Washington National Guard deepens historic ties with Royal Thai Army in seventh Stryker Leader Course

The Washington National Guard’s 205th Regional Training Institute concluded the seventh Stryker Leader Course with the Royal Thai Army’s 112th Stryker Regiment Combat Team in Ko Chan District, Chon Buri Province, from May 15 to May 30, marking another step in a long-standing security partnership between the two countries.

The program has progressed from basic technical familiarization to a focus on operational readiness along Thailand’s borders. Since its launch in September 2022, more than 200 soldiers from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 112th Stryker Regiment have graduated, reshaping how the Royal Thai Army 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.”

Instructors tailored instruction to Thailand’s logistics and maintenance structures, including a major update to support the Royal Thai Army’s shift from the Remote Weapon Station to the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station. Lesson plans, gunnery procedures and crew drills were rewritten for CROWS-equipped vehicles. Maintenance blocks were rebuilt around a locally developed preventive maintenance checklist created with General Dynamics, rather than U.S. digital systems such as DA Form 5988-E and the Global Combat Support System-Army. Sustainment training emphasized the five standard NATO classes of supply, and administrative modules were adapted to reflect Thai maintenance symbols, deadline codes and documentation standards for immediate application in unit operations.

The localized approach was recently tested along the Cambodian border as mission demand increased and Stryker formations reinforced border security. Senior Royal Thai Army leaders credited the course with enabling a rapid and effective deployment. After-action reviews reported the trained task force as the first armored element in the sector to fully validate and complete its operational security mission set, executing live border operations with tactics, techniques and procedures refined during training.

Continuity has been a hallmark of the effort, with many of the same Washington National Guard master instructors returning each year and maintaining institutional memory with their counterparts. “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.

Those long-term ties have helped reduce bureaucratic friction, speed planning for each new course iteration and preserve lessons learned as Thai officers advance from company executive officer roles to company command, battalion executive officer positions and battalion command.

What began as a technical program has evolved into sustained cooperation and shared problem-solving that is deepening interoperability. The collaboration in Thailand aligns with broader frameworks that guide U.S.–Thai military cooperation, including the State Partnership Program and decades of JUSMAG-Thailand–led exercises and exchanges. Each completed iteration further reinforces a partnership designed to prepare soldiers from both nations for complex security challenges.