I live in Thailand with my half thai son who has just turned 18yrs old, he was born here.

I have full custody of him , I am UK Citizen

Does he have to do any type of military service or is he exempt,

Thanks

Military service is not obligatory here and I've never heard of a luuk/kreung entering the military.

I believe he is eligible like all male Thai citizens.

Military service is not obligatory here and I've never heard of a luuk/kreung entering the military.

I think you are mistaken.

If he's registered on the house card when he turns 18 his name will be put forward for the annual draft lottery by the village chairman or whoever is responsible for the area he lives. They harvest the names from the house cards. If not on the card his name is missed.

Despite living outside thailand for over 16 years my luuk kreung sons name was still on the house card in Thailand. He received notification his name was submitted soon after his 18th birthday.

Military service is not obligatory here and I've never heard of a luuk/kreung entering the military.

This is incorrect. Thai military service is mandatory for all males, some can be exempted if they are not Thai speakers & doing military cadets during school is a way of getting out doing your time & not having to take part in the draft. You will also be exempted if you share the same birthday as the king.

As this boy was born & raised in Thailand he would presumably be a fluent Thai speaker & so will not be exempted for that.

Presumably he is registered on the tabien baan & has an ID card (mandatory for all over 15 I believe). He will be in the system & will need to take part in the lottery.

Military service is not obligatory here and I've never heard of a luuk/kreung entering the military.

This is incorrect. Thai military service is mandatory for all males, some can be exempted if they are not Thai speakers & doing military cadets during school is a way of getting out doing your time & not having to take part in the draft. You will also be exempted if you share the same birthday as the king.

As this boy was born & raised in Thailand he would presumably be a fluent Thai speaker & so will not be exempted for that.

Presumably he is registered on the tabien baan & has an ID card (mandatory for all over 15 I believe). He will be in the system & will need to take part in the lottery.

yes to tabien bahn and ID Card, so the lottery draft will be when he is 21 yrs old right?

That's the normal course of events.

If he is a fluent English speaker he may get offered a nice desk job doing translations or other diplomatic/admin type roles. Not everyone gets sent to the borders.

Also depending on volunteers in your area, there may be no lottery at all.

This is quite common in poorer areas as many young men want to join rather than be drafted as it is regular meals, regular pay & options for education etc & if the local quota is full then no lottery takes place.

thanks and yes he speaks English

My son volunteered and started 1st May. As he volunteered,he does one year, and he also could choose where to go.

So he picked the nearest army base, about 10km from our house.

To my surprise, he enjoys it and is thinking of joining permanently when his time is up.

Have to take food to him every weekend, as the quantity and quality is not very good.

Gets weekends off, but cannot leave the barracks.

He wanted to go to Sisaket and the Cambodian border, an extra 100 baht a day wages.

However his commander says he has to stay on camp and help train the next batch of recruits.Only gets 20 baht a day extra for that.

He wants to train to be a sniper.

Has to sit lance corporal exams at the end of the year.

I would prefer him to join the British Army, though.More money.