The Volunteer Defense Corps ( th, กองอาสารักษาดินแดน; abbreviated VDC) is a Thai

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

under the authority of the Department of Provincial Administration,

Ministry of Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

.http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2559/A/006/26.PDF It was founded in 1954 to provide extra military support to the

Royal Thai Armed Forces The Royal Thai Armed Forces (RTARF) ( th, กองทัพไทย; ) are the armed forces of the Kingdom of Thailand. The nominal head of the Thai Armed Forces (จอมทัพไทย; ) is the King of Thailand. The armed forces are ...

and to protect local civilians living near Thailand's borders.

History

The Volunteer Defense Corps (colloquially called ''Or Sor'' in Thailand) was formally established on 10 February 1954 by the Thai

Border Patrol Police The Border Patrol Police ( th, ตำรวจตระเวนชายแดน); (BPP) is a Thai paramilitary police under the jurisdiction of the Royal Thai Police, responsible for border security and counterinsurgency. History The Thai Bo ...

(BPP) in response to complaints by civilians of banditry and harassment by insurgent and separatist organizations. Originally, the VDC's purpose was to protect civilians from

insurgents An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irr ...

who had crossed into Thai border provinces from neighboring

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist s ...

, and

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

. VDC members were trained by the BPP and sent to protect civilians and farms from

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

and attacks by insurgents. In 1974, the VDC was expanded by the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) to urban areas to fight communist insurgents. In the late-1980s, VDC strength was estimated at 33,000, down from a peak of about 52,000 in 1980. Part of the decrease in numbers was due to the formation of the Thahan Phran, a paramilitary unit formed to counter communist insurgents, which absorbed some units of the VDC. Since 2004, the VDC has had a major role in fighting the

South Thailand insurgency The South Thailand insurgency ( th, ความไม่สงบในชายแดนภาคใต้ของประเทศไทย; ms, Pemberontakan di Thailand Selatan) is an ongoing conflict centered in southern Thailand. It ...

Volunteer Defense Corps ranks

;Officers ;Enlisted

References

1954 establishments in Thailand Law enforcement in Thailand Military units and formations established in 1954 Paramilitary organizations based in Thailand {{Thailand-stub