Royal Cambodian Army

Land warfare branch of Cambodia's military

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Royal Cambodian Army

កងទ័ពជើងគោក
Kâng Toăp Cheung Koŭk

Emblem of the Royal Cambodian Army

Founded| 9 November 1953; 71 years ago (1953-11-09)
Country|  Cambodia
Allegiance|  King of Cambodia
Type| Army
Role| Land warfare
Size| 85,000 men[1]
Part of|  Royal Cambodian Armed Forces
Garrison/HQ| Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Motto(s)| "ការពារព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា" (Khmer)
("Defend the Kingdom of Cambodia")
"វានឹងមិនបញ្ចប់លុះត្រាតែយើងឈ្នះ" (Khmer)
("It won’t end unless we win")
Colours| Red, Blue
Anniversaries| 9 November
Engagements|

* Indochina Wars
* First Indochina War
* Second Indochina War
* Cambodian Civil War
* Third Indochina War
* Cambodian–Vietnamese War
* Cambodian conflict (1979–1998)
* 1997 clashes in Cambodia
* Cambodian–Thai border dispute
* 2025 Cambodia–Thailand clashes

Commanders
Current
commander| General Mao Sophan[2]
Notable
commanders| General Meas Sophea
General Tea Seiha
General Srey Doek
General Hing Bun Hieng
Insignia
Unit colour|

Military unit

The Royal Cambodian Army (Khmer: កងទ័ពជើងគោក, Kâng Toăp Cheung Koŭk; lit. 'Land Force') is a part of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. It has ground forces which numbered 85,000 divided into eleven divisions of infantry, with integrated armour and artillery support. The Royal Army is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of National Defence.

## Military organisation

[edit]

Royal Cambodian Army soldiers

Under the current military plan and divisions, every military region has a full division size. Each division will be supplemented by a mobile reinforcement division in Phnom Penh. The country is divided into six, until recently five, military regions, each comprising three or four provinces. There are garrisons in major cities and major army bases.

Lieutenant General Mao Sophan is the commander of the Royal Cambodian Army.

The forces are deployed as required across the country and in operations, with bases as follows:

* 1st Military Region (យោធភូមិភាគទី១): Headquarters are in Stung Treng and the region covers the provinces of Stung Treng, Kratié, Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri.
* 2nd Military Region (យោធភូមិភាគទី២): Headquarters are in Kampong Cham and the region covers the provinces of Kampong Cham, Prey Veng, and Svay Rieng.
* 3rd Military Region (យោធភូមិភាគទី៣): Headquarters are in Kampong Speu and the region covers the provinces of Kampong Speu, Takéo, Kampot, Sihanoukville, Koh Kong and Kep.
* 4th Military Region (យោធភូមិភាគទី៤): Headquarters are in Siem Reap and the region covers the provinces of Siem Reap, Oddar Meanchey, Preah Vihear, and Kampong Thom.
* 5th Military Region (យោធភូមិភាគទី៥): Headquarters are in Battambang and the region covers the provinces of Battambang, Pursat, Banteay Meanchey and Pailin.
* Special Military Region (យោធភូមិភាគពិសេស): Headquarters are in the capital, Phnom Penh and the region covers the provinces of Kampong Chhnang, Kandal and the greater municipality of Phnom Penh.

Every military region is under the command of a major general, assisted by a chief of staff with a rank of a brigadier general. In every province, there is a military base called a military operation zone under the command of a colonel.

## Airborne special forces

[edit]

Main article: Special Forces Command (Cambodia)

## Equipment

[edit]

Main article: List of equipment of the Royal Cambodian Army

## Peacekeeping operations

[edit]

The RCAF has sent RCAF personnel to various hotspots as part of the Kingdom of Cambodia's role as a member of the United Nations. Mostly engineers and logistical units, a total of 6,822 soldiers, of them 369 are women, have been so far sent to 10 peacekeeping missions in nine countries such as:[3]

* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Cyprus
* Lebanon
* Mali
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Syria
* Yemen

## Army ranks and insignia

[edit]

Main article: Military ranks of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces

### Commissioned officer ranks

[edit]

The rank insignia of commissioned officers.

Rank group  | General / flag officers  | Senior officers  | Junior officers

|
|
|

Royal Cambodian Army

* v
* t
* e

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
នាយឧត្ដមសេនីយ៍ផុតលេខ
Neay utdamsenei phot lek | នាយឧត្ដមសេនីយ៍
Neay utdamsenei | ឧត្ដមសេនីយ៍ឯក
Utdamsenei ek | ឧត្តមសេនីយ៍ទោ
Utdamsenei tou | ឧត្តមសេនីយ៍ត្រី
Utdamsenei trei | វរសេនីយ៍ឯក
Veareasenei ek | វរសេនីយ៍ទោ
Veareasenei tou | វរសេនីយ៍ត្រី
Veareasenei trei | អនុសេនីយ៍ឯក
Anusenei ek | អនុសេនីយ៍ទោ
Anusenei tou | អនុសេនីយ៍ត្រី
Anusenei trei

### Other ranks

[edit]

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.

Rank group  | Senior NCOs  | Junior NCOs  | Enlisted

|
|
|

Royal Cambodian Army

* v
* t
* e

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
ព្រឹន្ទបាលឯក
Pruentobal ek | ព្រឹន្ទបាលទោ
Pruentobal tou | ពលបាលឯក
Polobal ek | ពលបាលទោ
Polobal tou | ពលបាលត្រី
Polobal trei | នាយឯក
Neay ek | នាយទោ
Neay tou | ពលឯក
Pol ek | ពលទោ
Pol tou

## See also

[edit]

* Cambodian Civil War
* Khmer National Army
* Khmer National Armed Forces
* Royal Cambodian Armed Forces
* Royal Cambodian Air Force
* Royal Cambodian Navy
* Weapons of the Cambodian Civil War

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Anthony H. Cordesman; Robert Hammond (16 May 2011), THE MILITARY BALANCE IN ASIA: 1990–2011 (PDF), Center for Strategic and International Studies, p. 70, retrieved 27 June 2011
2. ^ "Prime Minister Hun Sen announces that Lt General Mao Sophan will take over the post of Army Commander when Dr. Hun Manet takes office as Prime Minister". Khmer Times. 22 March 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
3. ^ "Hun Sen says Cambodia proud of participating in UN peacekeeping missions". Khmer Times. 20 September 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.

* http://www.manager.co.th/IndoChina/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9520000121559

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Army of Cambodia.

* Official website
* Ministry of National Defence
* PhnomPenhPost

* v
* t
* e

Militaries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Royal Brunei Armed Forces|

* Royal Brunei Land Force
* Royal Brunei Air Force
* Royal Brunei Navy

South-East Asia highlighted in green

Royal Cambodian Armed Forces|

* Royal Cambodian Army
* Royal Cambodian Air Force
* Royal Cambodian Navy
* Royal Gendarmerie

Indonesian National Armed Forces|

* Indonesian Army
* Indonesian Navy (Indonesian Marine Corps)
* Indonesian Air Force

Lao People's Armed Forces|

* Lao People's Army
* Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force
* Lao People's Navy

Malaysian Armed Forces|

* Malaysian Army
* Royal Malaysian Air Force
* Royal Malaysian Navy
* Malaysia Coast Guard

Myanmar Armed Forces|

* Myanmar Army
* Myanmar Air Force
* Myanmar Navy
* Myanmar Coast Guard
* Myanmar Police Force

Armed Forces of the Philippines|

* Philippine Army
* Philippine Air Force
* Philippine Navy
* Philippine Marine Corps
* Philippine Coast Guard

Singapore Armed Forces|

* Singapore Army
* Republic of Singapore Air Force
* Republic of Singapore Navy
* Digital and Intelligence Service
* Police Coast Guard

Royal Thai Armed Forces|

* Royal Thai Army
* Royal Thai Air Force
* Royal Thai Navy
* Royal Thai Marine Corps

People's Army of Vietnam|

* Vietnam People's Ground Force
* Vietnam People's Air Force
* Vietnam People's Navy
* Vietnam Coast Guard
* Vietnam Border Guard

Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states

*  Brunei
*  Cambodia
*  Indonesia
*  Laos
*  Malaysia
*  Myanmar
*  Philippines
*  Singapore
*  Thailand
*  Vietnam

*[lit.]: literal translation
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template