Royal Lao Armed Forces
| Royal Lao Armed Forces Forces armées royales | |
|---|---|
|
FAR cap badge 1955-75 | |
| Founded | 1949 |
| Disbanded | 1975 |
| Service branches |
Royal Lao Army Royal Lao Air Force Royal Lao Navy |
| Headquarters | Vientiane |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief | Bounpone Makthepharak |
| Commander | Phasouk S. Rasaphak |
| Manpower | |
| Active personnel | 47,450 (at height) |
| Industry | |
| Foreign suppliers |
 France  United Kingdom  United States  Soviet Union  Australia  Thailand  South Vietnam  Philippines  Indonesia  Republic of China |
| Related articles | |
| History | Military history of Laos |
The Royal Lao Armed Forces (French: Forces armées royales), best known by its French acronym FAR, were the official armed defense forces of the Kingdom of Laos, a state that existed from 1949 to 1975 in what is now the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The FAR was responsible for the defense of the Kingdom since its independence in October 1953 from France.
History
The foundations of the Royal Lao Armed Forces were laid on May 11, 1947, when King Sisavang Vong granted a constitution declaring Laos an independent nation (and a Kingdom from 1949) within the colonial framework of French Indochina. This act signalled the creation of a Laotian government capable of building its own administration over the next few years, including the establishment of a national defense force. The new Laotian military was officially created in July 1949 from a collection of pre-existing Lao police and militarized constabulary units, regular colonial indigenous troops, and locally-raised irregular auxiliaries. However, the formation process was soon hampered by the developments of the ongoing First Indochina War in neighbouring Vietnam, and it was only in 1952 that the National Laotian Army (French: Armée Nationale Laotienne – ANL) – the predecessor of the Royal Lao Army[1] – really began to take shape.
Command structure
Regional Commands
Laos was divided into five military regions (MR, Régions Militaires in French) roughly corresponding to the areas of the country’s 13 provinces.[2]
Branches
In September 1961 the Royal Lao Armed Forces consisted of three conventional ground, air and naval branches of service. Their primarily roles were: guarantee the sovereignty of the King, ensure internal stability and security by maintaining the social and political order, and defend the Kingdom of Laos against external aggression. Placed under the control of the Ministry of Defense of the Royal Lao Government at the capital Vientiane, the FAR branches were organized as follows:
- Royal Lao Army (French: Armée Royale du Laos – ARL)
- Royal Lao Air Force (French: Aviation Royale Laotiènne – AVRL)
- Royal Lao Navy (French: Marine Royale Laotiènne – MRL)
Training facilities
Airborne Training Centres
To train Laotian paratrooper battalions, airborne training centres were established by the French at Wattay Airbase just outside Vientiane in September 1948, followed later in February 1960 by Vang Vieng, located 17 km from Vientiane, set up with the help of US MAAG advisors, and at Seno, near Savannakhet. A fourth Parachute School was briefly established by the Neutralists at Muang Phanh in early May 1964, but the Pathet Lao offensive held that same month forced the training staff to relocate to Vang Vieng.[3]
Commando and Infantry Training Centres
In the mist of the 1971 reorganization, two dual commando/infantry training centres were set up by the Americans at Phou Khao Khouai, north of Vientiane and Seno near Savannakhet for the Royal Lao Army (RLA) new strike divisions. A third one, the CIA-run PS 18 secret camp near Pakse in Champassak Province[4] was used for two RLA battalions being raised in the Fourth Military Region (MR 4).[5]
Foreign assistance
Laotian student candidate officers (French: Aspirants) were sent to France, Thailand, and the United States to receive basic officer training in their respective military Academies. The FAR had no Staff College so Laotian senior officers had to attend courses abroad, at the School of Advanced Military Studies (French: Centre des hautes études militaires) in Paris and at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
See also
- Laotian Civil War
- Vietnam War
- Air America
- Project 404
- Pathet Lao
- Royal Lao Police
- Weapons of the Laotian Civil War
Notes
- ↑ http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query2/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+la0030)
- ↑ Conboy and McCouaig, The War in Laos 1960-75 (1989), p. 4.
- ↑ Conboy and McCouaig, South-East Asian Special Forces (1991), pp. 15-19.
- ↑ Conboy, FANK: A History of the Cambodian Armed Forces, 1970-1975 (2011), pp. 275-276.
- ↑ Conboy and McCouaig, The War in Laos 1960-75 (1989), p. 46, Plate G2.
References
- Kenneth Conboy and Don Greer, War in Laos, 1954-1975, Squadron/Signal Publications, 1994. ISBN 0897473159
- Kenneth Conboy and Simon McCouaig, South-East Asian Special Forces, Elite series 33, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1991. ISBN 1-85532-106-8
- Kenneth Conboy and Simon McCouaig, The War in Laos 1960-75, Men-at-arms series 217, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1989. ISBN 9780850459388
- Kenneth Conboy with James Morrison, Shadow War: The CIA's Secret War in Laos, Boulder CO: Paladin Press, 1995.
- Khambang Sibounheuang (edited by Edward Y. Hall), White Dragon Two: A Royal Laotian Commando's Escape from Laos, Spartanburg, SC: Honoribus Press, 2002. ISBN 978-1885354143
- Timothy Castle, At War in the Shadow of Vietnam: United States Military Aid to the Royal Lao Government, 1955–1975, Columbia University Press, 1993. ISBN 978-0-231-07977-8
Secondary sources
- Kenneth Conboy, Kenneth Bowra, and Simon McCouaig, The NVA and Viet Cong, Elite 38 series, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 1992. ISBN 9781855321625
- Kenneth Conboy, FANK: A History of the Cambodian Armed Forces, 1970-1975, Equinox Publishing (Asia) Pte Ltd, Djakarta 2011. ISBN 9789793780863