Army chief feels a draft

Army chief feels a draft

The army commander, Gen Apirat Kongsompong, says the draft is necessary because 'every country has soldiers'. (Photo by Pornprom Satrabhaya)
The army commander, Gen Apirat Kongsompong, says the draft is necessary because 'every country has soldiers'. (Photo by Pornprom Satrabhaya)

As a new batch of conscripts reported to the army late last week, army commander Apirat Kongsompong used the occasion to defend conscription into the Royal Thai Armed Forces. In the process, Gen Apirat stated two different points in one pithy sentence -- one basically true and the other off the track. He also unfortunately took the occasion to champion current military discipline. He would have been better advised to speak about reform of the Thai military, starting with its methods of discipline.

According to Gen Apirat -- this is his quote -- "Every country has soldiers and a ban of the draft is impossible". Conflating those two entirely separate claims serves both of them badly. It is true that nearly every country has a national armed service. At least six small countries do not, but give the point to the army commander. The problem is with his second, directly linked claim that conscription is absolutely necessary. It is his opinion about Thailand, but as a general statement, the general is wrong.

Most of the 50 countries of the world without conscription are neither small, isolated. Nor are they pacifist by any stretch. The US military is all-volunteer, and its forces roam the globe. China has more than two million men and women under arms and another million in reserve, and all are volunteers. Two hostile, nuclear-armed neighbours, India and Pakistan, maintain three military arms apiece without a draft.

In the Asean region, the armed forces of these countries seem to be efficient and prepared without conscription: Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Myanmar and Cambodia officially have conscription laws but the draft is not enforced. In addition to its highly competent armed forces, Singapore infamously enforces a draft whose aim is to toughen up men of the Lion City.

It does not strike observers that Thailand's 361,000-member army, navy, air force and marines are made better by the draft. Other than the army, the armed forces branches tend to avoid draftees where possible. Thailand manages to have more men and women in uniform, but the question is whether numbers strengthen military preparedness and force, or merely pad the payrolls.

One answer for the latter choice is the large number of indentured servants in the armed forces. Not only are the embarrassingly high number of general officers afforded servants in uniform to provide menial labour, the abuse of the system is rampant. Officers and their wives have misused army privates as personal servants, and staff in their businesses. Recently, an insensible general officer noted that many recruits would rather be servants than infantry fodder. The point he completely missed is that a trained and competent Royal Thai Armed Forces needs neither.

Gen Apirat's comments on army discipline were disappointing in the extreme. He pledged to order serving soldiers to treat the new draftees like younger brothers. First of all, they are not. They are uniformed members of the Royal Thai Army and deserve respect for serving dutifully, not pandering.

But the army commander missed or purposely sidestepped the issue that has horrified the entire country so often. That is the multiple deaths of trainees subjected to so-called "discipline" consisting of ill-defined, corporal punishment meted out by untrained, uncounselled and usually undisciplined peers or non-commissioned officers.

Gen Apirat promised appropriate and proportional punishment for recruits who break regulations. It sounds good until the realisation hits that this is exactly the disciplinary measures that have resulted in the homicides of numerous "younger brothers" trying to adapt to military life.

When Gen Surayud Chulanont took over as army commander in 1998, he promised full military reform. He thought a small, prepared and agile army was best for the country -- and no draftees would be needed. He failed as army chief and as prime minister to carry out such a reform. Gen Apirat should consider that the army commander who carries out Gen Surayud's vision will win widespread applause from throughout his grateful country.

Editorial

Bangkok Post editorial column

These editorials represent Bangkok Post thoughts about current issues and situations.

Email : anchaleek@bangkokpost.co.th

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