The army has revealed plans for its greatest change of strategy in public memory. Beginning in a year, it will close the bases and shift most Bangkok-based combat units to outlying provinces. The planned move includes most major units of infantry, cavalry and artillery -- troops, tanks and big guns -- as well as headquarters and support units needed to support them. Two well-known regiments are to be completely decommissioned and all their soldiers reassigned.
These logistical moves were presented as some sort of gift to the people of Bangkok. The ever-present traffic situation has lately been turned into crisis by the governments programme to build out infrastructure. Hundreds of kilometres of main roads have been lost to these construction projects. So ex-army commander Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha claimed that plans to move major military units out of Bangkok will help.
That is not fully credible. At the very best, not a man nor a tank nor a traffic-stopping convoy of "very important" army commanders will leave in less than 13 months. And that is the best scenario. That is not to denigrate this extremely welcome, long overdue project. Actual combat units have never had a strategic reason for even being in Bangkok. Calls for departure will, and should, now increase and single out more military units that should depart for up-country, expeditiously.
