Reporters at Bloomberg put together a wonderful article on the current political ongoings in Thailand and the role of the army, see below for a few snippets and a link to the full article

“If you look at Thai history, the head of the army is the main key position, but that changed with the coup,” said Napisa Waitoolkiat, a political scientist at the Institute of Southeast Asian Affairs in Chiang Mai. “The head of the army is now not as powerful as Prayuth.”

Thaksin’s growing influence bothered retired generals close to the royal palace, Chambers said. When an insurgency broke out in southern Thailand in early 2004 on the watch of Thaksin’s cousin, they were able to shift power toward other factions, including the Eastern Tigers headed by Prawit Wongsuwan, who was named army chief, he said.

“This faction is really setting themselves up to be dominant into the future,” Napisa said. “They could really stay. They control troops and they control politics.”

Source: Bloomberg