The mid-year military reshuffle is being seen as a way to handle the intensifying political situation, with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's armed forces proteges expected to be placed in key positions.
In the army, 1st commander Lt Gen Kampanat Ruddit is expected to be promoted to a full general and serve as an expert adviser. He is due to retire in September next year.
This will make way for a rising star of the so-called Burapha Phayak (Eastern Tigers) group.
Lt Gen Thepphong Thipphayachan, 1st Corps commander, is expected to be promoted as the new 1st Army commander, who will also be in charge of peace-keeping forces.
Lt Gen Thepphong is known to have the support of Gen Prayut — also head of the National Council for Peace and Order. This is why Lt Gen Thepphong is expected to one day become army chief.
Due to the fact Lt Gen Thepphong is set to retire in September, 2018, Gen Prayut has to speed up his push for the 1st Corps commander to become a member of the so-called "five tigers" of the army in the reshuffle.
Afterwards, Lt Gen Thepphong will be in line to become army chief.
However, Gen Preecha Chan-o-cha and Gen Theerachai Nakwanich will need to retire first.
The pair are currently assistant army chiefs and prospective candidates for the army chief post later this year.
Gen Preecha is a younger brother of Gen Prayut and either he or Gen Theerachai will emerge as new army chief.
Both are due to retire in September next year. By the time either one retires as army chief, Lt Gen Thepphong is set to succeed them, taking the helm of the army during a time which many predict will be beset with political uncertainty.
Maj Gen Kukiat Srinakha, chief of the 2nd Infantry Division, the Queen's Guard, and another Burapha Phayak member, will also be put in positions to become the next deputy 1st Army chief.
Meanwhile, in the navy, it was reported that chief Adm Kraisorn Chansuwanit had proposed the replacement of Adm Thanarat Ubon, currently chief-of-staff of the navy, with Adm Narongphol na Bangchang, now deputy chief-of-staff of the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters (RTAFH).
Despite being close friends from Class 13 of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School (AFAPS), Adm Kraisorn has become frustrated with Adm Thanarat after having worked closely with him for several months.
The navy chief wants to work with someone who can share his need for attention to detail.
Adm Thanarat doesn't enjoy his job currently. The chief-of-staff is the navy's administration officer and responsible for all naval issues, requiring Adm Thanarat to pay a great deal of attention to small details.
According to a source, Adm Kraisorn expressed his displeasure with his old friend's work ethic at a recent naval meeting.
"The navy chief asked why it was not possible to change the navy's five tigers at the mid-year reshuffle. He said if they cannot do their jobs well, then something needs to change to maintain workflow," the source said.
It is rumoured that Adm Kraisorn and Adm Thanarat are hardly speaking at the moment.
Another reason for Adm Kraisorn to request Adm Narongphol's transfer from the RTAFH to become navy chief-of-staff is because he wants him to handle the procurement of a submarine. Adm Narongphol graduated from a German naval school and frequently worked with submarines, the same source said.
What's more, Adm Kraisorn is also a close friend of Adm Amorthep na Bangchang, a retired deputy supreme commander and an older brother of Adm Narongphol.
It is also speculated that if Adm Narongphol returns to the navy as chief-of-staff, he will have a good chance of becoming a candidate for the navy chief job when Adm Kraisorn retires this year.
Without Adm Narongphol, assistant navy chief Adm Na Areenij would be the sole candidate for the navy chief job after Adm Kraisorn's retirement.
But because Adm Narongphol is due to retire in September next year and Adm Na Areenij is due to retire the year after, Adm Narongphol may be made navy chief first, with Adm Na Areenij to succeed him the year after.
However, Adm Narongphol's brother had earlier missed out on the opportunity to become navy chief simply because he graduated from a school in Germany and the navy doesn't have a tradition of appointing overseas graduates as its chief.
Air force chief ACM Trithos Sonchaeng also graduated from a German school, raising the question of whether the navy will stick to its tradition or follow the air force's example.