A total of 25,100 Thai men men had applied for voluntary enlistment this year as of Sunday, with backgrounds as diverse as being monks and holders of a master's degree, army deputy spokeswoman Maj Gen Sirichan Ngathong said.
The annual military conscription took a three-day break during the Songkran Festival amd resumed on Sunday.
The draft will continue until Thursday in the 1st, 2nd and 4th Army regions, where 10-20% of the process remains to be completed. The draft has concluded in the 3rd Army Region.
Maj Gen Sirichan said that as of Sunday night, 25,100 young men had applied for voluntary enlistment.
During conscription from April 1-12, the level of education of conscripts showed some interesting points, she said:
• 22 of the voluntary conscripts held a bachelor's degree. In applying for enlistment, they waived the right to seek a reduction of the time in military service from two years to six months, and showed an intention to complete the two-year service.
• 19 bachelor's degree holders who went through the draft process drew a red card, which meant they were conscripted. Instead of seeking to reduce their time from two years to one they waived the right and volunteered to complete two-year service.
• 23 master's degree holders applied for voluntary enlistment.
• 27 monks, who were exempted from military service, asked to go throught the draft process. They included six monks of high rank, one with Level 1 of Dhamma Study, one with Level 2 of Dhamma Study, 16 with Level 3 of Dhamma Study, and three with a higher level of Dhamma Study.
• Those who applied for voluntary enlistment were also from many different occupations.
Maj Gen Sirichan said these figure might indicate the men had learned of the army's intention to improve the conscription system. The army's care for draftees may also be a motivation for them to waive the right to reduce their time in service, she said.
