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Thai involvement did not become official until the total involvement of the United States in support of South Vietnam in 1963. The Thai government then allowed the United States Air Force in Thailand to use its air and naval bases. At the height of the war, almost 50,000 American military personnel were stationed in Thailand, mainly airmen. [2]
As a result, Thai artillery and air power had to be called into action, resulting in dozens of casualties on both sides and the downing of another Thai military aeroplane. Vietnam's cross-border raid, along with Thai military and civilian casualties, was reviewed as seriously undermining Thailand's security.
About 40,000 Thai military would serve in South Vietnam, with 351 killed in action and 1,358 wounded. [ 57 ] [ 58 ] [ 59 ] Thai troops earned a reputation for bravery and would serve in Vietnam until 1971, when the men of the Royal Thai Army Expeditionary Division (Black Panthers) returned home.
The Royal Thai Army Volunteer Force (Thai: กองพลทหารอาสาสมัคร), or the Black Panthers (กองพลเสือดำ) was a combined infantry unit of the Royal Thai Army (RTA) which served in the Vietnam War, replacing the Royal Thai Volunteer Regiment (RTVR) aka Queen's Cobras in 1968.
The deployment of the regiment to South Vietnam was divided into four phases. Acting as the regiment's quartering party, the engineer company left Bangkok by Royal Thai Navy Landing Ship, Tank (LST) on 11 July 1967 and arrived at Newport Army Terminal on 15 July.
The United States Air Force (USAF) deployed combat aircraft to Thailand from 1960 to 1975 during the Vietnam War. Today, US military units train with other Asian militaries in Thailand. Royal Thai Air Force Bases are an important element in the Pentagon's "forward positioning" strategy.
The military history of Thailand encompasses a thousand years of armed struggle, from wars of independence from the powerful Khmer Empire, through to struggles with her regional rivals of Burma and Vietnam and periods of tense standoff and conflict with the colonial empires of Britain and France. Thailand's military history, dominated by her ...
In modern era, the army has a long history of coups d'état and coup attempts.Its leadership continues to see coup-making as one role of the army. [3] [4] [5]On 22 May 2014 the army deposed the government, appointed military officers to the national assembly, and on 21 August 2014 they elected the army's Commander in Chief, General Prayut Chan-o-cha, as prime minister.