The Royal Thai Army or RTA is the army of Thailand and the oldest and largest branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces.

History

Origin

The Royal Thai Army is responsible for protecting the kingdom's sovereignty. The army was formed in 1874, partly as a response to new security threats following the 1855 Bowring Treaty with Britain, which opened the country for international trade.

Current

In modern era, the army has a long history of coups d'état and coup attempts. Its leadership continues to see coup-making as one role of the army. On 22 May 2014 the army deposed the government, appointed military officers to the national assembly, and on 21 August 2014 they elected the army's Commander in Chief, General Prayut Chan-o-cha, as prime minister. The general retired October 2014 to concentrate on political reform which he said would take at least a year, following which he promised national elections would be held. The existence of an information warfare unit participating in a cyber campaign against government critics was leaked to the public in late February 2020. In 2020 Twitter shut down a network of accounts which were engaged in information warfare. According to Twitter "Our investigation uncovered a network of accounts partaking in information operations that we can reliably link to the Royal Thai Army (RTA)." The operation had targeted the political opposition within Thailand. The Thai Army denied that they had been involved in the disinformation operation.

Army components and control

The number of army generals is unclear. One point of comparison: as of 1 November 2019, the US Army had 322 general officers for a force of 471,990 troops. Saiyud Kerdphol is Thailand's oldest general, a veteran of World War II and Korea who retired in 1983 as supreme commander. During his tenure, general officer numbers were based on the number of troops under their command. , only 150–200 four-star generals occupy command positions. Speaking on the topic of army manpower, Saiyud declared that, "Everybody being a general is unbelievable. Full generals don't have a seat to sit in or a job to do."

Command and control

The commanders-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army (ผู้บัญชาการทหารบกไทย) is considered the most powerful position in the Royal Thai Armed Forces. With effect from 1 October 2024, the commander will be General Pana Klaewblaudtuk.

Structure

The army is organized nationally into four army areas: The creation of the 15th Infantry Division was announced in January 2005. Defence Minister, General Samphan Boonyanan, was quoted as saying that the new unit, dubbed the "Development Division", would not be a combat unit for fighting Islamic militants, but rather its main mission would be to assist local citizens and develop the region. The military will not ignore its general function of providing safety for the citizens of the region, he added. He said that troops for the new division would undergo training to give them a good understanding of local residents, the vast majority of whom are ethnic Malay Muslims. The division is in fact a transformation of the Pranburi-based 16th Infantry Division. It will now be headquartered at Fort Ingkhayutthaborihan in Pattani, complete with its battalions and companies of military police and communications and aviation personnel, he said. It will also have three separate infantry battalions, one each in Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat. Each battalion will include three companies of medical, engineering, and psychological warfare personnel, he said. The government will allocate a budget of more than 18 billion baht for the division over the next four years. The 15th Infantry Division is being established as a permanent force to handle security problems in the Deep South. The division is based in Pattani and is expected to have a combined force of around 10,000. The establishment of this new division, approved by the government in 2005, has yet to be completed. As of this writing, some 7,000 troops deployed in the Deep South are affiliated to this division." In 2012, two new combat formations had been approved by the thai government. The new 7th Infantry Division is based at Mae Rim, near Chiang Mai, and the new 3rd Cavalry Division is based at Khon Kaen.

Tactical units

The army is organised into the following formations: The Army Tactical Level Advanced Simulation (ATLAS) is an interactive, distributed, constructive simulation used to conduct military Command Post Exercises (CPX). ATLAS displays a continuous terrain model, incorporates HLA 1516, and displays 1:250,000 and 1:50,000 maps and satellite imagery. ATLAS was developed between 2002 and 2005 through co-operation with the Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC).

Army Medical Department

Army Medical Department (AMED) (กรมแพทย์ทหารบก) belongs to the service segment of the Royal Thai Army. It is in charge of medical affairs, and providing medical care, both in the field and on base, training personnel in research and agriculture and supervising the other medical divisions within the Royal Thai Army. AMED observed 111 years of service in January 2011, with 110 years of service having been honoured by issue of a series of commemorative stamps. AMED operates Phramongkutklao Hospital in Bangkok and Ananda Mahidol Hospital in Lopburi, along with smaller hospitals at each fort, as well as Phramongkutklao College of Medicine (PCM).

Air Division

Royal Thai Army Aviation Center (ศูนย์การบินทหารบก) belongs to the service segment of the Royal Thai Army Areas:

Military districts

The army is divided into districts, whereby the first digit of the district indicates the army (first, second, third or fourth) responsible for its supervision. The names of forts are from locations or influential figures in Thailand's history. These are as follows:

Budget

The RTA budget for FY2021 is 107,662 million baht, down from 112,815M baht in FY2020.

List of military engagements

Equipment

Rank structure

Businesses and infrastructure

The army owns more than 30 golf courses nationwide. The army also owns boxing stadium, 100 petrol stations, racecourses, hotels, retail and coffee shops, and radio and television airwaves (by one count, the armed forces have ownership in 537 radio and TV stations). In early 2020, the army entered an agreement with the Finance Ministry to turn over to the ministry the management of businesses unrelated to the army's mission. In a related move, army commander General Apirat Kongsompong decreed that retired generals must move out of army-owned housing to free space for serving officers. , about 100 retired generals and colonels inhabit army accommodations. Some ex-generals, like PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan were exempted immediately from eviction because of their "contribution to society". The Thai Defence Ministry position is that there is no law prohibiting retired officers from occupying military housing. In January 2021, the RTA signed a memorandum of understanding with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) to study the feasibility of constructing solar farms on 4.5 million rai of army land to generate 30,000 megawatts of electricity. Following up, on 22 February 2021 a meeting was called by the President of Royal Thai Army Radio and Television Channel 5 with energy firms interested in winning a piece of what is projected to be a 600 billion baht project. The Energy Ministry was not represented at the meeting. Critics have questioned why the army is involved in energy procurement, in contravention of existing regulations, and why Thailand needs more electricity when it already has 59% reserve capacity and more capacity under construction.

Broadcasting

Radio and television channel list

Free-to-air TV

Satellite TV

Radio