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

Education

Surapong attended the

Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School The Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School or AFAPS (Thai: โรงเรียนเตรียมทหาร) is a senior high school in Nakhon Nayok Province. It is a flagship institution of the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters. The c ...

as a pre-cadet as a prerequisite for attending

Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy (CRMA) (; ) is the service academy of Royal Thai Army (RTA). Established in 1887 it has graduated the majority of Thailand's military leaders, many of whom have become Prime Ministers of Thailand, Thai prime m ...

(CRMA). Surapong obtained his

Master of Military Art and Science The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

(M.M.A.S.) from the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

(CGSC) in 1994; Physics in

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

(

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

); Physics in

Virginia Military Institute The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...

( B.S.); and once again attended CGSC in 2017.

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 The Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters ( or the RTARF HQ, is the "mostly ornamental" joint headquarters of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, which is composed of the Royal Thai Army, the Royal Thai Navy and Royal Thai Marine Corps, and the Royal Th ...

(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 The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of TOT PCL from 2014 to 2019. On 1 October 2016, Surapong was appointed the 32nd Chief of Defense Forces. 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. At the

IPU Ipu is a percussion instrument made from gourds that is often used to provide a beat for hula dancing. There are two types of ipu, the ipu heke (), which is a double gourd made by taking two gourds of different sizes, cutting them and joining t ...

-UN Regional Conference on 3 October 2019, as a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

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.

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 The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

. Prior to this, he was awarded the

Eisenhower Fellowships Eisenhower Fellowships (EF) is a private, non-profit organization created in 1953 by a group of American citizens to honor President Dwight D. Eisenhower for his contribution to humanity as a soldier, statesman, and world leader. The organization ...

in 1994.

National

* Knight Grand Cross of

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant (; ) is an order (decoration), order of Thailand. It was established in 1861 by King Mongkut, Rama IV of the Thailand, Kingdom of Siam. Along with the Order of the Crown of Thailand, it is r ...

(MPCh; 2014) * Knight Grand Cordon of

Order of the Crown of Thailand The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand (; ) is a Thai order, established in 1869 by King Rama V of The Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand) for Thais, the royal family, governmental employees, and foreign dignitaries for their outstanding serv ...

(MVM; 2011) * Freemen Safeguarding Medal Second Class (SCh2/2) * Border Service Medal (ChD) * Chakra Mala Medal (RChM)

Foreign

* : ** Order of Military Service Loyal Commander (PSAT; 2013) * : **

Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang The Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang () is a Singaporean orders and decorations, Singaporean national honour instituted in 1968. It was created to replace the ''Pingat Bakti Chemerlang'' () and is awarded to any person who has performed within Sing ...

(DUBC; 2017) * : ** US Legion of Merit Commander ribbon

Commander of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

(2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suwana-adth, Surapong Living people 1956 births Surapong Suwana-adth Surapong Suwana-adth Surapong Suwana-adth Surapong Suwana-adth Surapong Suwana-adth Surapong Suwana-adth Surapong Suwana-adth Surapong Suwana-adth Surapong Suwana-adth Officers of the Legion of Merit Surapong Suwana-adth Surapong Suwana-adth