The army was formed in 1874, partly as a response to new security threats following the 1855 Bowring Treaty with Britain, which opened the country for international trade.

The general retired October 2014[6] to concentrate on political reform which he said would take at least a year, following which he promised national elections would be held.

[7] The existence of an information warfare unit participating in a cyber campaign against government critics was leaked to the public in late February 2020.

According to Twitter "Our investigation uncovered a network of accounts partaking in information operations that we can reliably link to the Royal Thai Army (RTA).

[12] Saiyud Kerdphol is Thailand's oldest general, a veteran of World War II and Korea who retired in 1983 as supreme commander.

[18] Defence Minister, General Samphan Boonyanan, was quoted as saying that the new unit, dubbed the "Development Division", would not be a combat unit for fighting Islamic militants, but rather its main mission would be to assist local citizens and develop the region.

He said that troops for the new division would undergo training to give them a good understanding of local residents, the vast majority of whom are ethnic Malay Muslims.

It will now be headquartered at Fort Ingkhayutthaborihan in Pattani, complete with its battalions and companies of military police and communications and aviation personnel, he said.

[19] The 15th Infantry Division is being established as a permanent force to handle security problems in the Deep South.

[31] The Thai Defence Ministry position is that there is no law prohibiting retired officers from occupying military housing.

[32] In January 2021, the RTA signed a memorandum of understanding with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) to study the feasibility of constructing solar farms on 4.5 million rai of army land to generate 30,000 megawatts of electricity.