The 31st Infantry Regiment, King Bhumibol's Guard ( th, กรมทหารราบที่ 31 รักษาพระองค์ ในพระบาทสมเด็จพระบรมชนกาธิเบศร มหาภูมิพลอดุลยเดชมหาราช บรมนาถบพิตร) is a

King's Guard The King's Guard and King's Life Guard (called the Queen's Guard and the Queen's Life Guard when the reigning monarch is female) are the contingents of infantry and cavalry soldiers charged with guarding the official royal residences in the ...

regiment of the 1st Division, King's Guard of the

Royal Thai Army The Royal Thai Army or RTA ( th, กองทัพบกไทย; ) is the army of Thailand and the oldest and largest branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. History Origin The Royal Thai Army is responsible for protecting the kingdom's so ...

. The regiment was created in 1955. The regiment, despite being designated an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

regiment is in fact a

rapid deployment force A rapid deployment force is a military formation that is capable of fast deployment. Such forces typically consist of elite military units (special forces, paratroopers, marines, etc.) and are usually trained at a higher intensity than the rest ...

unit. They are trained to be elite paratroopers (currently, armored units have been added.), but they are not special forces or lrrp. The regiment is based in

Lopburi Lopburi ( th, ลพบุรี, , ) is the capital city of Lopburi Province in Thailand. It is about northeast of Bangkok. It has a population of 58,000. The town (''thesaban mueang'') covers the whole ''tambon'' Tha Hin and parts of Th ...

. The regiment was honoured with the additional title of 'King

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; (Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great ...

's Guards'.

History

The regiment was founded on the 10 November 1955 as the 31st Combined Regiment (กรมผสมที่ 31). In 1956 the regiment became part of the 1st Division. The 1st Battalion of the regiment was transformed into a

paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...

unit in 1969, the rest of the battalions soon followed. In 1976 the regiment was designated a

unit. The regiment's name was changed from the '31st Combined Regiment' to '31st Infantry Regiment, King's Guard' in 1979. In 1980 the regiment was further honoured with the additional title of 'King

's Own Guards'.

Organization

The regiment is divided into three infantry battalions: * Armored Company * Mortar Company * Reconnaissance Patrol Company * 1st Infantry Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, King Bhumibol's Guard * 2nd Infantry Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, King Bhumibol's Guard * 3rd Infantry Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, King Bhumibol's Guard

References

External links

Official Website of the 31st Infantry Regiment, King's Guard

King's Guard units of Thailand Airborne units and formations of Thailand Military units and formations established in 1955 1955 establishments in Thailand {{Mil-unit-stub