Joint US Military Advisory Group Thailand
The Joint US Military Advisory Group Thailand (abbreviated JUSMAGTHAI) is a facility of the US armed forces in Bangkok , Thailand on Sathorn Tai Road (next to the German Embassy). The command's military advisors organize around 60 joint military maneuvers in Thailand each year, including the Cobra Gold maneuver since 1984 . In addition to military maneuvers, JUSMAGTHAI is active in development projects and in providing advice on weapon procurement. The JUSMAGTHAI is subordinate to the American Embassy in Bangkok on the one hand and to the Pacific Command of the US Armed Forces in Honolulu , Hawaii on the other . Around 10,000 US soldiers take part in the joint exercises every year.
JUSMAGTHAI was founded in September 1950 as the Military Assistance and Advisary Group Thailand , or MAAG Thailand for short. On September 22, 1953, the JUSMAGTHAI was formed from this. The JUSMAGTHAI played an essential role during the Vietnam War . Up to 45,000 US soldiers were stationed in Thailand and were under the JUSMAGTHAI. The US Air Force carried out area bombing of Thai Air Force airports in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos .
The JUSMAGTHAI also organized the secret replenishment for the Lao armed forces , see Requirements Office ., After the MAAG LAOS had to be relocated from Vientiane to Bangkok and was merged with the JUSMAGTHAI. JUSMAGTHAI provided the staff of the Requirements Office in Vientiane. Officially, however, these people were retired or worked for the United States Agency of International Development USAID . The Requirements Office was officially operated by USAID, since after the signing of the Treaty on the Neutrality of Laos (English: International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos), signed in Geneva on July 23, 1962, the United States had no military facilities in Laos were allowed to operate more. The JUSMAGTHAI was also active in the training of Lao military personnel. For example, it organized the Waterpump project . The US Air Force trained Laotian and Thai pilots in Udon Thani, Thailand .
Another area was the recruitment of Thai volunteers to fight the secret war in Laos . For this purpose, the Police Aerial Reconnaissance Unit ( PARU) was founded by the Thai government in 1953 . Border Patrol Police units have also been deployed in Laos. JUSMAGTHAI funded and trained such operations. Such units were also used in the fight against Thai communists.
The JUSMAGTHAI was also active in other areas. The Friendship Highway between Saraburi , Korat , Udon Thani and Nong Khai in the impoverished north-east of Thailand's Isaan was built and regional airports built or expanded. In 1966 there were 400 American bombers and fighter planes and 25,000 soldiers in the US Air Force in Thailand. The Utapao Airport became a hub for the B52 bomber fleet. Between December 1965 and October 1968, 1,500 bombing raids were carried out on Vietnam from Thailand every week. Units of the US Army and the US Marine Corps were also stationed in Thailand and served to secure the borders. After the end of the Vietnam War, the combat troops were withdrawn again.
Web pages
Individual evidence
- ↑ Joint US Military Advisory Group Thailand (JUSMAGTHAI)
- ^ Andrew Jon Rotter Light at the End of the Tunnel: A Vietnam War Anthology
- ^ Billy G. Webb The Secret War in Laos and General Vang Pao 1958-1975
- ^ Daniel Fineman A Special Relationship The United States and Military Government in Thailand 1947-1958
- ↑ A Not So Silent Partner: Thailand's Role in Covert Operations, Counter-Insurgency, and the Wars in Indochina