = lots of profit.

Kind of almost (only almost) wish Thailand experienced a large armed conflict to get them off their asses.

Would be interesting.

Kind of almost (only almost) wish Thailand experienced a large armed conflict to get them off their asses.

Would be interesting.

They would lose.

Except maybe against the french

They paint rocks.

Kind of almost (only almost) wish Thailand experienced a large armed conflict to get them off their asses.

Would be interesting.

They would lose.

Maybe not to Laos, but to rest of their neighbors, absolutely.