Manit

Ror-Dor

Something Very Thai Project

The Army Training

Ror-dor or the Thai Reserve Army Training is a youth military organization based in Thailand. The “ยุวชนทหาร” which can be also known as “junior soldiers” were established in prior to the world war ll and the person who established this was Field Marshal Luang Pibulsonggram. He was inspired by Adolf Hitler who created his own military youth organization.

There are certain requirements in order to be involved in Ror Dor and those requirements are that you have to have Thai nationality, younger than 22 years of age, must be approved by their guardians or parents, the individual has to have good health meaning that people with disabilities, fatal sickness, disease or extreme eye conditions are not allowed, has to have the appropriate body height and size according to the age of the person. There is also a test to see whether you are fit and whether you are qualified to join Ror Dor and the test is that you have to do a 800 meter run under 3 minutes and 15 seconds, do 40 sit ups in 2 minutes and 26 pushups in two minutes. Once qualified in Ror Dor you would need a Ror Dor uniform (military kit) and you would have to cut your hair so that the white of the scalp is visible. Once you are qualified you are also taken to a shooting range where you are briefly taught how to handle a rifle which is to test the individual’s general marksmanship

International students are trained and taken to different sites for testing which is usually not at the main Territorial Defense School.

There are many studies that Army Reserve Force students have to do and study. A course of 1 year in Ror Dor is 20 weeks and the students have to be present in each class (approximately once a week) 80% of the time and they are not allowed to skip any exams. Every semester in Ror-Dor there would be an exam in order for the students to pass to the other grade levels. The things that the students would be tested on is the marksmanship test using a rifle, a written test of 120 multiple-choice questions, and a physical test covering procedures, use of tools, and discipline that the students have learned throughout the course.

There is 5 grades in the Army Reserve Force. Students who complete grade 1 are considered as Private First Class. Students who complete grade 2 are considered are Corporal. Students who Complete grade 3 are considered as a Sergeant. The minimal requirement for a student to do Ror-Dor is 3 years but if they wish to continue they could finish till grade 5. Students who completes grade 4 would be known as Sergeant Major and lastly the students who completes grade 5 they are equivalent and considered as Second Lieutenant and they would have a graduation where they are allowed to dress in white officer’s uniform and wear a sword.

There are lots of criticism of Ror-Dor which id that the program was inspired by Hitlers Youth Group/organization and it follows the steps of Nazism which some people don’t like. The conscription is considered to be a violation of human rights, The money that is spent upon the program could be use in better things like education and some people think that it is inappropriate for youngsters to be and join in part of the military at a certain age. Although there are some positive impacts that Ror-Dor does to the students which is that Ror-Dor encourages the students to not be a drug addict and to be respectful to elders along with having honor ship and proper discipline

Ror Dor -KIS International School

Bibliography

Internet - Army Reserve Force Students.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 04 Oct. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_Reserve_Force_Students>.