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The Thahan Phran (ทหารพราน; literally "hunter soldiers"; AKA Thai Rangers) AKA the Royal Thai Paramilitary Force is a
paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...
force which patrols the borders of
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and is an
auxiliary Auxiliary may refer to: In language * Auxiliary language (disambiguation) * Auxiliary verb In military and law enforcement * Auxiliary police * Auxiliaries, civilians or quasi-military personnel who provide support of some kind to a military se ...
of the
Royal Thai Army 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 187 ...
(RTA) and the
Royal Thai Marine Corps The Royal Thai Marine Corps or RTMC ( are the marines of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN). The Royal Thai Marine Corps was founded in 1932, when the first battalion was formed with the assistance of the United States Marine Corps (USMC). It was expanded ...
(RTMC). The Thahan Phran operate in conjunction with the
Border Patrol Police The Border Patrol Police (; (BPP) is a Thai paramilitary police under the jurisdiction of the Royal Thai Police, responsible for border security, counterinsurgency, disaster relief, law enforcement, operating in difficult terrain, and supporting ...
(BPP), but are trained and equipped to engage in combat while the BPP is primarily a law enforcement agency. In Thailand there is a common name of black clothing unit (นักรบเสื้อดำ) or the Black Army due to their wearing of black uniforms.Ball D. ''The Boys in Black: The Thahan Phran (Rangers), Thailand's Para-Military Border Guards.'' Bangkok, Thailand: White Lotus Press, 2004, 2007. and


History

The Thahan Phran was established in 1978 to fight
Communist Party of Thailand The Communist Party of Thailand ( Abrv: CPT; , ) was a communist party in Thailand active from 1942 until the 1990s. The CPT was founded officially on 1 December 1942, although communist activism in the country began as early as 1927. In the 1 ...
(CPT)
guerrillas Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...
and drive them from their mountain strongholds in northeast Thailand. Conceived by General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, then Director of the Army Operations Centre at RTA headquarters in
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
, the unit was to be composed of recruits from regions affected by the communist insurgency, who would be given intensive training courses of 45 days, issued with modern weapons, and then sent back to their villages to mount guerrilla operations against the communists.


Controversy

In the past some of the Thahan Phran's initial recruits were convicted criminals whose sentences were remitted; others joined to obtain parcels of land granted as a reward for successful campaigns. To some extent the Thahan Phran were intended to supplant the Volunteer Defense Corps, a civilian militia responsible for protecting the local population from guerrillas. By late 1981, Thahan Phran had replaced up to 80 percent of regular army units in
counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spelling counter-insurgency) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the ac ...
operations on the Burmese, Cambodian and Malaysian borders."Southern Thailand: The Problem with Paramilitaries," ''Asia Report,'' N°140 23 Oct 2007.
Thahan Phran units conducted numerous operations against Khun Sa in the Golden Triangle and also participated in security actions during the standoff at
Prasat Preah Vihear Preah Vihear Temple (Khmer language, Khmer: ប្រាសាទព្រះវិហារ ''Prasat Preah Vihear''; ; ) is an ancient Hindu temple built by the Khmer Empire, located on top of a cliff in the Dângrêk Mountains, in the Preah ...
in 2008 and 2009. The Thahan Phran have had a troubled history, with units often accused of atrocities, abuse of authority, and involvement in the drug trade. It has been reported that these units include local thugs who make use of their status to commit crimes against their fellow citizens. Numerous reforms have been made since the 1980s, particularly in screening recruits, and it is a more professional force than twenty years ago, but serious problems with discipline and human rights abuses remain. The Thahan Phran are also suspected to have been involved in terrorist activities during the 2010 Redshirt riots in Bangkok.Phil Thornton, "Thailand: A Land of Smiles No More," ''Reportage Online,'' June 8, 2010
/ref>


Special units of the Thahan Phran

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Thahan Phran set up a covert special task force to suppress the communist terrorists who insurgency in Thailand and black operation to destroy destroy Khun Sa's heroin factory. The unit was known as the Project Control and Coordination Section 513 and 514 (PCCS513 and 514) (Thai:ชุดควบคุมและประสานงานโครงการ 513 และ 514 (ชค.513 และ ชค.514)), they were trained like special forces. The PCCS513 took on a mission to wipe out communist terrorists all over the country, and was the only unit of Thahan Phran Pak Thong Chai Camp who fought throughout the country and was the Thahan Phran's spearhead unit in the battle during Communist insurgency and Vietnamese border raids in Thailand and disbanded in the 1990s. The PCCS514 took on black operation to destroy Khun Sa's heroin factory in the Burmese side opposite Mae Chan District, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. After the successful destruction Khun Sa's heroin factory, they took on a mission to counter and destroy Khun Sa's drugs along the Northern Thailand border and disbanded in April 1987. In 1979 the influx of Cambodian
refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...
s into Thailand became a significant political problem and a security issue, especially since thousands of them were
Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), and by extension to Democratic Kampuchea, which ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The name was coined in the 1960s by Norodom Sihano ...
combatants. Thai
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Kriangsak Chomanan, a professional soldier who had previously been Supreme Commander of the
Royal Thai Army 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 187 ...
, placed the border districts under
martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
and authorized the Joint Operation of the Supreme Command to control and provide security for the refugees. The Supreme Command responded by creating Task Force 80 in February 1980,French LC. ''Enduring Holocaust, Surviving History: Displaced Cambodians on the Thai-Cambodian Border, 1989-1991.'' Harvard University, 1994, p. 77.
/ref> a special Thahan Phran unit charged with defensive duties, refugee management, and the supply of food and weapons to the anti-Vietnamese resistance factions that Thailand supported, particularly the Khmer Rouge, as well as the Khmer People's National Liberation Front and the ''Armee Nationale Sihanoukiste'' or ANS. During its brief existence Task Force 80 was accused of frequent
human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
violations until it was dissolved in August 1988. One observer summarized the Task Force 80 experiment thus:
"In a country with a dizzying array of different military units, the rangers were among the lowest paid, worst trained, and least disciplined of all Thai soldiers. They were at the bottom of the military status hierarchy: a poorly educated group who could not have made it into the more prestigious units. Indeed, they were regarded in some circles as little better than local thugs in uniform, who had been issued guns at a time when Communism was considered an immediate threat to Thailand's stability. With little supervision and a long history of often personal experience with the border conflict (many were local recruits from those villages that bore the brunt of the violence that spilled across the border), the rangers were not hesitant to take out their frustrations and aggression on the Khmer. Their "protective" presence often created more conflict than it prevented."
In 1998 the Salween Special Task Force was created to protect the
Salawin National Park The Salawin National Park or Salween National Park() is located in Mae Sariang District, Mae Sariang and Sop Moei Districts in Mae Hong Son Province, northern Thailand, adjacent to its border with Burma. Much of the Thai part of the Salween River ...
and Salawin Wildlife Sanctuary in
Mae Hong Son Mae Hong Son (; , ) is a town ('' thesaban mueang'') in north-west Thailand, capital of Mae Hong Son Province. It is in the Shan Hills, near the border with Burma along the banks of the River Pai. As of 2018, the town had 7,066 inhabitants. The ...
Province. In 2007 a new Thahan Phran regiment was formed for special duties in Chiang Saen, Chiang Khong and Wiang Kaen districts along the
Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth-longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third-longest in Asia with an estimated l ...
in
Chiang Rai Chiang Rai (, ; , ) is the northernmost major city in Thailand, with a population of about 200,000 people. It is located in Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai Province. Chiang Rai was established as a capital city in the reign of King Ma ...
Province. The regiment is responsible for curbing
human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...
and other illegal movements across the Mekong into Thailand from northwestern
Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
. Thahan Phran cooperate closely with the Laotian authorities, informing them when they force illegal migrants to return to the Lao side.


Requirements

Before joining Thahan Phran, all candidates must be able to pass the following requirements: * Age 18-29 * Thai citizen * Passing grade on physical fitness exam * Graduate of grade 5 * Residency near the deployment site Lacking the above requirements, the candidates must have a special ability such as relevant regional experience.


Strength

The force is led by regular officers and NCOs, with the other ranks comprising both full-time and part-time personnel. Roughly one-third of these regional-level troops are given more advanced training to become an army-level force. The force completed a major reorganization and downsizing between October 2000 through late 2001. The re-organization saw eight of 21 regiments disbanded by General
Surayud Chulanont Surayud Chulanont (, , ; born 28 August 1943) is a Thai politician. He was the prime minister of Thailand and head of Thailand's interim government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a trans ...
, then commander-in-chief of the army. This was due to changes in the threats on Thailand's eastern and western borders as well as RTA budget cuts. The total strength is now believed to be about 10,600, a substantial decline from the nearly 20,000 (including reserves) reached in the early 1990s.


Organization


Army

The headquarters at Pak Thong Chai, some 30 km south-southwest of
Korat The Korat cat (, ) is a silver-tipped blue-grey, short-haired Cat breed, breed of Cat, domestic cat with a small to medium build and a low percentage of Adipose tissue, body fat. Its body is semi-cobby, and unusually heavy for its size. It is an ...
, was closed on 30 September 2000 and command transferred to the army's four regional headquarters. The ''Thahan Phran'' now has thirteen
regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...
al headquarters (each with 46 headquarters personnel), 107 90-man
companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...
, and twelve women's
squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...
s (each 11-strong). Five regiments, with 37 companies, are now responsible for guarding the border with Myanmar, the 31st, 32nd, 35th, and 36th Regiments in the northwest, and the 14th Regiment in Kanchanaburi.


Field organization

In 1998 the Tahan Prahran consisted of 13 regiment headquarters (subordinate to Royal Thai Armies), 107 units (90 members), 12 women squads (11 members). As of 2018 it is organized as follows: * 1st Army - headquartered in
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
and is responsible for the country's western and central provinces including the capital city. ** 11th Ranger Forces Regiment - Fort Thanarat, Pran Buri District,
Prachuap Khiri Khan Province Prachuap Khiri Khan (, ) is one of the western Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It is in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula, some south of Bangkok. Neighboring provinces include Phetchaburi province, Phetchabu ...
** 12th Ranger Forces Regiment - Muang Saikeo County, Saqeo County ** 13th Ranger Forces Regiment - One Somboon County, Saquao County ** 14th Ranger Forces Regiment - Kanchanaburi Province Muang Khan Thanh Buri County Tambon Wandon * 2nd Army - headquartered in
Nakhon Ratchasima Nakhon Ratchasima (, ) is the capital of Nakhon Ratchasima province, the largest city in Isan, Northeastern Thailand and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, third-largest city in Thailand. It is 250 km (1 ...
and is responsible for the northeastern quadrant. ** 21st Ranger Forces Regiment - Dear Sirie County, Loei County ** 22nd Ranger Forces Regiment - Fort Suranari, Mueang Nakhon Ratchasima District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province ** 23rd Ranger Forces Regiment - Kantarakul County, Nan Province ** 26th Ranger Forces Regiment - Nakhon Ratchasima County Puck Tong Chai County * 3rd Army - headquartered in
Phitsanulok Phitsanulok (, ) is a city municipality in northern Thailand and the capital of Phitsanulok province. It had a city population of 60,827 and an urban population of approximately 200,000 in 2024, making it Thailand's 19th-most populous city p ...
, responsible for the northern and northwestern parts of the kingdom. ** 31st Ranger Forces Regiment - Phayao County Chienkam County ** 33rd Ranger Forces Regiment - Fort Ekathotsarot, Mueang Phitsanulok District, Phitsanulok Province ** 32nd Ranger Forces regiment - Muang Nan county in Narn province ** 35th Ranger Forces Regiment - Kam Payne Pet County Clone Lane County ** 36th Ranger Forces Regiment - Mae Hong Son County Mae Saarien County * 4th Army - headquartered in
Nakhon Si Thammarat Nakhon Si Thammarat (, ; from ) is a city municipality (''thesaban nakhon'') located in Mueang Nakhon Si Thammarat, the capital of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. Nakhon Si Thammarat Province is situated in the South of Thailand. It is about s ...
, responsible for southern Thailand, engaged in the
South Thailand insurgency The Southern Thailand Insurgency (; ) is an ongoing conflict centered in southern Thailand. It originated in 1948 as an ethnic and religious separatist insurgency in the historical Malays (ethnic group), Malay Patani (historical region), Patani ...
. ** 41st Ranger Forces Regiment - Yarra County Rahman County ** 42nd Ranger Forces Regiment ** 43rd Ranger Forces Regiment - Nolathiwat County Choi Ai Lane County ** 45th Ranger Forces Regiment - Surat Thani County Baanna Thane County ** 46th Ranger Forces Regiment ** 47th Ranger Forces Regiment ** 48th Ranger Forces Regiment ** 49th Ranger Forces Regiment


Marine Corps

The Paramilitary Marine Regiment (Thahan Phran Marines) is organized as follows: * Paramilitary Marine 16 Companies ** 1st Paramilitary Marine Company ** 2nd Paramilitary Marine Company ** 3rd Paramilitary Marine Company ** 4th Paramilitary Marine Company ** 5th Paramilitary Marine Company ** 6th Paramilitary Marine Company ** 7th Paramilitary Marine Company ** 8th Paramilitary Marine Company ** 9th Paramilitary Marine Company ** 10th Paramilitary Marine Company ** 11th Paramilitary Marine Company ** 12th Paramilitary Marine Company ** 13th Paramilitary Marine Company ** 14th Paramilitary Marine Company ** 15th Paramilitary Marine Company ** 16th Paramilitary Marine Company * 1st Female Paramilitary Marine 1 Platoon ** 1st Female Paramilitary Marine Platoon


Activities

On the western frontier, where there is sporadic fighting, the Thahan Phran work closely with the RTA and the
Border Patrol Police The Border Patrol Police (; (BPP) is a Thai paramilitary police under the jurisdiction of the Royal Thai Police, responsible for border security, counterinsurgency, disaster relief, law enforcement, operating in difficult terrain, and supporting ...
. On the eastern border, facing
Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
and
Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
, they now have primary responsibility for border surveillance and protection. Many Rangers have been killed or wounded in recent years during cross-border attacks by Burmese troops or their allies, the United Wa State Army and
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA; ) was an insurgent group of Buddhist soldiers and officers in Myanmar that split from the predominantly Christian-led Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), one of the largest rebel factions in Myanm ...
. In February 2001, a 19-man Thahan Phran base designated Unit 9631, situated at Ban Pang Noon near Mae Sai on the Thai-
Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
border, was captured by 500 Burmese troops. The RTA has tripled the strength of the Thahan Phran in the southern peninsula since violence surged there in 2004. In October 1981 a 39-man unit of Thahan Phran and Burmese guerrillas attempted to assassinate the drug warlord Khun Sa at the instigation of the US
Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating illicit Illegal drug trade, drug trafficking a ...
. The attempt failed, however in January 1982 a Thahan Phran squad from Pak Thong Chai, together with units from the BPP and the Royal Thai Army, was used to force Khun Sa to move his headquarters from Ban Hin Taek in northwest Thailand across the border into Myanmar. Units of the Thahan Phran have been sent to the deep south to curb the
South Thailand insurgency The Southern Thailand Insurgency (; ) is an ongoing conflict centered in southern Thailand. It originated in 1948 as an ethnic and religious separatist insurgency in the historical Malays (ethnic group), Malay Patani (historical region), Patani ...
since 2004. They been responsible for apprehending and killing many key leaders in the area, but have also suffered casualties from ambushes.


See also

* Village Scouts *
Pakistan Rangers The Pakistan Rangers () are a pair of paramilitary federal law enforcement corps' in Pakistan. The two corps are the Punjab Rangers (operating in Punjab province with headquarters in Lahore) and the Sindh Rangers (operating in Sindh province w ...
, a similar organization in Pakistan


References


External links


Thahan Phran Official WebsiteThahan PhranThahan Phran insignia"The boys in black, Thailand's dangerous, dark influence."
Are a disbanded group of specialist military rangers the shadowy figures operating in the current conflict? Here is a look at the history of the country's hunter-fighters, a group of trained killers. {{Military of Thailand Law enforcement agencies of Thailand Paramilitary organizations based in Thailand Military units and formations established in 1978 1978 establishments in Thailand