Counter Terrorist Operations Center

The Counter Terrorist Operations Center (CTOC; Thai: ศูนย์ปฏิบัติการต่อต้านการก่อการร้ายสากล, abbreviated ศตก.) is a joint operational command of the Royal Thai Armed Forces and the Royal Thai Police, responsible for special operations and counter-terrorism. It operates under the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters (formerly the Supreme Command Headquarters) within the Ministry of Defence, and is supervised by the Supreme Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. Its motto is "We are one we win." The center traces its origins to 1 February 1983, when a cabinet resolution, following a proposal by the National Security Council, established the International Counter-Terrorism Intelligence Operations Center under the Capital Security Command. Its initial mission was intelligence-focused, addressing international terrorism at both strategic and tactical levels, with the Capital Security Command acting as coordinating unit. On 18 January 1997, a cabinet resolution transferred the center to the Supreme Command Headquarters, where it was organized as Joint Coordination Center 106 (ศอร.106), alongside Joint Coordination Center 107 (landmine issues, now the National Mine Action Center) and Joint Coordination Center 108 (drug rehabilitation). On 18 March 1997, the cabinet further assigned the National Security Council to handle the center's annual budget. In 2003, Joint Coordination Center 106 was renamed the Counter Terrorist Operations Center. On 19 July 2006, it was approved to be upgraded from a joint coordination center to a regular unit, taking its current name and gaining responsibility for coordinating, directing, planning and conducting counter-terrorism operations, as well as exercising operational control over special operations units of the armed forces, the Royal Thai Police, and other assigned special units. CTOC's working methods evolved from the Incident Command System, developed through Crisis Response Team training under the U.S. Department of State's Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program around 1997. Thailand subsequently produced the 2004 Joint Counter-Terrorism Operations Manual, incorporated incident command concepts into the 2015 National Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Master Plan, and compiled the 2017 Incident Command System and Emergency Management in Thailand manual as CTOC's operating guideline. Beyond operational control of special units, CTOC personnel are trained and assigned to its own sub-units for counter-terrorism operations, including special operations, scientific operations, explosive ordnance disposal, medical, and other supporting units. The center is governed by two levels of committees: the Policy and Direction Committee for Solving International Terrorism Problems (นอก.), chaired by the Prime Minister, and the Sub-Committee for Directing the Solution of International Terrorism Problems (อกรส.), chaired by the Supreme Commander. At the operational level, CTOC plans, directs, coordinates and supervises high-readiness special operations units and other relevant agencies to accomplish counter-terrorism missions in all forms.

The Counter Terrorist Operations Center (CTOC) was established on 1 February 1983 by a cabinet resolution, following a proposal by the National Security Council. At that time it was named the International Counter-Terrorism Intelligence Operations Center and was placed under the Capital Security Command. Its primary mission was intelligence work against international terrorism at both strategic and tactical levels, with the Capital Security Command serving as the coordinating unit for related agencies. On 18 January 1997, a cabinet resolution transferred the International Counter-Terrorism Intelligence Operations Center to the Supreme Command Headquarters (today the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters). It was organized as Joint Coordination Center 106 (ศอร.106) under the Joint Coordination Center of the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters, in order to create unity of effort. It operated alongside Joint Coordination Center 107 (ศอร.107), which handled implementation of the Ottawa Convention on the prohibition of anti-personnel mines and is now the National Mine Action Center, and Joint Coordination Center 108 (ศอร.108), which handled rehabilitation of drug addicts. On 18 March 1997, the cabinet again approved assigning the National Security Council to be responsible for the center's annual budget. In 2003, Joint Coordination Center 106 was renamed the Counter Terrorist Operations Center. Then, on 19 July 2006, the agency was approved to be upgraded from a joint coordination center to a regular unit, taking the name Counter Terrorist Operations Center. Its roles and missions cover coordinating, directing, planning and conducting the prevention and suppression of terrorism, and it exercises operational control over special operations units of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, the Royal Thai Police, and other assigned special operations teams. The center's working methods developed from the Incident Command System for efficiently controlling, directing and commanding personnel and operational teams drawn from different agencies. This was based on Crisis Response Team training under the Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program of the U.S. Department of State around 1997. Thailand was subsequently able to issue the 2004 Joint Counter-Terrorism Operations Manual as an internal practice guideline, and incorporated incident command concepts into the 2015 National Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Master Plan. It also compiled various bodies of knowledge into the 2017 Incident Command System and Emergency Management in Thailand manual as a practice guideline for CTOC. In addition to operational control over special operations units of the armed forces and the Royal Thai Police, CTOC's own personnel are trained and assigned to the center's sub-units for counter-terrorism operations, such as special operations units, scientific operations units, explosive ordnance disposal units, medical units, and other supporting units. CTOC's structure includes the Central Division (กกล.), Plans and Projects Division (กผค.), Intelligence Division (กขว.), Training Division (กกฝ.), and Special Operations Division (กปษ.), the latter containing a special operations section, a tactical support section, a scientific operations team, an improvised explosive device recovery and disposal team, a special equipment and tactical intelligence team, and a tactical communications team. Under operational control, the special operations units of the armed forces and the Royal Thai Police that report to CTOC include: Royal Thai Army — Special Operations Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Regiment (Task Force 90); Royal Thai Navy — Naval Special Warfare Command, Royal Fleet; Royal Thai Air Force — Special Operations Regiment, Air Defense Command; Royal Thai Police — Arintharat 26, Counter-Terrorism Sub-Division, Patrol and Special Operations Division, Metropolitan Police Bureau, and Naresuan 261, Sub-Division 3, Airborne Support Division (Police Paratroopers), Border Patrol Police Headquarters. CTOC's training takes the form of joint and combined exercises between the special operations units of the armed forces and the Royal Thai Police, as well as joint incident response exercises with relevant government and private agencies for threats that may arise from international terrorism, under the name National Crisis Management Exercise (C-MEX), held regularly every year with different threat scenarios reflecting the global situation. There are also joint combined exercises with special operations forces of Thailand's military allies, such as the United States — exercises with the 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group under the code name Balance Torch, and with U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets) — as well as joint exercises with ASEAN member states in the field training of the Experts' Working Group on Counter-Terrorism under the framework of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting and the ADMM-Plus, held in China.

• 2017

  The Incident Command System and Emergency Management in Thailand manual was compiled as CTOC's practice guideline.

• 2015

  Incident command concepts were incorporated into the National Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Master Plan.

• 2006

  Approved to be upgraded from a joint coordination center to a regular unit under the name Counter Terrorist Operations Center.

• 2004

  Thailand issued the Joint Counter-Terrorism Operations Manual as an internal practice guideline.

• 2003

  Joint Coordination Center 106 was renamed the Counter Terrorist Operations Center.

• 1997

  Cabinet resolution transferred the center to the Supreme Command Headquarters as Joint Coordination Center 106 (ศอร.106).

• 1997

  Cabinet approved assigning the National Security Council to handle the center's annual budget.

• 1983

  Established by cabinet resolution as the International Counter-Terrorism Intelligence Operations Center under the Capital Security Command.

Joint military-police counter-terrorism command under the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters, exercising operational control over Thailand's high-readiness special operations units.

1. 1Counter Terrorist Operations Center — Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2ศูนย์ปฏิบัติการต่อต้านการก่อการร้ายสากล — Wikipedia (Thai)th.wikipedia.org
3. 3CTOC official websitectoc.rtarf.mi.th