Thai Sang Thai’s Sita adds voice to calls to end military conscription
Even former military officer Sita Divari – the Thai Sang Thai Party’s secretary-general – supports ending mandatory conscription.
The former Thai Air Force officer and squadron leader, said on Wednesday he wanted to see the end of conscription, saying the military already has enough personnel and does not need more to be servants of generals.
“The armed forces in the 21st century must prioritse taking care of its personnel, especially those at the lower level,” Sita said, adding that volunteer conscription will ensure that all new recruits are efficient and proud to serve their country.
He pointed out that only half of the about 100,000 new recruits each year voluntarily join the military.
The armed forces spend about 16 billion baht of its budget each year on new recruits, or around 12,000 baht per month per person, on top of the recruits’ salary at 3,000 to 7,000 baht a month, said Sita, who was government spokesperson from 2002 to 2003 during Thaksin Shinawatra’s first administration.
This is wasteful because the military has more recruits than it needs, he said, adding that most of the excess personnel are assigned to unnecessary duties, such as serving at the houses of their commanders.
“For men who do not wish to join the army, they will be forced to waste two years of their life … time that they can use to enjoy freedom and feed their families,” Sita said. “Thai Sang Thai, therefore, believes that the armed forces should reduce the quota of mandatory conscription to only the number they actually need. This way they can save money and also attract more people to voluntarily join the military.”
In October last year, Army chief general Narongphan Jitkaewtae said the Royal Thai Army hoped that the higher number of soldiers joining voluntarily this year would allow it to end conscription in 2023.
It is aiming to boost voluntary recruitment by using the incentive of promotions as part of a reform plan he announced earlier.
The plan calls for reductions in unit sizes, expenses and officer numbers over the next three years. Reserve troops will be used more efficiently to maintain Thailand’s military readiness, according to the plan.
Those who apply voluntarily to become privates will be able to choose their unit, take exams to become non-commissioned officers, or study at the Army Non-Commissioned Officer School after they have completed their service, according to the plan.
