Tatmadaw Army

Tatmadaw soldiers abducting Sarah Miller.

The Tatmadaw is the armed forces of the military junta-controlled Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar (Burma). They are featured predominantly as the main antagonists forces in the 2008 film, Rambo.

Background

The actor that plays their leader, Muang Muang Khin, was a former Karen soldier that agreed to take part in the film to raise awareness to the genocide going on in Myanmar. He also knew of their brutality firsthand, and shortly after the film was released, the country's oppressive government banned the film and imprisoned Maung Maung Khin's family because of his role in the film. Bootleg copies are common among the Karen and elsewhere in Myanmar, however, and Rambo's line: "Live for nothing, or die for something" has become their rallying cry. In the capital of Rangoon alone, most DVD stores put up signs of " we have no copies of Rambo IV" in fear of military crackdown on their businesses.

While the crew was filiming Rambo inThailand, Tatmadaw troops were just over the border watching the taping. They even fired shots over the heads of the actors, including Sylvester Stallone, because they didn't want the movie to be made.

Instead of the Chinese Norinco Type 56, the Tatmadaw all use Soviet Kalashiknov AKMs. This is kind of strange considering their geography is closer to China than Russia. However, some soldiers can be seen with Type 56s, despite the fact that almost all the soldiers use AKs. In real life, they're armed with an assortment of weapons including NATO and Russian- and Chinese-made firearms. Their possession of NATO weapons traces back to their democratic civilian regime before the communist takeover in 1962. Their possession of AK-type weapons began around 1970s.

Rambo IV

 

A Tatmadaw soldier falls for Rambo's trap moments before his demise.

Led by the sadistic Major Pa Tee Tint, the Tatmadaw has been responsible for many horrific acts. For years they have been trying to completely exterminate the Karen people, an ethnic group thriving on oil and natural gas-rich lands shared between Thailand and Myanmar. Tint is leading a campaign of fear across the war-torn jungles of Kayin region, going from village to village burning, taking prisoners, and raping and killing civilians. They kidnap young girls and pressed the young boys into military service. The Tatmadaw also are heavily involved in drug trafficking and often kidnap young women, raping them several times before selling them into prostitution. They also behead or mutilate innocents who speak out against them. Their favorite pastime appears to be forcing captured villagers to run through a mined rice paddy, until Rambo singlehandedly puts a stop to one of these.

Apart from the official defense budget allocation from the Burmese military junta (and subsequently the new democratic government in 2011), several units of Tatmadaw earn profits by engaging in illicit drug trade, exporting heroin, opium, and cocaine to other neighboring countries. This is hinted to be the cause of their brutality and ruthlessness towards minorities in the countryside, and as they became paranoid towards these minorities due to the ongoing ethnic insurgency in the country.

Weapons Issued

• AKM
• AKMS
• Norinco Type 56
• Walther P38
• M67 Fragmentation Grenade
• M29 81mm Mortar
• Browning M2HB machine gun
• Browning M2 Aircraft machine gun
• LC-T1-M1 Flamethrowers
• FN MAG light machine gun
• Jericho 941FB Compact "Baby Eagle"
• Tokarev TT-33 pistol

Gallery

A Tatmadaw soldier armed with an AKMS.

A Tatmadaw soldier aims an AKM at the mercenaries.

Tatmadaw soldiers armed with AKMs.