The Volunteer Defense Corps (Thai: กองอาสารักษาดินแดน; abbreviated VDC) is a paramilitary under the authority of the Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA), Ministry of Interior.^[1] It was founded in 1954 to provide extra military support to the Royal Thai Armed Forces and to protect local civilians living near Thailand's borders.^[2][3]

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Thai. (July 2017) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Thai article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Thai Wikipedia article at [[:th:กองอาสารักษาดินแดน]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template {{Translated|th|กองอาสารักษาดินแดน}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Quick Facts Founded, Country ...

Volunteer Defense Corps
กองอาสารักษาดินแดน
Emblem of the Volunteer Defense Corps
Founded	10 February 1954 (1954-02-10)
Country	Thailand
Type	Paramilitary
Role	Close-quarters combat Counterinsurgency Crowd control Executive protection Force protection Humanitarian aid HUMINT Internal security Jungle warfare Law enforcement Patrolling Psychological warfare Raiding Reconnaissance Tactical emergency medical services Urban warfare
Part of	Department of Provincial Administration, Ministry of Interior[1]
Garrison/HQ	Bangkok, Thailand
Engagements	Communist insurgency in Thailand South Thailand Insurgency
Commanders
Minister of Interior	VDC General Anutin Charnvirakul

Close

The Volunteer Defense Corps (colloquially called Or Sor in Thailand) was formally established on 10 February 1954^[4][3] by the Thai Border Patrol Police (BPP) in response to complaints by civilians of banditry and harassment by insurgent and separatist organizations. Originally, the VDC's purpose was to protect civilians from insurgents who had crossed into Thai border provinces from neighboring Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia. VDC members were trained by the BPP and sent to protect civilians and farms from extortion and attacks by insurgents.^[5]

In 1974, the VDC was expanded by the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) to urban areas to fight communist insurgents. In the late-1980s, VDC strength was estimated at 33,000, down from a peak of about 52,000 in 1980. Part of the decrease in numbers was due to the formation of the Thahan Phran, a paramilitary unit formed to counter communist insurgents, which absorbed some units of the VDC.

Since 2004, the VDC has had a major role in fighting the South Thailand insurgency.^[2][6]

Officers

More information Rank group, General / flag officers ...

Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers								Officer cadet
Volunteer Defense Corps
			VDC General								VDC Colonel		VDC Lieutenant Colonel		VDC Major		VDC Captain		VDC First Lieutenant			VDC Second Lieutenant
			VDC Gen								VDC Col		VDC Lt Col		VDC Maj		VDC Capt		VDC 1st Lt			VDC 2nd Lt

Close

Enlisted

More information Rank group, Senior NCOs ...

Rank group	Senior NCOs																						Junior NCOs						Enlisted
Volunteer Defense Corps																																			No insignia
	VDC Sergeant Major																VDC Sergeant						VDC Corporal						VDC Lance Corporal						VDC Member
	VDC Sgt Maj																VDC Sgt						VDC Cpl						VDC Lcpl						VDC Mbr

Close