Photo By Sgt. Charles Marx | Exercise Hanuman Guardian 26 is a bilateral training exercise between the U.S. Army...... read more read more
Lopburi, Thailand - Royal Thai Army (RTA) commander uses experience from attending schools in the United States to shape a modern and ready Infantry unit.
In 2019, the Royal Thai Army’s 112th Stryker Regiment was founded with the receipt of M1126 Infantry Carrier Vehicles, commonly known as the Stryker, from the United States as a part of the modernization of the RTA.
Captain Jack Langkafa, dubbed “Captain Jack,” a company commander in the RTA’s 112th Stryker Regiment, has been with the unit since its inception in 2019 and has been a key part of the integration of Strykers into the RTA.
Captain Langkafa, raised in Thailand, attended Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington and the Maneuver Captains Career Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he spent years immersed in U.S. military curriculum.
In high school, Captain Jack was awarded a scholarship from Thailand’s military academy for college and used it to study at VMI. Prior to departing for VMI, Captain Jack was sent to finish his last year of high school at St. Stephens Episcopal School in Austin, Texas.
At VMI, Captain Jack was paired up with a senior mentor that was able to help him get assimilated into American culture and build relationships with other cadets, most of which he still maintains to this day.
“Coming from Thailand, it’s not easy to get into another culture fast, but he helped close that bridge,” said Captain Jack about his mentor. “Since the military community forces everyone to do the same thing … I was forced to do exactly the same as the Americans … I think that helped me make a lot of friends quickly and embrace American culture.”
A few years later, Captain Jack was in Thailand’s 112th Stryker Regiment and applied to attend the Maneuver Captains Career Course, where he was selected for the school after completing a competitive evaluation process.
Langkafa found the school to be challenging but very educational and even attributes his favorite experience from his American military training to an intramural football league that he participated in during MCCC with his cohort.
“For those of us who aren’t American, to step up and play football … you need to build up some courage and confidence,” said Jack. “Since I had been in the U.S. before, prior to [M]CCC, I could play - but I had friends from Africa, Asia, South Korea who were scared to play. I could see myself as that 12th grader in Texas trying to make friends. I was trying to be the bridge for them. At the end, all of my partner-nation friends played, and one of them won the MVP award.”
MCCC wasn’t just a rewarding experience for him personally, it also set him up to successfully lead in the 112th Stryker Regiment as they modernized the Royal Thai Army.
“Our regiment really promotes American-style leadership,” said Langkafa. “Going to U.S. schools and learning U.S. Army doctrine … I could use that knowledge to incorporate into our training to develop the brand new Stryker regiment to meet the standard we planned.”
In 2025, Captain Jack had the opportunity to give a presentation at the Indo-Pacific Motorized Forum on the integration of Strykers into the RTA.
“That was probably the most defining moment as a Stryker company commander - showing the potential of our Stryker regiment to the partner nations,” said Langkafa.
The 112th Stryker Regiment is currently participating in Hanuman Guardian 26 with 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division, out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, where they are executing a series of subject matter expert exchanges and combined-arms live fires with the Strykers.
“We’ve been training with the U.S. Army many times and the result of this Stryker program reflects very positively” said Langkafa. “We deployed and got a mission, we were the very first unit to accomplish that mission using the strength of the Stryker. I think that makes a difference between an older version of the Royal Thai Army and a more modernized version.”
Captain Langkafa hopes to continue working with the United States, with dreams of being the attache in Washington, DC, where he can use his unique experience with the U.S. military and the Royal Thai Army to continue building partnership between the two nations. (U.S. Army Reserve story by Sgt. Charles Marx)
| Date Taken: | 03.10.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 03.15.2026 03:12 |
| Story ID: | 560572 |
| Location: | LOP BURI, TH |
| Web Views: | 35 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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