21st Infantry Regiment (Thailand)


The 21st Infantry Regiment, Queen Sirikit's Guard is a King's Guard regiment under the 2nd Infantry Division, Queen Sirikit's Guard of the Royal Thai Army. The regiment was created in 1950. It is known as the Queen's Guard or Thahan Suea Rachini. It is sometimes referred to as the "Eastern Tigers". The regiment is based in Chonburi.

Origins

The 21st Regiment of the Royal Thai Army, or the Queen's Guard, was formed on 22 September 1950 at the request of United Nations Command. Its purpose was to help the US-led UN troops fight the Korean People's Army and the Chinese People's Volunteers in the Korean War.

Campaigns

The regiment is composed of three subordinate units: the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Infantry Battalions.

Selection

Trainee must be serve in the 21st Regiment Queen's Guard or be permitted by the Royal Thai Army to attend the training.

Training content

The Queen's Tigers run a training course every two years. Its duration is 16 weeks.
Those who successfully complete the tiger training course receive a military capabilities plate from the queen. The metal plate is decorated with a purple heart and the queen's cypher. The lower part is a blue ribbon contain the honorific "Tiger Soldier". To both sides of the purple heart are tigers soaring above mountains, waves, and clouds.

Political influence

In the 1990s, according to one academic, "...the Eastern Tigers amassed considerable wealth by trading gems with Cambodian Khmer Rouge insurgents based along the two countries' border, a racket which 'directly benefited'... some of its commanders. Within a decade, the Eastern Tigers dominated the Thai military." The Queen's Guard have since had an inordinate influence on Thai politics. Former Queen's Guard commanders led the May 2014 Thai coup d'état that toppled the elected government.