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Manpower and Personnel

The army continues to expand, with a stated goal of 500,000 troops. One of the first goals, after the establishment of power, was to expand the Tatmadaw. When the SLORC seized power in 1988, a third of the country was still affected by the insurgencies and in vast ethnic minority areas central control was negligible. One of the SLORC's priorities was a renewed assault on armed opposition groups.

From 1988 the army expanded rapidly; at the same time desertions reportedly increased and volunteers decreased. Particularly after the 1990 election, the SLORC stepped up its campaign along the borders with Thailand and China. From 1990 to 1992, Burma saw some of the heaviest fighting in the civil war that has existed since 1948. In its campaign against opposition groups, the SLORC re-invigorated Ne Win's policy of "four cuts": cutting off their food, intelligence, funds and recruits. At the same time, the SLORC rapidly expanded the size of the Army from an estimated 190,000 troops in 1988 to over 300,000 by 1993. Another goal was to procure arms and increase intelligence capabilities.

According to wiki, the Myanmar Army had some 370,000 active troops in the year 2000 [implying a typical battalion strength of 110 soldiers], while IISS reports a strength of 375,000 as of 2011 [implying a typical battalion strength of 86 soldiers]. As of 2009 the Army was reported to have an authorized strength of 450,000, but orbat.com estimated that the actual strength was only 250,000. "Almost without exception, the personnel in battalions are inflated. Generally battalions are 200 strong as against an authorized TO of about 750 (TO = 500 for Light Infantry Battalions), but often are no more than company size of even just a couple of platoons. Artillery battalions are often batteries equipped with 81mm mortars. We have no good explanation for the Army s creating new units instead of filling up existing ones."

In 2005, Burma, with a population of about 56 million people, had an estimated 428,000 active troops in its armed forces. Burma's neighbor Thailand, with a population of 63 million, had about 307,000 active duty troops. Overall strength of the armed forces was approximately 179,000 as of early 1983 -- a relatively small number when compared with the total available manpower, which was estimated at 7.5 million. Under these circumstances military service did not affect the economy adversely by creating manpower shortages. On the contrary, in light of the limited employment opportunities in the nation, the armed forces probably provided jobs for many who might otherwise be unemployed.

The Burmese armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, maintain the largest number of child soldiers in the world. The southeast Asian country had 50,000 child soldiers working for both government and opposition armies, according to a report released in June 2001 by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. Myanmar's army had an estimated 70,000 soldiers under 18 years of age, the largest number of child soldiers in the world, Human Rights Watch said in a 2002 report. "The overwhelming majority of Burma's child soldiers are found in Burma's national army, the Tatmadaw Kyi... " Children as young as 11 years old were forcibly snatched off the streets and recruited into the army, which had an estimated 350,000 soldiers, the group reported. By 2010 NGOs such as Terre des Hommes and Human Rights Watch estimate that there are up to 80,000 of them. Although it is difficult to acquire exact figures, in 2010 Human Rights Watch calculates that every fifth soldier is under 18.

Very little information was made public concerning armed forces personnel because such matters were considered to relate to the national security. Specific data regarding ethnic and regional background-were especially sensitive in view of the government's commitment to build national unity and to downplay ethnic differences. It appeared, however, that the armed forces were ethnically integrated at all levels and that a military career provided a very successful channel of upward mobility for members of ethnic minorities. Female personnel in the armed forces numbered under 500, representing less than 1 percent of the total. They were primarily assigned medical and clerical duties, but a few worked in supply, signals, or engineering units. None were in combat fields. The officer corps was kept fairly small in relation to other ranks. This was especially true at the topmost levels, where there were only some 20 officers of general rank.