Uniforms and Insignia - FARK - Forces Armées Royales Khmères
The Cambodian serviceman presented a generally favorable appearance; he was neat, clean and usually proud of his uniform. His clotlting and personal equipment were of good quality, were simple and comfortable and adequate to his needs. His appearance had not changed radically from the soldiers of the French colonial army, but the accessories and distinctive devices of his uniform were designed to keep him conscious of his unique national status.
The rank and grade structure of all three services has been adopted from the French almost without change, and insignia or rank closely follow the French pattern for both officers and noncommissioned officers. Army and air force ranks were identical and used the French titles, whereas the navy used the distinctive designations of the French naval service. Officers' insignia of grade were displayed on shoulder boards; the army and navy used a basic dark blue and the air force a lighter blue, Some of the army services had a distinctive color, such as light green for paratroops and maroon for medical corpsmen.
Noncommissioned officers' chevrons were worn on the upper left sleeve or, for dress occasions, on shoulder boards; General officer shoulder boards had gold stripe of laurel-like leaves marking the outer edge, and grade is indicated by small silver stars. Other officer ranks use narrow bands of gold (or gold and silver) braid across the end of the shoulder boards. Noncommissioned officers wore chevrons of gold braid or colored cloth (indicating branch of service). These closely resembled United States equivalents and were worn with the points upward for the combat arms and reversed for the services. Adjudants and Adjudants chef wore officer-type insignia on the shoulder, and aspirant (officer candidate) a distinct grade that ranked just below second lieutenant, had its own officer-style insignia.
Responsibilities for commissioned officers generally followed Western practice; lieutenants commanded platoons; captains were in charge of companies; and lieutenant colonels or majors commanded battalions. Among non-commissioned officers, squad leaders were generally sergeants with corporals as assistants. Higher ranks as well adjudants, might occupy staff positions or serve as platoon sergeants specialists or unit sergeant majors.
The uniforms of the military services, furnished for the most part by France, followed French design, with minor changes in detail and insignia, to lend a national character. Except for the navy, which wore the standard white of the French service, uniforms were built up from the basic tropical outfit of khaki shirts and trousers. Shorts and short-sleeved shirts were worn as the weather dictated, and long trousers were tucked into combat boots or leggings for field or garrison wear and worn loose with low-quarter shoes for dress. Officers wore the conventional service coat blouse for off-duty and dress occasions, and they also had a white dress uniform. Headgear included berets, bush hats, oversea caps, and peaked garrison caps, and helmets were worn frequently in the field.
A national emblem of the arms of Cambodia was worn by all officers; it was centered on their shoulder board along with their insignia of rank. The air force arms added stylized wings, and the navy insigne incorporated a fouled anchor. The national arms were also used as a cap ornament and, as the central theme of other badges and devices, such as buttons and pilots' wings. The army adopted distinctive branch insignia of brass or enamel, which were worn on the shirt collar or the lapel of the blouse" The infantry uses crossed rifles,. artillery crossed cannon; engineers, a stylied temple tower; quartermaster, a flaming grenade; and medical, a caduceus superimpsed on a red cross. Pilots' wings were gold colored, and paratroops' badges were silver.
The military made extensive use of awards and decorations, and the military were particularly conscious of the many national symbols of official recognition. Awards were highly prized and were worn with pride. There were several strictly military decorations and numerous national orders and awards designed to reward individual accomplishment or outstanding service of either a military or a civil nature. Civilian and, in rare cases, military awards might be presented to foreign nationals.
The ranking decoration was the Grand Collar of the National Order of Independence, which was given in a single class for exceptional services to the kingdom. This was followed by the Royal Order of Cambodia, which closely parallelled the French Legion of Honor in form and structure and consistd of five grades ranging upward from Chevalier through Officer, Commander, Grand Officer and Grand Cross. Next in order of precedence were two military awards, the Sena Jayaseddh Medal, presented in one class for exceptional military services, and the National Defense Medal, which came as a bronze, silver, or gold star for acts of heroism in action.
Three additional decorations were often awarded to military personnel but were not restricted to services of a military nature: the Medal of the Crown, a single class award; the Medal of the Kingdom, in bronze, silver or gold categories; and the Anussara Medal of Royal Remembrance, also limited to one basic class. Campaign and service medals were issued periodically, and a variety of other specialized orders and decorations recognized achievement in such fields as sports, agriculture, literature, labor and cleanliness. There was also a special medal of merit for women. Article 42 of the Constitution, as amended in 1956, stated that the King (later Chief of State) was grand master of all of the orders of the kingdom and made all appointments thereto.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
