r/nottheonion • u/novagridd • 8h ago

Thailand's Prostitution Patrol on High Alert as 5,000 US Sailors Drop Ship After 200 Days at Sea

https://www.fashiontimes.co.uk/pattaya-police-intensify-prostitution-patrols-us-navy-visit-1763395
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u/nerdmor 7h ago

Honest question for those who served: isn't there a serious risk of a bunch of those sailors simply going AWOL?

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u/MsCorningstone 7h ago

Thailand has really strict visa policies for US military. Even if they do go awol, they are not getting out of the country and will have a tough time since many sailors do not even have passports. I was there in '09 and we had to jump through hoops to get sailors in and out of the country. Some were denied entry and had to be sent to the next port.

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u/VirtualLife76 7h ago

Never thought about it, how does that work? Do they have a local checking everyone as the get off the boat or is it more of an honor system?

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u/MsCorningstone 6h ago

There is an agreement between the two countries. Sailors do not go through immigration when they go into a foreign port. Essentially they send a list to the country and everyone that comes in with the boat needs to leave with the boat.