For years Ma Than Than (an alias) assumed her younger brother Phoe Thein (an alias) was dead until, out of the blue he contacted her.

“For about 20-25 years, there was no contact. But, when his leg was amputated due to a landmine explosion, he made contact with us.”

The brother had been a Myanmar military or Tatmadaw soldier and had lost his leg in the explosion in Kayah State.

Ma Than Than’s voice was filled with sadness, anguish and relief as she related the story.

“He disappeared when he was in his teens. We had no idea where he was and how to contact him. We reported him missing and we tried everything, but we got no information regarding his whereabouts. Our mother was waiting for him until she passed,” she said.

When he got in touch, he said that he was a clerk and that he worked with data and numbers. He had never been to the front, she added.

Last December Clerk Sergeant Phoe Thein, despite never having been to the front, found himself involved in a battle in Kayah State during which he was blown up by a landmine that injured his right leg so badly that it had to be amputated from above the knee.

Until now, he has only had phone contact with his sister Ma Than Than and his other siblings. They have not yet met in person.

His sister said Phoe Thein had got married and had two children since he was last in contact with his family. He now lives outside the military compound with his family and mother-in-law.

What have you been fighting for?

“His right leg has been amputated so he cannot find work. He said he would ask his senior officers if he could get any compensation. When he asked other amputees like him, [they said] compensation was about 4.5 lakh Kyat. Even for that, it takes about a month after you have applied [to arrive]. What can I say? We haven’t even met in person and I am already sad about his situation,” said Ma Than Than.

In reality, the military only offers medical support to soldiers who have lost body parts in battle, they do not offer any compensation for lost limbs. We were told that the Adjutant General Office offers 50 to 100 thousand kyats to soldiers who lose limbs, but there is a long waiting list for compensation and it is paid out in order of seniority with those of higher ranks getting paid first.

CDM Captain Lin Htet Aung said: “Medical care is given to the soldiers who have lost their limbs, but not compensation. After they are discharged from the hospital, they have to join and serve in the division for the amputees. They are offered the same salary as normal soldiers.”

If they get discharged, the adjutant office offers 300,000 Kyat. Life insurance, deducted from their monthly salary, is awarded only after death.

The families of the soldiers who have been killed in action are compensated with a pension, a life insurance payout from the Oo Paing Company and a payment dependent on the length of their service in the military.

Leaving the Army

Sergeant Phoe Thein will have to rehabilitate in Yangon for one month and was told to continue his service later at the disabled division in Bago.

“He said he does not want to join the disabled division in Bago. He wants to be discharged if possible. We don’t know what will happen next,” said Ma Than Than.

The division for the amputated soldiers is in Taungoo, Bago Division. As long as they can still move, amputees are not allowed to leave the service and they are asked to do what they can.

They are asked to be the gatekeepers in front of military compounds, to be barbers, or to work in agriculture.

After they apply to be discharged, it can take 4 to 5 years to get permission to leave, depending on the situation.

Captain Nyi Thu Ta, a CDM soldier said that during his service, he found out that 40 soldiers out of a 100 soldiers in one battalion were amputees.

A soldier’s health and performance are put into different wellness grades. Soldiers with normal health are given grade A, the ones who are disabled and single limb amputees are in grade B and those with two missing limbs are grade C. Getting permission to be discharged depends on a soldier’s wellness grade.

“A soldier does not get a lower wellness grade just because he became disabled. You won’t be allowed to leave that easily. If you can move around, you continue serving,” explained Captain Lin Htet Aung.

The wife of an in-service captain said that before, you could pay a bribe to get discharged for medical reasons, but since the coup no one is allowed to leave the military for any reason.

She added, “Now, even the soldiers with missing limbs are not allowed to leave and they are given whatever duties they can perform. To fill whatever spot, like guarding the gate or working in the office, they are not given the chance to leave.”

“For now, even promotions have been postponed to focus on the military operations,'' she continued.

Before the coup, her husband attended training and was to be promoted after the training. However, he still has not been promoted. She explained: “He cannot leave even though he wants to.”

Military facing manpower problems

Normally, Clerk Sergeants are permanent office staff who work behind the front line in military compounds.

Why are such office staff having to fight at the front lines?

Captain Lin Htet Aung explained: “A Clerk Sergeant does his office work in the office. Only when there is the need for manpower at the front are Clerk Sergeants like him (Clerk Sergeant Phoe Thein) sent there. It can be assumed that the military is very short of manpower.”

Sources inside the military said the army, which has opened battlefronts in Sagaing, Magway, Karenni (Kayah), Karen, Chin, Mong Koe and Kachin states, has very few reserves.

Since last August, the wives of soldiers who live in the barracks have been equipped with weapons as reserves. They have been asked to take guard duties and to train.

In some barracks, regarded as a reserve force, soldiers’ wives in turn have to take guard duties day and night.

“The numbers are really low at the bases. Because the army is not fully manned, when the reports about levels of manpower are submitted, soldiers who have been killed in action are reported as being on leave,” Captain Lin Htet Aung said.

The military’s manpower is decreasing every day as they lose soldiers in different ways, from getting killed in the battles to being targeted by bomb explosions in the cities.

Last January 7, three soldiers along with their weapons surrendered themselves to KNU Brigade (5).

The People’s Embrace group has reported that from the time of the coup, until now, there have been more than 8,000 police and soldiers who have defected to the Civil Disobedience Movement. More than 2,000 of those were soldiers.

Captain Lin Htet Aung has a request for soldiers still in the military: “Please don’t stay in the military which is gradually falling apart. If you can, please surrender yourselves to the revolutionary forces.”