Royal Thai Armed Forces
The Royal Thai Armed Forces ( Thai: กองทัพ ไทย, RTGS: Kong Thap Thai pronunciation: [ kɔ ː ŋ.t ʰ áp.t ʰ ai ] ) are the armed forces of the Kingdom of Thailand and are made of the branches of the armed forces, army, navy and air forces with 314,000 active soldiers and 200,000 reservists (as of January 2006) .. The defense budget was $ 2.729 billion in 2007.
General
For Thai military women have access; there is a two-year compulsory military service for men between 18 and 25 years. The armed force is mainly a professional army. The king is the supreme commander of the royal forces. In recent years, the role of the Thai armed forces of the pure defense has changed to international tasks, for example, in missions of the peacekeeping forces of the UN. In addition, Thai soldiers also participated in INTERFET in East Timor.
Line
- Supreme Commander: King Bhumibol Adulyadej
- Defense Minister: Yingluck Shinawatra
- Chief of Staff: General Thanasak Patimaprakorn.
Army
The Royal Army ( กองทัพ บก ไทย; [ kɔ ː ʰ ŋ.t áp.bòk.t ʰ ai ] ) is the oldest branches of the armed force. It was established in 1874 and consists of 250,000 soldiers. The motto is "For the nation, religions, King and the people" ( เพื่อ ชาติ ศาสน์ กษัตริย์ และ ประชาชน ). To the army include the Royal Guard ( ทหาร รักษา พระองค์; [t ʰ a.ha ː ː n.rák.să prá.ʔɔ ː ŋ. ] ). The Army has 282 battle tanks, 15 light tanks and 970 armored personnel carrier. The army was involved under General Sonthi Boonyaratglin instrumental in the military coup in September 2006. Inspector General Prayuth Chan - ocha is General (since 2010), his deputy General Dapong Ratanasuwan. The Chulachomklao Military Academy in Nakhon Nayok forms of the officer corps of the army.
The army is the owner of the television station TV5 Thai, Thai Global Network, and BBTV Channel 7
Air Force
The Royal Thai Air Force ( กองทัพ อากาศ ไทย [. Kɔ ː ʰ ŋ.t áp.ʔa ː ː kà t.t ʰ ai ] ) exists since 1911 and has a strength of 45,000 soldiers. It is equipped with 104 combat aircraft, 30 transport aircraft and 45 helicopters.
Commander Air Chief Marshal Prachin is Chantong.
Marine
The Royal Navy ( กองทัพ เรือ ไทย; [ kɔ ː ʰ ŋ.t áp.rʉa.t ʰ ai ] ) has a strength of 71,000 soldiers. It has an aircraft carrier ( HTMS Chakri Naruebet ), 10 frigates, 4 corvettes, 42 patrol boats and 15 military helicopters. For the Navy, the Royal Marines is one with 18,000 soldiers. The Hautpmarinestützpunkt is the Sattahip Naval Base in Amphoe Sattahip ( Chonburi Province ). There are three regional commands:
The Thai Naval Academy was founded in 1952 and is located in Samut Prakan.
Inspector General is Admiral Surasak Runroengrom.
Compulsory military service
For the military, there is a ratio of the recoveries young men each province. These are determined by lot, where there is the opportunity to voluntarily sign up for military service, and the Duration of compulsory military service is shortened.
This system is open to abuse, since it is precisely sons of wealthy families to sign into provinces, which are known for a high number of volunteers in order to escape conscription.
The Thai armed forces have great power and great influence in the state. In addition to its own bank ( Thai Military Bank, TMB), the armed services have television and radio stations. In addition, many airports in Thailand are used for military and civil at the same time. Thus the military have additional sources of income available.