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This latest milestone reflects how the bilateral relationship has matured from basic technical familiarization into a focus on real-world operational readiness along Thailand’s borders. Since the course was formally launched in September 2022, more than 200 Royal Thai Army (RTA) soldiers from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 112th Stryker Regiment have graduated, reshaping how the RTA commands, maintains and employs its armored forces.
“There are things taught in our curriculum for the Stryker Leader Course back home that aren’t tailored for their system and needs here in Thailand,” said U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Ricky Thomas, deputy surface maintenance manager with the Washington National Guard, “We have made adjustments to the course to better suit the needs of the Royal Thai Army.”
Rather than simply copying and pasting the U.S. curriculum, the Stryker Leader Course in Thailand is uniquely tailored.
Acknowledging that the RTA operates under different logistics systems and maintenance structures, Washington National Guard instructors have methodically adjusted the curriculum to fit Thai conditions.
One major line of effort has been updating instruction to support the RTA’s transition from the legacy Remote Weapon Station (RWS) to the more advanced Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS). Lesson plans, gunnery procedures and crew drills were rewritten to match the capabilities and requirements of CROWS-equipped vehicles.
Logistics and maintenance training have undergone similar tailoring. While U.S. Army units depend heavily on tablets, digital DA Form 5988-E, and the Global Combat Support System-Army (GCSS-Army), Royal Thai units use a locally developed preventive maintenance checklist built in coordination with General Dynamics. In response, instructors recast maintenance blocks around the RTA checklist so that daily practices in the motor pool align directly with course instruction.
Sustainment blocks were also streamlined. Instead of the U.S. Army’s 10-class supply system, the course in Thailand focuses on the five standard NATO classes of supply, providing a simpler, more relevant framework for RTA logisticians.
Even administrative details required careful attention. Maintenance symbols, deadline codes and documentation standards in RTA records do not mirror U.S. formats and often carry different implications for operational readiness. By rebuilding the course to reflect these local systems, the Stryker Leader Course delivers immediately applicable training that Thai soldiers can carry straight from the classroom into their day-to-day operations.
The value of this localized training was tested recently under real operational conditions along the Cambodian border. As mission requirements expanded and tempo increased, RTA units were tasked to reinforce border security with their Stryker formations.
Senior Royal Thai Army leaders credited the Stryker Leader Course with enabling a swift and effective deployment. According to after-action reviews, the trained task force became the first armored element in the sector to fully validate and complete its operational security mission set. Units executed live border security operations using tactics, techniques and procedures honed during instruction from the Washington National Guard.
Where advisory teams turn over quickly, the Washington National Guard’s 205th RTI provides consistent leadership and institutional memory. By sending many of the same master instructors back to Thailand year after year, the Guard has built enduring professional and personal relationships with RTA officers and noncommissioned officers.
“When we first arrived in the country back in 2022, they were Lieutenants. Now they are Captains and those who were Captains are now Majors and Lieutenant Colonels. The continued relationships create a deeper bond and trust with the Royal Thai Army,” said Sgt. 1st Class Sam Mattern, 205th Regional Training Institute Senior Instructor.
Guardsmen point to ties stretching back more than four years. Officers who first trained alongside the Washington team as Lieutenants during exercises in Yakima, Washington, now wear Captain and Major ranks. Throughout the years, Washington guardsmen have seen officers go from company executive officers to company commanders, battalion executive officers and now command battalions in Thailand. These long-term bonds of trust and mutual respect help reduce bureaucratic friction, accelerate planning for each new course iteration and ensure that lessons learned are carried forward rather than lost between rotations.
As a result, the Stryker Leader Course has become far more than a technical program. It is a vehicle for sustained cooperation, shared problem-solving and a growing sense of interoperability between the Washington National Guard and the Royal Thai Army.
The ongoing collaboration in Koh Chan is grounded in broader diplomatic and security frameworks that guide U.S.–Thai military cooperation. The State Partnership Program, managed by the U.S. Department of Defense, and decades of JUSMAG-Thailand–led exercises and exchanges form the foundation.
Within that framework, each completed iteration of the Stryker Leader Course strengthens an alliance that spans continents and generations, ensuring that both nations’ soldiers are better prepared for the complex security challenges of today and tomorrow.