Thailand, the land of a thousand generals
(feelphoto / Shutterstock.com)
On the last day of 2019, Nikkei Asian Review published an article entitled “Thailand – Land of a thousand generals”. The story is about the numerous appointments and promotions of generals, air marshals and admirals, which take place annually in September.
An epic number of flag officers
According to the Royal Gazette, which announces these appointments and promotions, 2019 was fairly quiet with just 789 appointments, well down from 980 in 2014 and 944 in 2017.
In a 2015 study by the Peace Research Institute, American academic Paul Chambers, a leading authority on the Thai military, reports that there are 306.000 active-duty military personnel and 245.000 reservists in Thailand. It means, according to that study, that there is one flag officer for every 660 lower-ranking military personnel.
Comparison with other countries
In the United States military, there is one four-star general for every 1600 personnel. England has drastically cut the number of flag officers due to budget cuts and only has fewer than ten generals.
De Telegraaf wrote in 2015 that after heavy criticism of the large number of top soldiers in the Netherlands, the Ministry of Defense has reorganized approximately a quarter of its generals.
At the end of 2013, the armed forces still had 71 generals, compared to 96 three years earlier. At the beginning of 2015, a total of 59.000 people worked at the Ministry of Defence, 43.000 of whom were military personnel.
With eleven generals, the Royal Netherlands Army is the purveyor to the royal family, but it is by far the largest part of the armed forces. The Air Force and Navy have six generals, the Marechaussee four. No less than 42 generals work outside the combat units, such as in the administrative service and the equipment organization.
(feelphoto / Shutterstock.com)
Work situation
It is noted that in Thailand it is estimated that between 150 and 200 flag officers are active in actual command posts. Much of what the rest of the flag officers do would be done in other countries by a colonel or an even lower-ranking soldier.
An important point here is the constitutional mission of the armed forces. As in many other countries, the military is there to protect the monarchy, national integrity and sovereignty, but it is still assigned a traditional role in the constitution, which is that “Armed forces shall also be used for the development of the country.”
Active in civic organizations
Based on this extra role in the constitution, there are numerous (senior) officers who hold positions in civil organizations in, for example, agriculture, forestry, construction companies, road construction and even in school construction.
Officers retire at 60 and then have enough time to find a second job. Lucrative is such a job at one of the more than 50 state-owned companies, including the national airline Thai Airways International. Military people own a lot of land in Thailand and do a lot of business, such as in the television and radio world.
“Armed forces will also be used for the development of the country.”
Oh, so those bigwigs are on all those boards of directors, boards etc. not to line their pockets or because the wealthiest have lucrative networks in the top of business, military and politics, but to benefit the people . The Thai should be very happy with their fantastically brave armed forces that always serve the country and not the interests of the elite or a particular family in particular. What a beautiful constitution those Thais have. Awesome.
Instead of this oversimplified diatribe against having side jobs or post-retirement jobs (in itself I think very common in most of the world) I would like to see an explanation for this fact:
“According to the Royal Gazette, which announces these appointments and promotions, 2019 was fairly quiet with just 789 appointments, well down from 980 in 2014 and 944 in 2017.”
Why now almost 200 appointments (= 20%) less?
Very common Chris? How many Nato generals are there in a board or supervisory position at Shell, ABN Amro, Ahold, McDonalds, Phillips, Heineken etc? Or run a sawmill etc? We're not talking about a retired general who went to work at a restaurant or something. No we are talking about active military who work at Thai Beverage, Mitr Phol Group, Thai Union Group, Bangkok Bank etc.
You also know very well about the remarkable networks (conflicts of interest) at the top that really go beyond what is internationally customary. I don't call that a tirade but pointing out facts of things that are abrasive or smelly. Don't look away or justify (potential) problems or say 'it also happens in other countries'.
- https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Thai-military-moves-to-cement-relations-with-big-business
I was talking about additional jobs after retirement, so just read better.
How many ex-politicians in the Netherlands have jobs in the Dutch and international business community (including prominent PvdA members)? And isn't the Netherlands an internationally recognized tax haven for these companies? How could that be (e.g. discussion about dividend tax). Remarkable networks and conflict of interest? Yes, nothing new under the sun. But the Dutch politicians are not so bad, only the Thai generals. I call that 'having butter on your head'.
And: you apparently never heard of the military-industrial complex? (not a Thai invention)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q8y-4nZP6o
And: I'm waiting for an answer to my question. Didn't find the answer in the Nikkei article either.
Chris, the article is about the disproportionate number of generals, that many senior military personnel have (several) additional positions during their active career (and yes also afterwards, when it is not exactly strange that when you are done with job X you continue with a nice job Y). For some reason you focus on the much less interesting positions of retired people and ignore the body of the article and my response to the piece.
I find your question less interesting, I don't know why you ask me or do you just not want to go into the core and change the subject? I find this question from the article much more interesting, I quote: “The question of whether the military is fit for its main purpose — national defense — is moot in the absence of any credible external threats. “. Freely translated: Are the military properly engaged in function (defence) given the lack of serious external threats?
You're right, Chris! We should not criticize the military-industrial complex in Thailand because other countries have too! All very normal, nothing wrong.
And I don't have an answer to your question. Do you know it? Tell…..
Dear Rob, your response shows a serious lack of empathy. If you had the necessary empathy you would have known that these good people are the country itself.
By definition, taking care of yourself means taking care of the country.
Your chatter about people and such is vague and base. Good people don't get involved in that. You understand ???
Yes, I'm just a stupid foreigner. Thailand can never understand that. Sorry. 555 😉
Nb: before anyone starts: one high pief is not the other. You have many pickpockets and hangers-on, but there are also those who are in favor of change. However, those persons and factions are not in charge.
Indeed, Mark, those generals sacrifice themselves daily for the country at the risk of their own lives. That is why they are weighed down by countless medals. Rightly so that almost all of them are very rich, although there is someone who says that it is because they have married rich women.
You shouldn't mock that.
https://nos.nl/artikel/2317138-vs-doodt-iraanse-generaal-met-raketaanvallen-op-vliegveld-bagdad.html
You can't even go on a coffee visit yet.
Being a general in Thailand is BY DEFINITION risking your life.
All right, Mr. Chris, tell us which generals in Thailand were killed defending their country?
More conscripts have died in torture in the barracks by other soldiers.
What you say Rob V.
@Gringo:
Do those generals also receive the same pension as all Thais, or is that a bit higher?
“In the U.S. military, there is one four-star general for every 1600 personnel”
Perhaps one Brigadier General for every 1600 men…
Some ranks:
* = brigadier general
** = general – major
*** = lieutenant general
**** = four-star general, General of the Army = highest of the US army.
A four-star rank is the rank of any four-star officer described by the NATO OF-9 code. Four-star officers are often the most senior commanders in the armed services, having ranks such as (full) admiral, (full) general, or air chief marshal. This designation is also used by some armed forces that are not North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members. see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-star_rank
Gringo,
Minor correction: there is 1 general (1-4*) per 1600 soldiers in the US Army (not four star). The army (US Army, incl. Reserve and Guard) has just over 1 million soldiers. There are 14 four-star generals (and 49 three-star, 118 two-star, and 141 one-star generals).
Incidentally, a 'brigadier' in the English army is not a general. However, in most armies, they are considered brigadier generals.
Those generals must be busy issuing orders. For example, General Apirat begins the year as follows:
'The army has ordered soldiers to stay alert to possible violent incidents as dissatisfaction with its alleged role in politics will likely continue unabated this year.
While declining to get into details, commander Apirat Kongsompong said only that he has told all military units attached to the army to take care of their weaponry. “Officers have to be more careful from now on,” Gen Apirat told the Bangkok Post.'
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/1827009/discontent-fires-up-apirat
This army boss is an iron-eater who does not want to know anything about democracy and opposition and is not a friend of the Prime Minister and his deputy. He is from the 1932st Army Corps, the Prime Minister and others from the 1932nd. The man meddles in politics and that is not his job; he has to defend the country. I'm afraid that soon there will be open desire for the situation before XNUMX and someone far away in Europe will be extremely happy about that..... It is not for nothing that statues about XNUMX have been moved and then there is that memorial tile.....
There's a coup d'état coming, I'm grumbling you. The last one was already six years ago so it's about time again.....
I suggest that Tino, Rob V. and Chris continue their discussion by email.