Military Drafting of "Luk Khrung" Thai Citizens

[wym]

only a fraction serve, why everyone talks about the lottery

[samran]

Mandatory service is a hypocrisy. Thailand must have 3-5 million people in the army at any given time if this mandatory service was true..

It has never been mandatory service. Only manadatory participation in the lottery if you already hadn't: volunteered, done cadets, were in full time study, and your districts quota had not already been filled by volunteers.

[Neeranam]

A friend of mine had a great idea - he took his step son to the lottery and bribed the officer to take him.

I don't have any sons but if I did I think the national service would be good for them, it certainly would have been good for me.

Edited March 27, 2014 by Neeranam

[sbf]

We enquired about this at our local Amphur two days ago. We were told categorically by an Army official ( sorry didn't check his rank but plenty of badges and buttons ) that they would not draft anyone born in another country with a foreign parent, so it appears our youngster will not have to do any national service.

[Jonmarleesco]

The British citizenship application makes clear that if a child of dual nationality is liable to certain obligations, such as the military draft, under his other [Thai] nationality, his British citizenship doesn't absolve him from those obligations - though I think if he is resident in the UK at the time, it's moot.

I don't believe dual nationality exempts your son from serving.

[Jonmarleesco]

We enquired about this at our local Amphur two days ago. We were told categorically by an Army official ( sorry didn't check his rank but plenty of badges and buttons ) that they would not draft anyone born in another country with a foreign parent, so it appears our youngster will not have to do any national service.

I suspect the first post is referring to those born of dual nationality, in Thailand.

[Showbags]

Any parent letting their child be drafted should be charged with child abuse and or neglect ...

[BanTamo]

Wondering what those adamant that sons won't serve in incompetent forces or idiot leaders would have done during 1960s US draft? And what they'll do when son arrives home of an evening and announces over dinner that he has enlisted? Since when are such matters the prerogative of anyone but the individual concerned, having reached the age of consent?

Edited March 27, 2014 by BanTamo

[Showbags]

^ its a new age innit......and my son is not stooopid......

remember the bomb detectors....

[wandasloan]

No way would I let my child serve in the Thai Armed Farces Forces. I'd figure out something and in Thailand there is always an angle.

The Thai Armed Forces do not take children, so you have no say in it. Every Thai male must appear for conscription. Naturally there are exemptions and exceptions, and people exist who claim to have fiddled their way out. But "Daddy won't let me" is not an acceptable excuse - except to point fingers and mock your son mercilessly of course.

Any parent letting their child be drafted should be charged with child abuse and or neglect ...

If a child is drafted, there are many laws that will take care of the idiots who arranged it. I've never heard of any child being drafted in the Thai Armed Forces, ever, certainly not in your lifetime. Nor do I think any such action could be actually completed. So my advice: Worry (or not) about actual possibilities since you will have no legal say at all in actual, real conscription of anyone in Thailand.

.

Edited March 27, 2014 by wandasloan

[Showbags]

^...believe what you will, continue the dream...I will have a say, don't you worry about that.

[wym]

Every Thai male must appear for conscription.

Only if they are in Thailand.

I think my son's future will be much better if he has such a good reason to stay away - those thirteen years are pretty key ones IMO, and he'll do much better without the Kingdom's influence then.

[tonytigerbkk]

^...believe what you will, continue the dream...I will have a say, don't you worry about that.

You really are a nasty piece of work.

Do you really believe that you are better than the Thais so you don’t have to follow their laws?

All that I am seeing is an irresponsible father.

So you want all of the benefits of living in Thailand but without the responsibilities.

If your son was born on Thai soil he is eligible to be called up for the draft lottery.

Why do you think that you are so special that your son does not have to obey the laws of his own country?

What are you going to do to stop him from being called up, bribe an official?

That would be a good example for your son to learn of how to cheat the system.

I have 2 sons born in Thailand and they will attend the lottery when they are of the correct age.

If they are called up to serve, so be it, they are Thai and they live in Thailand.

[tonytigerbkk]

Any parent letting their child be drafted should be charged with child abuse and or neglect ...

No, Child abuse and neglect is teaching your son to shirk his duties and responsibilities.

[wym]

If I had had an eligible son during the Vietnam "conflict" you bet your bottom dollar I'd have paid for him to move to Canada to dodge if that's what he wanted, or support him however I could if he wanted to take the conscientious objector route and go to jail rather than kill for the war-mongering elites' profits.

If we were Swiss and could be confident arms would only be taken up for self-defence then MIGHT be a different story, but when you live in a system as corrupt as Thailand and America compliance with the law is often deeply immoral.

[Showbags]

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^...believe what you will, continue the dream...I will have a say, don't you worry about that.

You really are a nasty piece of work.

Do you really believe that you are better than the Thais so you don’t have to follow their laws?

All that I am seeing is an irresponsible father.

So you want all of the benefits of living in Thailand but without the responsibilities.

If your son was born on Thai soil he is eligible to be called up for the draft lottery.

Why do you think that you are so special that your son does not have to obey the laws of his own country?

What are you going to do to stop him from being called up, bribe an official?

That would be a good example for your son to learn of how to cheat the system.

I have 2 sons born in Thailand and they will attend the lottery when they are of the correct age.

If they are called up to serve, so be it, they are Thai and they live in Thailand.

Irresponsible father alert.

As mentioned before...think Bomb Detectors.

Think Helicopter crashes and spare parts.

By the way, my son was not born on Thai soil....thank the lord.

Amazed actually that a western parent, with all their education...possibly...would with full gusto throw their child to the mercy of Thai military forces and their incompetence's.

Perhaps they will get submarine duty.

Good luck for your children....pity for you.

Edited March 28, 2014 by Showbags

[Showbags]

Any parent letting their child be drafted should be charged with child abuse and or neglect ...

No, Child abuse and neglect is teaching your son to shirk his duties and responsibilities.

A parents duty is to protect their child at all cost at any age....or do you think that stops at 18yo ??

Sending them knowingly into Dads Army is just mind boggling..

[Showbags]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

^...believe what you will, continue the dream...I will have a say, don't you worry about that.

You really are a nasty piece of work.

Do you really believe that you are better than the Thais so you don’t have to follow their laws?

All that I am seeing is an irresponsible father.

So you want all of the benefits of living in Thailand but without the responsibilities.

If your son was born on Thai soil he is eligible to be called up for the draft lottery.

Why do you think that you are so special that your son does not have to obey the laws of his own country?

What are you going to do to stop him from being called up, bribe an official?

That would be a good example for your son to learn of how to cheat the system.

I have 2 sons born in Thailand and they will attend the lottery when they are of the correct age.

If they are called up to serve, so be it, they are Thai and they live in Thailand.

Irresponsible father alert.

As mentioned before...think Bomb Detectors.

Think Helicopter crashes and spare parts.

By the way, my son was not born on Thai soil....thank the lord.

Amazed actually that a western parent, with all their education...possibly...would with full gusto throw their child to the mercy of Thai military forces and their incompetence's.

Perhaps they will get submarine duty.

Good luck for your children....pity for you.

And shame on you for being a poor parent, a crap role model and an idiot in one.

Try to take some comfort in your decision to send your child into harms way...and when he is using one of those awesome acme bomb detectors...that the highly competent thai military officers approved...and still use....try not to think about the consequences of your actions in 110% supporting such neglect of a child, by a parent.

Good luck with those demons mate.

[PJcm]

My son is in the Thai Army as we speak and loves it, he enlisted did his 2 years then extended for 2 years, his boss tried to get him a permanent Army spot went all the way to Bangkok for approval but was rejected because his father was born outside of Thailand. He will be getting out in the end of April with 4 years of service and his Company commander has given him a job at the Army if he wants it as a civilian. When Thaksin's father was born in China and can become the Prime Minister, Yingluck too. what are these people thinking. The reason my son was rejected is his father was born overseas. They have an inferiority complex for sure. Now my son has applied to the US Army and he will be taking off for the US in May and is to enter the Army and go to the Army language center in Monterrey, Cal. for training as a Thai language instructor. Then if he stays in could be sent to JUSTMac The Joint US Thai Military in Bangkok, great irony don't you think.

[HooHaa]

and in many countries our kids all do army service, no otehr way out except mental disqualifications or physical ones, and yet many of thsoe disqualified still will do anything to join.

i would hardly call Israel many countries.

no real need to go into why they would need a strong army.

[skyaslimit]

I would like to clarify some misunderstanding here, a male Thai citizen is eligible for drafting regardless of his place of birth, if he holds Thai citizenship, both of my sons were born abroad, the younger one has already passed his 3 year part time military service, the elder one has been registered/enrolled for conscription last year and postponed the lottery while he is studying.

[Showbags]

Do correspondence courses count as 'studying' ?

[skyaslimit]

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Do correspondence courses count as 'studying' ?

My elder one is an engineering student and his university issued him a letter certifying it, the military did asked for that certification before postponing his lottery, we have to repeat the same procedure every year till he completed his studies.

[Showbags]

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Do correspondence courses count as 'studying' ?

My elder one is an engineering student and his university issued him a letter certifying it, the military did asked for that certification before postponing his lottery, we have to repeat the same procedure every year till he completed his studies.

Yeah but the day will come right ?

[skyaslimit]

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<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Do correspondence courses count as 'studying' ?

My elder one is an engineering student and his university issued him a letter certifying it, the military did asked for that certification before postponing his lottery, we have to repeat the same procedure every year till he completed his studies.

Yeah but the day will come right ?

So be it, half of my family has served in armed forces (abroad), my father in the army, myself in air force and my younger son did part time here in Thailand.

[TexasRanger]

Having served a full military career voluntarily I can only imagine the hell of being drafted against your wishes.

Drafting is a backward way or providing a military force and that is always reflected in their skills. Back in the 80s I came across foreign conscripts who were poorly trained and poorly motivated.

If my kid wanted to join a professional military service I would agree wholeheartedly but I know something of the Thai military and there is no &lt;deleted&gt; way my child would be joining that comedy show, it is neither professional nor safe.

Accidents and death are an expected part of military service but at least most are taught the skills to be given a fighting chance, not so here, cannon fodder springs to mind.

It speaks volumes that cadet training at school exempts you from the lottery. In most countries kids do the cadet training because they have an interest in a military career.

Not cowardice to want to stop your kid being drafted.

[JeffreyWitty]

^...believe what you will, continue the dream...I will have a say, don't you worry about that.

Great, let us know how that works out for you.

And while that happens please tell us how big the bribe had to be or how long the lottery personnel laughed in your face.

BTW, not every conscript has to go down to YALA in the Army. My wife's oldest just got conscripted into the Air Force and they sent him to the MOST DANGEROUS place in Thailand - BANGKOK! On top of that, there is "talk" about how certain unit commanders let some of their personnel take a "leave of absence" for as long as they want - only 2 rules - a) call in routinely, and/or be "reachable" if they are needed and let your commander keep the paycheck of the person taking the absence.

Again, that is only "talk". I can't confirm this.

[Neeranam]

^...believe what you will, continue the dream...I will have a say, don't you worry about that.

Great, let us know how that works out for you.

And while that happens please tell us how big the bribe had to be or how long the lottery personnel laughed in your face.

BTW, not every conscript has to go down to YALA in the Army. My wife's oldest just got conscripted into the Air Force and they sent him to the MOST DANGEROUS place in Thailand - BANGKOK! On top of that, there is "talk" about how certain unit commanders let some of their personnel take a "leave of absence" for as long as they want - only 2 rules - a) call in routinely, and/or be "reachable" if they are needed and let your commander keep the paycheck of the person taking the absence.

Again, that is only "talk". I can't confirm this.

I wouldn't take what Showoff says seriously.

My nephew had to visit the Colonel at his home in Khon Kaen once a week. This is because of who his uncle used to play golf with and took part in some 'boon khun'.

Being a foreigner in Thailand has many advantages and privileges. If one has kids here and lived here for 18 years and doesn't have the 'connections' to avoid things like conscription, there is something seriously wrong.

[GarryP]

We have discussed this before but, to be honest ... till now, I didn't have kids.

Now I have TWIN boys.

I wonder if they did some time in the Army Cadets in a Western country ... would that make them less desirable or disqualify to serve in the Thai armed forces?

Basically ... since they served in one Army ... then divided loyalties?

Three years of part time cadets at high school, or six months full time voluntary service post university graduation gets you out of the two years of draft.

True my younger son had already passed three years of part time military service and now he is exempted from the draft, the elder one is going through the drafting process since last year (postponing), my original question was that if they are eligible for all these military services then why the criteria for admission in Regular Royal Navy and Army schools is different? why both the parents should be Thai Nationals?

http://www.rtna.ac.th/annouce/01.php

http://www.enn.co.th/9288

These academies are by default open to voluntary enlistment only. Nothing to do with draftees.

Termbly, don't you see some conflict in that. At one time my son was seriously interested in becoming a professional soldier and attending one of those academies but the entrance criteria was that both parents had to be Thai citizens. As such he was barred. Fine. But if he is not allowed to serve the country as an officer, why the hell should he be required to go through the draft and serve as a draftee. That is to say, if you qualify for the draft, you should likewise qualify to attend officer school.

NB: A number of years ago Samran pointed out that there are in fact some luk kreung officers, but I understand they were not admitted through normal channels.

When my son first went to report to the conscription office at the district office in Warinchamrap (Ubol), similar to another poster's experience, the officer in charge refused to accept my son's acknowledgement to report for conscription saying that as his father was British, he did not need to as he took his father's citizenship not his mother's. Obviously, the officer knew not what he was talking about and when led through the laws on citizenship and duties of a male citizen, he finally acquiesced to issuing the proper papers. My son also had to pay a fine for late reporting. It was 100 or 200 Baht if I recall correctly.

Under the rules of the draft, you can delay taking the actual draft lottery by five years (to 25 years old) provided you are studying. For most universities, it is a block five year period. However, for Ramkamhaeng University you have to pass a fixed number of credits for each of those 5 years for the deferment to continue. If in any year the number of credits falls below the minimum, your deferment stops and you are subject to the draft.

As to the 30 year age limit, it is my understanding that this is for people who have returned from abroad, as it is not possible to defer the draft for longer than 5 years if you are located in Thailand all that time, and have not done a runner.

My son will be going to the local draft center on 1 April, now in Bangkok, and will be allowed his final years deferment, that is if he decides to defer. Getting the draft center changed from Ubol to Bangkok is a whole nuther story.

[Showbags]

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^...believe what you will, continue the dream...I will have a say, don't you worry about that.

Great, let us know how that works out for you.

And while that happens please tell us how big the bribe had to be or how long the lottery personnel laughed in your face.

BTW, not every conscript has to go down to YALA in the Army. My wife's oldest just got conscripted into the Air Force and they sent him to the MOST DANGEROUS place in Thailand - BANGKOK! On top of that, there is "talk" about how certain unit commanders let some of their personnel take a "leave of absence" for as long as they want - only 2 rules - a) call in routinely, and/or be "reachable" if they are needed and let your commander keep the paycheck of the person taking the absence.

Again, that is only "talk". I can't confirm this.

I wouldn't take what Showoff says seriously.
My nephew had to visit the Colonel at his home in Khon Kaen once a week. This is because of who his uncle used to play golf with and took part in some 'boon khun'.
Being a foreigner in Thailand has many advantages and privileges. If one has kids here and lived here for 18 years and doesn't have the 'connections' to avoid things like conscription, there is something seriously wrong.

'connections' vip alert...