[Thailand's General Prayuth Chan-ocha:] Meaning and implications of general's rise
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| Army Commander-in-Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha has stacked the high command with his regimental and Prep School Class 12 cohorts. |
Thitinan Pongsudhirak
Bangkok Post
The promotion of General Prayuth Chan-ocha as Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army marks the logical outcome of the military coup from four years ago, and ushers in a crucial stage in Thailand's ongoing endgame.
On taking over as army chief, Gen Prayuth has stated that his two-fold mandate will be to maintain Thailand's sovereignty and to protect the monarchy. This pledge is now set to determine political direction in Thailand because of its external and internal security implications.
While he is eligible to serve at the top of the high command for the next four years before mandatory retirement, Gen Prayuth's rise has been meteoric. He has set a record in modern Thai military annals for moving up from a deputy commandership of an army region to army chief within the space of merely four years.
When the military coup transpired in September 2006, Gen Prayuth was a two-star major-general and deputy to then-commander of the First Army Region, Gen Anupong Paojinda. After the coup, Gen Prayuth became First Army Region commander before being catapulted onto the fast track to the top.
His unprecedented promotion bears far-reaching implications and reveals the behind-the-scenes manoeuvring in Thai politics. The source of Gen Prayuth's fast-track rise is the location and character of his unit, namely the 21st Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division based in Prachin Buri, on the Thai-Cambodian border in the Lower Northeast region.
This division, broadly referred to as the "Eastern Tigers" comprises the 2nd, 12th and 21st regiments, the latter also famously known in military parlance as the Queen's Guard.
