Naval Special Warfare Command (Thailand)

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In 1952, the Thai Ministry of Defence considered forming a diving unit. At a meeting with the Royal Thai Army and Royal Thai Police, it was agreed that the Royal Thai Navy would be responsible for establishing the unit. Representatives of the Thai Navy met with officers from the United States Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) to discuss possible training. On 13 June 1952, the Thai Navy approved the training program for the diving unit that included Underwater Demolition Team (UDT) training. Unfortunately at the time there were not enough instructors from the United States to conduct training, and so it was temporarily put on hold.

File:4171082 Royal Thai Navy SEALs parachute from a U.S. Air Force MC-130H Combat Talon II at U-Tapao.jpg

In 1953, the Overseas Southeast Asia Supply Company (SEA Supply), a CIA front company that provided assistance to the Thai Police, offered to provide the initial diving training to the Thai Navy and also to the Thai Police, which had received parachute training. The Thai Navy approved a contingent of seven personnel and the Thai Police approved a contingent of eight personnel to receive training at Saipan island in the United States. At Saipan island, the Thai Navy and Thai Police received eleven weeks training. The Thai Navy contingent requested further training and the establishment of a Thai Navy Underwater Demolition Team on 24 November 1953 under the command of a Lieutenant.

In 1956, the Royal Thai Navy formed a small combat diver unit.{{sfn|Conboy|1991|p=52}} In 1965, the unit was expanded and reorganized with US Navy assistance. {{sfn|Conboy|1991|p=52}} Three years later, it was again reorganized with US Navy assistance, dividing the unit between an underwater demolitions team and a SEAL team.{{sfn|Conboy|1991|p=52}} The UDT was tasked with salvage operations, obstacle clearance, and underwater demolitions.{{sfn|Conboy|1991|p=52}} The SEAL team was tasked with reconnaissance and intelligence missions.{{sfn|Conboy|1991|p=52}}

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In the 1991 book South-East Asian Special Forces by Kenneth Conboy, the author wrote that the Navy SEALs were organized into two units, SEAL Teams One and Two, with a strength of 144 personnel with each SEAL Team divided into four platoons.{{sfn|Conboy|1991|p=52}} On 18 March 1991, the Navy SEALs were re-designated as the Naval Special Warfare Group, Royal Thai Fleet and were to report directly to the Royal Thai Fleet.{{cite web |author1=Naval Academy |title=English-Thai Naval Dictionary |url=http://www.navy.mi.th:80/newwww/code/special/terminology/terminology.php?id=3 |website=Royal Thai Navy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016003900/http://www.navy.mi.th/newwww/code/special/terminology/terminology.php?id=3 |archive-date=16 October 2015 |date=2002 |access-date=15 April 2020 |url-status=live }} The unit was expanded and organised into three divisions: special combat, special warfare school, and support.

On 7 August 2008, the Naval Special Warfare Group was re-designated as the Naval Special Warfare Command, Royal Thai Fleet, in order to increase the unit size and its capability for dealing with any future threats.{{cite news |script-title=th:ร่วมงานวันคล้ายวันสถาปนาหน่วยบัญชาการสงครามพิเศษทางเรือ |trans-title=Celebrate the launch of the Naval Special Warfare Command|url=http://www.artillery-marines.mi.th/artillery/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=803:2016-05-24-01-50-08&catid=118:-2559&Itemid=53 |access-date=23 July 2018 |publisher=Artillery Regiment Marine Corps |date=April 2009 |language=Thai}}

• Ensuring personnel readiness for operations, conducting studies, and providing training for naval special warfare missions.
• Executes special operations via the Special Operations Squad for naval warfare and undertakes additional specialized tasks as assigned.
• Naval Special Warfare School focuses on training, studying, and evaluating naval special warfare techniques. It also oversees the command and control of trainees and students within the Naval Special Warfare Command.
• Provides logistical support and essential services to units under the Naval Special Warfare Support Division's jurisdiction.

• Naval Special Warfare Command Headquarter
• Naval Special Warfare Training Center
• 1st Naval Special Warfare Group
• 2nd Naval Special Warfare Group

Training on an assault course takes about 7–8 months. It is considered the longest military training course in Thailand, divided into 5 periods as are following;

• Introduction to basic training practicing exercise and solving various obstacles takes approximately 3 weeks.*
• Actual training, lasting 6 weeks.
• Intense training, known as "Hell Week", lasting 120 hours continuously without breaks.
• Various tactical training
• Tactical training in real conditions, lasting approximately 2 months.

Upon completion of the course, students will receive a badge of competence which was designed by Admiral Pan Rukkaew.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}} The components of the badge have the following meaning

File:Royal Thai Navy Seals Emblem.svg

• The Shark symbolizes the god of the sea—fierce, formidable, elegant, and strong.
• The Waves represent the relentless and terrifying power of the sea, which the shark fearlessly navigates.
• The Anchor signifies the identity of a sailor, as the unit initially recruited only naval personnel. Over time, it expanded to include members from the army, air force, and police, reflecting its versatile composition.
• The Thai national flag stands for the unit's unwavering sacrifice for the nation, religion, and monarchy, underscoring its commitment to these core values.

File:Somalian Piracy Threat Map 2010.png

Most of the operations of the Navy SEALs are highly sensitive and are rarely divulged to the public. Navy SEALs have been used to gather intelligence along the Thai border during times of heightened tension.{{sfn|Conboy|1991|p=52}}

Navy SEALs have participated in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Thailand.{{sfn|Conboy|1991|p=52}} They have also participated in salvage and rescue operations, and have supported Royal Thai Marine Corps training exercises.{{sfn|Bennett|2003|}}

Thai Navy SEALs have deployed on Royal Thai Navy warships for anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia as part of Combined Task Force 151.{{cite press release|title=Royal Thai Navy Anti-Piracy Fleet |url=http://www.thaiembassy.sg/activities/royal-thai-navy-anti-piracy-fleet |access-date=22 July 2018 |publisher=Royal Thai Embassy in Singapore |date=15 July 2011}} The CTF 151 was established on 12 January 2009 as a response to piracy attacks in Somalia.{{cite web|title=CTF-151: Counter-piracy |date=17 September 2010 |publisher=Combined Maritime Forces |url=http://combinedmaritimeforces.com/ctf-151-counter-piracy/ |access-date=4 December 2013}} The task eventually were succeed as a piracy events in the region have been reduced.{{cite web|title=New Counter-Piracy Task Force Established|url=http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=41687|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120629205022/http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=41687|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 29, 2012|access-date=22 January 2014}}

On February 13, 2013, the Battle of Bacho occurred when 50 RKK members attacked a 2nd Rifle Company, 32nd Task Force Narathiwat of the Royal Thai marine base. The royal thai marine base had already prepared due to receiving clues about the plans to attack the stronghold 2–3 days before. The marine commander has put in a defensive strategy with additional of the 11 members of Recon and 17 Thai Navy SEALs.[https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/security/335785/death-zone-awaited-unsuspecting-raiders Death zone awaited unsuspecting raiders] After clashing resulted in 16 deaths from attacker side with non fatality for both Recon and Navy SEALs members.{{cite web|url=https://prachatai.com/journal/2017/03/70762|title=เมื่อคนตาย เราควรฟังเสียงใคร? | ประชาไท|website=prachatai.com|access-date=2019-09-19}}{{cite web|url=https://gulfnews.com/world/oceania/thai-marines-kill-16-militants-who-attacked-base-1.1145748|title=Thai marines kill 16 militants who attacked base | Oceania|website=Gulf News|date=13 February 2013 |access-date=2019-10-03}}

File:2018 Tham-Luang-cave-map-cropped.png

In June 2018, Navy SEALs responded to a request for assistance to search for a junior football team in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system.{{cite news |title=Timeline of young footballers, coach being trapped in Mae Sai cave, Chiang Rai |url=http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/timeline-young-footballers-coach-trapped-mae-sai-cave-chiang-rai/ |access-date=19 July 2018 |work=Thai PBS |date=25 June 2018}} The Navy SEALs coordinated a rescue of the football team from the flooded cave system with assistance from international cave and support divers.

Totally 127 current and former Navy SEALs participated in the rescue.{{cite news |title=Navy chief praises Thai Navy SEALs in special citation |url=http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/navy-chief-praises-thai-navy-seals-special-citation/ |access-date=25 July 2018 |work=Thai PBS |date=22 July 2018}} While delivering supplies for the rescue, former Navy SEAL Petty Officer 1st class Saman Kunan died after losing consciousness underwater and could not be resuscitated.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/06/thai-navy-seals-pay-tribute-diver-died-cave-rescue|title=Thai navy Seals pay tribute to diver who died in cave rescue|last=Busby|first=Mattha|date=2018-07-06|work=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-07-07}} A year after the rescue, another Navy SEAL, petty officer 1st class Beirut Pakbara died following a blood infection he contracted in the caves.{{Cite web |date=2019-12-29 |title=Thai navy SEAL who rescued a team from a cave has died - Thailand Bangkok |url=https://www.thailandbangkok.asia/2019/12/30/thai-navy-seal-who-helped-rescue-a-soccer-team-from-a-cave-has-died/ |access-date=2022-03-28 |language=en-US}}

However, all junior football team members including 12 junior football players together with their assistant coach were safely rescued.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jul/11/thailand-cave-rescue-water-pumps-failed-just-after-last-boy-escaped|title=Thai cave rescue: water pumps failed just after last boy escaped|first=Michael|last=Safi|date=11 July 2018|website=the Guardian|access-date=12 July 2018}}

File:Thail and US Navy SEALS training.jpg

• Cold War
• Communist insurgency in Thailand
• Communist insurgency in Malaysia
• Third Indochina War
• Vietnamese border raids in Thailand
• Global War on Terrorism
• OEF - Horn of Africa
• Combined Task Force 150
• Anti-Piracy operation in Gulf of Aden
• Southern Insurgency
• Battle of Bacho (2013)
• Anti-Piracy in strait of Malacca
• MT Orkim Harmony hijacking
• Tham Luang cave rescue

• 2018: The Crown Princess is a Thai television series, premiered on May 14, 2018 and last aired on June 19, 2018 on Channel 3. It starred Urassaya Sperbund and Nadech Kugimiya and produced by Ann Thongprasom.[http://daranews.info/the-crown-princess/ The Crown Princess To Air Soon On Thai TV3]{{Cite news|url=https://www.thairath.co.th/novel/likit/synopsis|title=อ่านเรื่องย่อละคร ลิขิตรัก เรื่องย่อละคร นิยายไทยรัฐ|work=www.thairath.co.th|language=th}}{{Citation|title=Likit Ruk|url=https://www.tvtime.com/en/show/321525|language=en-US}} Because her life was put into danger after her coronation, Crown Princess Alice (Urassaya Sperbund) of the country Hyross was secretly sent to Thailand, where Dawin Samuthyakorn (Nadech Kugimiya), a Lieutenant Commander of the Thai Navy and Navy SEAL, becomes her bodyguard.

• 2018: Against The Elements: Tham Luang Cave Rescue, a documentary with exclusive interviews produced by Channel News Asia in Singapore.{{Cite news | url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/watch/against-elements/against-elements-1536671 | title= Against The Elements |work=Channel News Asia |last=Johnson |first=Dean |date=8 August 2018 |access-date=9 August 2022 }}

• 2018: Thai Cave Rescue, an episode of science television series Nova (season 45, episode 14).{{cite web | url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/thai-cave-rescue/ | title=Thai Cave Rescue | website=PBS | date=14 November 2018 }}

• 2019: The Cave, a feature film written and directed by Thai-Irish filmmaker Tom Waller. It features many of the real-life cave divers as themselves.{{Cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46644840 | title=A sneak peek at the first Thai cave rescue film | last=Cheung | first=Helier | date=25 December 2018 | work=BBC News | access-date=26 December 2018 | language=en-GB}}

• 2021: The Rescue, a National Geographic documentary released on 8 October 2021. The film made use of body-cam footage recorded by the divers involved in the operation.

• 2022: Thirteen Lives is a 2022 American biographical survival film based on the Tham Luang cave rescue directed and produced by Ron Howard, from a screenplay written by William Nicholson. The film stars Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, Joel Edgerton, and Tom Bateman. Royal Thai Navy SEALs, led by Captain Arnont, arrive to search for the missing boys, but find the dive too difficult to locate the team. Vernon Unsworth, a local British caver, shares his extensive knowledge of the complex and dangerous cave and suggests the authorities get in touch with the British Cave Rescue Council. British cavers Rick Stanton and John Volanthen attempt the dive, finding the boys and coach four kilometres from the entrance. In an attempt to deliver wetsuits to the boys in preparation for the rescue, former Thai Navy Seal Saman Kunan drowns.

• 2022: Thai Cave Rescue, a Netflix limited series was released on September 22, 2022. It is the only dramatic production that was granted access to the members of the Wild Boars soccer team.{{Cite web |last=Frater |first=Patrick |date=2022-07-27 |title=Netflix 'Thai Cave Rescue' Series Sets September Release, Claims Maximum Authenticity Amid Similar Projects |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/netflix-thai-cave-rescue-series-1235326823/ |access-date=2022-08-06 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}

• 2022: The Trapped 13: How We Survived The Thai Cave, a Netflix documentary will release on October 5, 2022. The documentary features interviews with selected members of the Wild Boars team.{{cite press release|title=Hear From the Boys Themselves in 'The Trapped 13: How We Survived the Thai Cave' Documentary|url=https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-trapped-13-how-we-survive-the-thai-cave-trailer|publisher=Netflix Media Center|date=September 9, 2022|access-date=September 10, 2022}}

• Royal Thai Special Force
• Thai Force Reconnaissance Marine
• Royal Thai Air Force Security Force Regiment
• Royal Thai Air Force Commando
• Royal Thai Marine Corps

;Citations

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{commons category|Royal Thai Navy SEALs}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book |last1=Bennett |first1=Richard M. |title=Elite Forces : The World's Most Formidable Secret Armies |date=2003 |publisher=Virgin Books|location=London |isbn=9780753522813}}
• {{cite book |last1=Conboy |first1=Kenneth |title=South-East Asian Special Forces |date=1991 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=London |isbn=9781855321069|series=Elite series;no.32}}

{{refend}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite news |last1=Nanuam |first1=Wassana |title=One hell of a week |url=http://thaitranslated.blogspot.com/2010/08/thai-navy-seals-one-hell-of-week.html |work=Bangkok Post |date=11 July 2010}}
• {{cite news |last1=Sukyingcharoenwong |first1=Mayuree |title=The difficult path to be Navy Seal |url=http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/06/04/national/national_30104335.php |work=The Nation |date=4 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100125153136/http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/06/04/national/national_30104335.php |archive-date=25 January 2010}}

{{refend}}

• [http://www.sealthailand.com/ Naval Special Warfare Command official website] {{in lang|th}}
• [https://www.facebook.com/ThaiSEAL/ Thai Navy SEAL official Facebook] {{in lang|th}}
• [http://www.seal2thai.org/pic/picseal/seal.htm ทำความรู้จักกับ หน่วย SEAL (Get to know the SEAL unit)] {{in lang|th}}
• [http://specialforcethai.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/seal_11.html หน่วยซีล (SEALing Unit): หน่วยซีล นักทำลายใต้น้ำจู่โจม (SEAL Force Attacker)] {{in lang|th}}

{{Thai Special Forces}}

{{Military of Thailand}}

{{Naval special operations forces}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Special forces of Thailand

Category:Royal Thai Navy

Category:Armed forces diving

Category:Military units and formations established in 1956

Category:1956 establishments in Thailand

Category:Naval special forces units and formations