Army officer retirees fill 100 houses

Army officer retirees fill 100 houses

The army has revealed that about 100 army houses are still occupied by military retirees for various reasons, while a new call centre has opened to receive complaints from soldiers around the clock.

Deputy army chief Gen Nattapol Nakpanit said an initial survey showed that retired high-ranking officers -- holding ranks ranging from general to colonel -- remained at about 100 military homes in central areas.

Some retired non-commissioned officers were also being allowed to stay in military housing. In the provinces, there were no problems regarding retired officers staying at military housing, he said.

He admitted it was hard to say whether retired military officers or active ones should be allowed to remain in military homes, and authorities had to take various factors into consideration. Although additional military housing had been built to accommodate officers, the number of new homes was limited due to budget constraints.

In some cases, senior military officers who had served in border areas or had fought on battlefields for the country had nowhere to stay when they returned, said Gen Nattapol, adding the army had to show flexibility regarding military housing rules. He would not say why retired generals had no homes, saying it was a personal matter.

The call centre set up on Tuesday for soldiers to directly lodge complaints with army chief Gen Apirat Kongsompong would remain open around the clock, said Gen Nattapol. Their problems would be addressed and reported to the army chief.

Under normal procedures, soldiers are able to lodge complaints up the chain of command to their commanding officers and then to the army chief through the Office of the Army Secretary. In the wake of the shooting rampage in Nakhon Ratchasima, the army has opened a direct channel between solders and the army chief as society felt junior soldiers were sometimes maltreated by their superiors, he said.

Staff from a private firm, not military officers, would receive complaints via the call centre. Complainants could give their names, ranks and positions to the centre. The complaints would be put in sealed envelopes before being forwarded to the army chief.

On fears among soldiers they would not be safe if their superiors learned that complaints had been lodged against them, Gen Nattapol said the army chief would transfer accused commanders, adding Gen Apirat has recently transferred several commanders. During his recent visit to soldiers and families at their units following the gun rampage in Nakhon Ratchasima, Gen Nattapol said many officers were viewed negatively by the public. "The army has about 200,000 soldiers. About two to three people were involved in the [shooting], but 200,000 soldiers also receive the blame,'' said the deputy army chief.

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