The Naval Special Warfare Command (an acronym for SEa–Air–Land), is an elite special operations force of the Royal Thai Navy.

The unit was set up in the name of Underwater Demolition Assault Unit in 1956 with the assistance of the U.S. government. A small element within the Navy SEALs has been trained to conduct maritime counter-terrorism missions. The unit has close ties with the United States Navy SEALs and conducts regular training exercises.

History

thumb|left|Royal Thai Navy SEALs

In 1952, the Thai Ministry of Defence considered forming a diving unit. The unit was expanded and organised into three divisions: special combat, special warfare school, and support.

Organization

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

Training Course

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.

Operational deployments

thumb|Map of areas under threat by Somali pirates (2005–2010)

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.

Navy SEALs have participated in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Thailand. They have also participated in salvage and rescue operations, and have supported Royal Thai Marine Corps training exercises.

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. The task eventually were succeed as a piracy events in the region have been reduced.

On February 13, 2013, the Battle of Bacho occurred when 50 RKK members attacked a Royal Thai Marine base garrisoned by the 2nd Rifle Company, 32nd Task Force Narathiwat. The base had already prepared due to receiving clues about the plans to attack the stronghold 2–3 days before. The marine commander had put in a defensive strategy with reinforcements consisting of 11 members of Recon and 17 Thai Navy SEALs. The clash resulted in 16 attackers killed in action and no casualties on the Thai side.

thumb|left|Tham Luang cave rescue map

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. The Navy SEALs coordinated a rescue of the football team from the flooded cave system with assistance from international cave and support divers.

A total of 127 current and former Navy SEALs participated in the rescue. 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. A year after the rescue, another Navy SEAL, petty officer 1st class Beirut Pakbara died following a blood infection he contracted in the caves.

However, all junior football team members including 12 junior football players together with their assistant coach were safely rescued.

Equipment

Small arms

{| class="wikitable";" width="70%"

! style="text-align:center; background:#acc;color:black;"width="18%"|Name

! style="text-align: center; background:#acc;color:black;"width="20%"|Origin

! style="text-align:l center; background:#acc;color:black;"width="18%"|Type

! style="text-align:left; background:#acc;color:black;"width="18%"|Caliber

! style="text-align: center; background:#acc;color:black;"|Notes

|-

! style="align: center; background: lavender;color:black;" colspan="7" | Pistol

|-

| H&K USP Compact || || Semi-automatic pistol || 9×19mm Parabellum ||

|-

| Glock 19 || || Semi-automatic pistol || 9×19mm Parabellum ||

|-

| Heckler & Koch P7 || || Semi-automatic pistol || 9×19mm Parabellum || P7M8 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: Thai Cave Rescue, an episode of science television series Nova (season 45, episode 14).
  • 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.
  • 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: 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.

See also

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

Notes

;Citations

References

Further reading

  • Naval Special Warfare Command official website
  • Thai Navy SEAL official Facebook
  • ทำความรู้จักกับ หน่วย SEAL (Get to know the SEAL unit)
  • หน่วยซีล (SEALing Unit): หน่วยซีล นักทำลายใต้น้ำจู่โจม (SEAL Force Attacker)