Bangkok: An internal document obtained by Jane’s shows that Myanmar army battalions are poorly managed and resourced and plagued by desertion

Battalion commanders have been told to change recruitment practices and ease conditions of service, but resources are lacking

A confidential internal document obtained by Jane’s shows that the Myanmar Armed Forces suffer from false reporting, haphazard inspections and poor record keeping.

Battalion commanders are chastised for drinking excessively and for being fixated on profit making and womanising, according to the document. It further states that morale among enlisted ranks is low, contributing to high rates of desertion.

The document summarises an 11-15 September 2006 meeting in Kyatpyay, Naypyidaw. Meetings are normally convened every four months, with typical attendance involving some 200 senior military officers, including the 12 members of the ruling council and the 13 regional commanders.

General Shwe Mann, the government’s third highest-ranking official, reported manpower losses of 9,497 during a four-month period preceding September 2006, much of this due to desertions. This is up 8 per cent from the same period in 2005, when 8,760 troops were lost from service. The latter figure includes 4,701 personnel absent without leave and 2,000 arrested for unknown reasons.

Measures were taken to improve service conditions in response to high desertion rates in 2005. Battalion commanders were instructed to revise recruitment practices and ease conditions, with wet rations subsequently increased threefold.

A pay raise in April 2006 saw the salary of privates grow fivefold to MMK15,000 (USD11.5) per month, while officers’ salaries increased by up to 10 times. This restored purchasing power to roughly 2000 levels, when salaries were last adjusted, but double-digit inflation has already lessened the impact of the rise.

To further discourage desertions, weekly inspections have been ordered, with officers warned to report honestly. Battalion commanders are to convene weekly organisational meetings and should respond seriously to any complaints.

Battalion commanders who break discipline or who fail to meet standards in inspections should have their commands terminated, the document adds.

High desertion rates are partly ascribed to hard conditions, infrequent field inspections and vacations, inadequate rations and the lack of a “parental attitude” among commanding officers. The report states that conditions should be eased by allowing troops one month in rear areas for each four to five months of frontline duty.

Battalion commanders were further ordered to increase their welfare funds in order to supplement central salary and rations budgetary disbursements. The document states that regiments should continue to raise funds through agriculture and the sale of seized goods, with commanders who failed to do so criticised for “sucking oil” from the War Office. According to human rights groups, the army often obtains land and materials extra-legally, with minimal or no compensation.

Adjutant General Thein Sein reported at the meeting that 13,764 soldiers were enlisted during the preceding four months: an increase of more than 15 per cent. This indicates that recruitment has intensified. Jane’s reported last year that a recruitment campaign during the second four-month period of 2005 produced just 6,275 new personnel.

Recruitment drives are expected to persist for the foreseeable future. An officer with a newly created air-defence battalion interviewed by Jane’s said that regiments are expected to actively recruit in appointed areas and are fined when they fail to meet quotas. However, maintaining current staffing levels is a challenge due to the high desertion rate, the officer added.

Comprehensive data is not available for the year to September 2006 but it appears that armed forces staffing may have declined over this period.

The report states that average battalion strength was 140-150, with some frontline units staffed by as few as 15 troops. This compares with a 2005 internal document showing 200-300 personnel in 220 of the army’s 504 infantry battalions and fewer than 200 in each of the remaining units. Doctrinally, each battalion should have 826 personnel.

Adjutant General Thein Sein reportedly stated at the commander’s meeting that more than 7,000 soldiers must be recruited monthly from the country’s population of 6-7 million males aged 18-25.

Elsewhere, the document notes that males can be recruited up to 35 years of age. Adjutant General Thein Sein proscribed against disturbing villages in this campaign and said that offerings should be made to local leaders and monks, adding that the army’s civilian arm – the Union Solidarity and Development Association – should be involved in recruitment.

However, recruiters were told to emphasise quality and avoid recruiting “simpletons who are difficult to use, and difficult to get rid of”. Recruitment efforts are to focus on rural areas.

Human rights groups have documented the Myanmar Armed Forces’ use of systematic forced recruitment practices since the early 1990s, when a rapid expansion of infantry regiments was launched.

Local law states the minimum age for military service is 18 and the document makes no mention of child conscription. However, a 2002 Human Rights Watch report documented the systematic use of child soldiers and estimated that up to 20 per cent of army personnel could be under age.

Myanmar responded to such criticism by establishing in 2004 the Committee for Prevention against Recruitment of Minors. This body co-operates formally with several UN agencies and has met six times since its foundation, most recently in February 2007. However, one officer who spoke to Jane’s acknowledged that child conscription remains widespread, although better concealed.

HIV/AIDS and hepatitis infections among armed forces personnel further complicate staffing problems. During the second tri-annual meeting in 2006, Adjutant General Thein Sein reported that more than 13,700 soldiers were infected with HIV or Hepatitis B, including 2,182 officers. This is thought to reflect an infection rate of more than 4 per cent of the armed forces.

Vice-Senior General Maung Aye reported 93 combat-related deaths during the period, the document states, including 11 officers. There were also 179 wounded, including 20 officers, and 136 “enemy” reported killed.