Flashermac Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 << Missed out on Viet Nam...as i said i was 19th..pulled 18 and 20 >> I WON! I WON!!! :cussing: They way it used to work in the US before the birthday lottery was that you were eligible from age 18 to 26. You could be called at ANY TIME within that period. Plus if you had had a student deferment for say 3 years, that 3 years would be tacked on ... making you eligible to 29. Oldest fella I ever saw who got conscripted during my service was 27. Seems he had been deferred because he was married. But the day he got divorced, his p*ssed off wife called a friend in the local Selective Service office and told her, "we're not married now. Draft the bastard!" They did! (That was in some small town in Georgia.) The most sensible way young Thais avoid service is to go into "Raw Daw" in high school. They study one day a week and go to a camp for a few weeks in the summer. (Forgotten how many summers.) When they complete it, they are put into the inactive reserve as lance corporals. They will only be called up if the country is invaded! If they go on to university, they can continue there and get their one pip as a 2LT. Once again, they go into the inactive reserve -- but they've got the King's commission, which carries a lot of prestige. (Chalerm's gun happy kid never held it. He was only an acting 2LT.) Of course, most Thai males never go to secondary school ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 The military can be a great experience ... provided you don't get you head blown off, of course. A lot of Thai guys have been spoilt rotten by dear old mom. The Army can cause them to do some growing up. If he's lucky, he'll get some useful job training. But combat arms isn't all that useful though. I was combat demolitions. Once got approached by the IRA Provos about some work. Oh, whoopee. Just what I wanted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harlequinbkk Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 [color:"red"] The most sensible way young Thais avoid service is to go into "Raw Daw" in high school. [/color] Flashermac, Interesting piece of information. It got me thinking about some things I had read about the Vietnam War era in the USA and the various way young American men dodged the draft. The smart ones came up here to Canada, of course Another way to avoid serving in the U.S. Army is to do what George Bush Jr. did, join another branch of the Armed Forces (Air Force Reserve in his case). I would rather be flying jets than slogging through a rice paddy, hip deep in cowsh*t. Fighter Jocks are more likely to get laid than grunts :hubba: Anyways, is it possible for a Thai to volunteer for the Royal Thai Navy or Air Force? Would it be easier/safer to do service in these branches vs. being in the Army? Harlequin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iono Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 WoW! a thread that enrages me on so many levels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 I tried to join the Coast Guard, but was turned down for vision problems. The manual said you could also be rejected for "...large, hairy moles..." or for being "...exceptionally ugly." ROFLMAO ! Thanks, KK - I needed that If that edict were part of the enlistment process when I served, at least half of us wouldnt have made it That said, an extremely high number of potential Armed Forces recruits here in Oz dont make it past initial screening - they cant pass the basic physical and mental testing. Even among those I joined with, things like colour-blindness and shin splints consigned them to the rear echelon. Ugly or no, we needed every Infantry soldier we could muster, and I'm sure that the Thai army is no different. Its just a shame that they are so poorly paid and so easily sold out by their political masters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 Of course a Thai can volunteer for the Navy or Air Force. But I think once you've picked the wrong colour at the lottery, you're stuck with whatever they assign you to. Used to be the same when the US had the draft. You were called up to serve -- and they put you in what THEY needed at the moment. Several of my friends got put in the US Marine Corps, which didn't exactly have them hooping with joy. I got the Army, as most did. The US Navy did take a couple of thousand during the VN War, but then stopped. The Navy said most of its training programmes were too long to bother with conscripts who could be off active duty in 2 years time. The Army and Marines used us for canon fodder. Enlistees got their choice of job and assignment. The Air Force had people kicking and clawing to get in, and never had to take conscripts in VN days. p.s. GB II only got into the Air National Guard because of daddy's pull. It was hard as aitch to get reserve and guard slots during VN. I've read that GB II also got to fly mainly through daddy's influence. His aptitude test scores were among the highest. Still, he seems to have been a good pilot ... until he got grounded for refusing to take a physical. (Presumption is he had something "funny" in his blood he didn't want them to know about. Those were his "wild" days before he became a born again Puritan.) I did try to get a Navy comission before I was called up, but all the Navy wanted were pharmacists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 << Ugly or no, we needed every Infantry soldier we could muster >> When I first saw my service record, it was stamped B ... which meant non-combat. I asked why, and they said because I'm a bit short sighted. Towards the end of my basic training, I saw it had been changed to combat qualified. I asked what was up. They told me, "You see well enough". Oh. One fella I trained with had big thick glasses and was blind as a bat at night. He got airborne infantry. Figures. Just point him towards the bad guys and tell him to start shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALHOLK Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 Hi! The military can be a great experience Yes, all that wonderfull mud and setting up brigade communication centres in the middle of the night when the temperature is -20 C. How I miss it. regards ALHOLK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted January 8, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 Redbaron said:Vietnam!?!?!? I Wasn't even BORN then! (sorry, I don't have, nor ever did have, any info on Thai conscripts... sorry) Hi Red Thanks a lot Red :: RE Trust you are over 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 Hi, over 18 but under 30! :: Now we know a lot about almost every army - except the thai! elef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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