Army chief Gen Prayuth retires after four turbulent years

[webfact]

Army chief retires after four turbulent years
The Nation


A military parade is held to bid farewell to 262 generals, including Army chief Prayut Chan-o-cha, who retire today, at the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy in Nakhon Nayok province yesterday.

BANGKOK: -- General Prayut Chan-o-cha's four full years as Army commander-in-chief ends today, with his mandatory retirement starting tomorrow.

It has been an eventful four years full of problems, changes and conflicts.

It is rare for an Army chief to serve a full term. And it must have been even more difficult to serve at a time when the Army is full of internal problems and the country has experienced political strife.

There have also been security problems - insurgency in the deep South and border conflicts with neighbours such as Cambodia.

Prayut will now focus on running the country as prime minister and also as chief of the National Council for Peace and Order.

In October 2010, Prayut replaced General Anupong Paochinda as the 37th Army chief. That was a few months after severe political unrest in Bangkok left more than 90 people dead and some 2,000 injured.

Earlier that year, thousands of anti-government red shirts staged weeks of protests that began in March, shortly after the Supreme Court seized Bt46 billion in assets off former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra after a ruling that the money had been earned dishonestly.

The protests led to riots and arson attacks in many locations in the capital. Provincial halls in some northeastern provinces were also burnt down by red-shirt protesters.

During his tenure as Army chief, Prayut maintained unity within the 200,000-strong Army as it faced a problem of pro-red military officers creating "undercurrents".

There was also political and social pressure against the Army, stemming from the fact it was involved in the deadly operations in 2010 to reclaim sites in Bangkok from red-shirt protesters.

However, the flood crisis in late 2011 appeared to be a boon in disguise for the Army. Thousands of troops were sent to help flood victims, and they managed to win much praise from the public.

The government at that time, led by Yingluck Shinawatra from the Pheu Thai Party, opted not to replace Prayut in order to avoid possible repercussions or conflict with the military.

While in office Prayut implemented a 10-year plan to improve the armed force's efficiency in terms of personnel and weaponry.

Yesterday, he took part in a ceremony at the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy in Nakhon Nayok in honour of the 262 retiring Army generals.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Army-chief-retires-after-four-turbulent-years-30244421.html

-- The Nation 2014-09-30

[baboon]

If he remains head of the NCPO, is this 'retirement' not just window dressing?

[janpharma]

The General did a great job...I hope and wish he can continue this as PM and chief of NCPO...Good Luck!

[ChrisY1]

262 other generals also retiring......probably more than the entire US army??

Gonna be some party!

[chotthee]

mandatory retirement?

If he can tear the constitution, why can't he change the retirement rule?

[crazykopite]

Now I know the real reason for the coup he needed another job from General to PM not a bad pay day let us see how long he will survive until the next General decides he wants a piece of the cake !

[taony]

262 generals retiring all on the same day! do they need that many in total?? Will 262 be promoted to general now.

So there are 200,000 in the army? if around 1700 are generals that is 1 in 118

[pmarlin]

262 generals retiring all on the same day! do they need that many in total?? Will 262 be promoted to general now.

So there are 200,000 in the army? if around 1700 are generals that is 1 in 118

No doubt most of them are in command of a desk and telephone, glorified clerks.

[thailiketoo]

262 other generals also retiring......probably more than the entire US army??

Gonna be some party!

The total number of active duty general officers is capped at 230 for the Army, 208 for the Air Force, and 60 for the Marine Corps

[baboon]

262 generals retiring all on the same day! do they need that many in total?? Will 262 be promoted to general now.

So there are 200,000 in the army? if around 1700 are generals that is 1 in 118

No doubt most of them are in command of a desk and telephone, glorified clerks.

You forgot to mention the golf clubs..

[jaywalker]

262 other generals also retiring......probably more than the entire US army??

Gonna be some party!

10 U.S. Code § 526 - Authorized strength: general and flag officers on active duty

a) Limitations.— The number of general officers on active duty in the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, and the number of flag officers on active duty in the Navy, may not exceed the number specified for the armed force concerned as follows:

(1) For the Army, 231.

(2) For the Navy, 162.

(3) For the Air Force, 198.

(4) For the Marine Corps, 61.

======================

I was invited to attend a "Change of Command" ceremony where one Colonel was replacing another one in Pathum Thani once. Crimony! They had coyote dancers and those hateful 20 foot tall speakers BLARING FULL BLAST. Johnny Walker flowing out the wazoo etc... My ears were ringing for a week!

I bet they'll need the entire National Stadium for this party.

[SOTIRIOS]

.....sounds like a lot of generals....is that a typo......???.

[djjamie]

262! Seriously.

Good luck to Prime Minister Prayuth though in his new role of guiding the broken country back to democracy just as Fiji did.

[55Jay]

262 other generals also retiring......probably more than the entire US army??

Gonna be some party!

The party thrown by all the Colonels who've been waiting for all these old boys to retire, will be even bigger!

[Nemesis7]

262 Generals retiring together is kind of unheard but it doesn't surprise me, I have never seen or heard about so many Police Generals, Lt. Gen like Thailand in any where in the Globe. Thai Armed forces has roughly 1700 Generals ( believe me or not), you can verify the info from Thai MoD or Wikipedia.

As for Army the Chinese PLA has total 311 Generals ( including all 4 star, 3 star, 2 star)

The United States Code explicitly limits the total number of four-star generals that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active duty general officers is capped at 230 for the Army, 208 for the Air Force, and 60 for the Marine Corps.[1] No more than about 25% of a service's active duty general or flag officers may have more than two stars,[2] and statute sets the total number of four-star generals allowed in each service.[2] This is set at 7 four-star Army generals, 9 four-star Air Force generals, and 4 four-star Marine generals.

India has 311 generals including 4,3,2 stars and 837 Brig Gen (1 Star).

China, USA, India have undoubtedly away more soldiers than Thailand.

[EnglishJohn]

"While in office Prayut implemented a 10-year plan to improve the armed force's efficiency in terms of personnel and weaponry."

Unfortunately the GT200 bomb detector was not one of them. His public statements that they actually work are the one thing which worries me most about the new PM. What else does he believe ?.

[allan michaud]

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262 other generals also retiring......probably more than the entire US army??

Gonna be some party!

They have over 2,000 generals. Absolutely ludicrous.

[55Jay]

"While in office Prayut implemented a 10-year plan to improve the armed force's efficiency in terms of personnel and weaponry."

Unfortunately the GT200 bomb detector was not one of them. His public statements that they actually work are the one thing which worries me most about the new PM. What else does he believe ?.

Like I said in another thread, won't be long now, Thais will be chasing him down the road with pitchforks and torches. Big diff being a General vs. a PM, even with the Army at your back. Soon as you do too many unpopular things in a row, the populace turns on you and, as we've seen time and time again, the Army is usually not far behind.

[evadgib]

262 generals retiring all on the same day! do they need that many in total?? Will 262 be promoted to general now.

So there are 200,000 in the army? if around 1700 are generals that is 1 in 118

118 toms =

[Expat Girl]

The General did a great job...I hope and wish he can continue this as PM and chief of NCPO...Good Luck!

Agree, good luck to him, no doubt a lot of challenges as PM, but he will be up for the job... and lets all support him, most seem to on this forum.

[jdinasia]

pictures taken at CRMA yesterday.

[jdinasia]

I am not trying to change anyone's opinion. My experience' in Thailand are not typical. I had lunch with a few senior colonels today and discussed the opinions of other expats. It was an interesting lunch.

[outsider]

More time for oneself then. That's good. Some new interests and pursuits, perhaps? PR & Communications 101 comes to mind. Just saying...

[55Jay]

I am not trying to change anyone's opinion. My experience' in Thailand are not typical. I had lunch with a few senior colonels today and discussed the opinions of other expats. It was an interesting lunch.

Excellent. What did you have for lunch?

[jdinasia]

Food..this is not uncommon... Both eating food as well as eating with senior officers.

[tbthailand]

nice job of cleansing history in this article.

[jdinasia]

nice job of cleansing history in this article.

such as??

[55Jay]

Food..this is not uncommon... Both eating food as well as eating with senior officers.

Interesting.

Thanks for the update on your dining and social habits. We are duly impressed.

[jdinasia]

Food..this is not uncommon... Both eating food as well as eating with senior officers.

Interesting.

Thanks for the update on your dining and social habits. We are duly impressed.

you are welcome... I get that you dislike him but your opinion of his future ignores the reality of life in Thailand

[belg]

they can all become members of parliment ... they have a good friend overthere