Surapong Suwana-adth

Surapong Suwana-adth (Thai: สุรพงษ์ สุวรรณอัตถ์; born 28 December 1956) is a Thai military officer who formerly served as Chief of Defence Forces.

General Surapong Suwana-adth MPCh MWM
สุรพงษ์ สุวรรณอัตถ์
General Surapong in 2017
Chiefs of Defence Forces
In office 1 October 2016 – 30 September 2017
Preceded by	Sommai Kaotira
Succeeded by	Thanchaiyan Srisuwan
Personal details
Born	(1956-12-28) 28 December 1956 (age 67) Bangkok, Thailand
Education	Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy
Alma mater	University of Virginia (MSc) Virginia Military Institute (BSc)
Military service
Allegiance	Thailand
Branch/service	Royal Thai Army
Rank	General Admiral Air Chief Marshal
Commands	Chief of Joint Staff Chief of Defence Forces

Education

Surapong attended the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School as a pre-cadet as a prerequisite for attending Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy (CRMA).

Surapong obtained his Master of Military Art and Science (M.M.A.S.) from the United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) in 1994;^[1] Physics in University of Virginia (M.S.); Physics in Virginia Military Institute (B.S.); and once again attended CGSC in 2017.^[2][3]

Career

Surapong's major positions included being the Army Attache at the Embassy of Thailand, Washington, D.C., Director of Joint Intelligence, and the Chief of Joint Staff at the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters (RTARF) from 2015 to 2016; Chief of Defence Force at the RTARF from 2016 to 2017; Member of the National Legislative Assembly from 2014 to 2019; Chairman of TOT PCL from 2014 to 2019.^[4][3]

On 1 October 2016, Surapong was appointed the 32nd Chief of Defense Forces.^[1] Through a variety of initiatives, such as bilateral drills like Exercise Kocha Singa and multilateral exercises like Exercise Cobra Gold, military-to-military relations of Singapore and Thailand have improved under his direction.^[5] At the IPU-UN Regional Conference on 3 October 2019, as a senator and a representative of the Thai parliament, he discussed the legislative branch's duty to highlight the UN Countering Terrorist Travel Program and the need to assist the government, which is the administrative branch, in joining the program.^[6]

Honours

On 11 July 2017 at the Lewis and Clark Center, he was admitted into the International Hall of Fame by the United States Army Command and General Staff College.^[7] Prior to this, he was awarded the Eisenhower Fellowships in 1994.^[1]

National

• Knight Grand Cross of Order of the White Elephant (MPCh; 2014)^[8]
• Knight Grand Cordon of Order of the Crown of Thailand (MVM; 2011)^[9]
• Freemen Safeguarding Medal Second Class (SCh2/2)
• Border Service Medal (ChD)
• Chakra Mala Medal (RChM)

Foreign

•  Malaysia:
  • Order of Military Service Loyal Commander (PSAT; 2013)^[10]
•  Singapore:
  • Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang (DUBC; 2017)^[5][11]
•  United States:
  • Commander of the Legion of Merit (2017)^[12][13]

References

1. "Thai general inducted into International Hall of Fame | Command and General Staff College Foundation, Inc". 12 July 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
2. "Thai general inducted into International Hall of Fame | Command and General Staff College Foundation, Inc". 12 July 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
3. "General Surapong Suwana-adth". investor.osotspa.com. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
4. "Surapong Suwana-Adth, Tot PCL: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
5. "Top Military Award Conferred on Thai Chief of Defence Forces" (PDF). MINDEF Singapore. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
6. "IPU-UN Regional Conference "The Role of Parliamentarians in Preventing and Countering Terrorism and Addressing Conditions Conducive to Terrorism in the Asia-Pacific Region"". วุฒิสภา. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
7. "July 2017 International Hall of Fame | US Army Combined Arms Center". usacac.army.mil. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
8. "Government Gazette, Volume 1311, Section 27, Page 3" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
9. "Government Gazette, Volume 128, Section 24, Page 16" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
10. https://web.archive.org/web/20221109020958/https://ratchakitcha2.soc.go.th/pdfdownload/?id=1979262. Archived from the original on 9 November 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
11. "Top Military Award Conferred on Thai Chief of Defence Forces". www.mindef.gov.sg. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
12. "Gen. Surapong Suwana-Adth, Chief of Royal Thai Armed Forces, awarded Legion of Merit by LTG Bryan Fenton". U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
13. "Chief of Defense Forces of the Royal Thai Armed Forces Visits USPACOM". DVIDS. Retrieved 6 November 2023.

Military offices
Preceded by Sommai Kaotira	Chiefs of Defence Forces 1 October 2016 – 30 September 2017	Succeeded by Thanchaiyan Srisuwan