General Songkitti Jaggabatara is the Chief of Defence Forces, Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters (CDF, RTARF) since October 1, 2008 and will retire from active service on October 1, 2011.

Military Life

General Songkitti was educated in many schools in various parts of Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 before attending the
Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School as a pre-cadet in 1967 as a prerequiste for attending Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy

Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy

Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy or CRMA is the military academy of Royal Thai Army. Established in 1887 it has graduated the vast majority of Thailand's military leaders and many of them become Thai Prime Ministers.-History:...

 (CRMA). In 1977 he graduated from CRMA as a cavalry officer. In the early years of his service, he fought in the war, in north of Thailand, with communist insergency

Communist Party of Thailand

The Communist Party of Thailand - CPT was a Marxist-Leninist, Communist political party in Thailand, active from 1942 until the 1990s. Initially known as Communist Party of Siam the party was founded officially on the 1st of December 1942, although communist activism in the country began as early...

 who had begun the low intensity armed struggle in the South, North and Northeast Thailand. He also served on the Thailand-Cambodian border during 1982 when the border situation there was very tense after Vietnam invaded Cambodia in 1978.In 2003, he commanded the 4th Army Area for 6 months and became Superintendent of CRMA. Before he was appointed as Chief of Defence Forces, he was Chief of Joint Staff, RTARF.

In April 2009, he was appointed by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva

Abhisit Vejjajiva

Abhisit Vejjajiva , , ; born Mark Abhisit Vejjajiva; 3 August 1964 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is a Thai politician who was the 27th Prime Minister of Thailand from 2008 to 2011 and is the current leader of the Democrat Party...

 as the Director of Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) with mandate to peacefully resolve political unrest by National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship

National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship

The United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship , whose supporters are commonly called "Red Shirts", is a political pressure group opposed to the People's Alliance for Democracy , the 2006 Thai military coup, and supporters of the coup. Notable UDD leaders include Jatuporn Prompan, Nattawut...

, also known as RED SHIRT Movements, a political pressure group supporting Thaksin Shinawatra

Thaksin Shinawatra

Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai businessman and politician, who was Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006, when he was overthrown in a military coup....

, in Bangkok during April 2009

Peacekeeping Mission in East Timor

General Songkitti came to international fame in 1999 when, as a Major General, he led the Thai Joint Task Force 972 Thai/East Timor as a military contingent from Thailand contributed to the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET). He was, concurrently, second in command of INTERFET while Major General Peter Cosgrove

Peter Cosgrove

General Peter John Cosgrove AC, MC is a retired Australian Army officer. He was the Chief of the Defence Force from 3 July 2002 to 3 July 2005, when he retired from active service...

, from Australia, was the commander. In 2000, He was awarded Honorary Member (AM) in the Order of Australia in the Military Division

Order of Australia

The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...

 and the INTERFET MEDAL

International Force East Timor Medal

The International Force East Timor Medal recognises members of the Australian Defence Force who served for 30 days in East Timor during the INTERFET campaign...

for his exceptional service to the INTERFET.

Later on November 2002, he accepted the invitation from University of Melbourne, Australia to share his views from the operations in the seminar on The Rule of Law on Peace Operations

Personal life

General Songkitti Jaggabatara is married with two adult daughters and one teenage son. He lives in Bangkok.

External links

• http://www.mof.go.th/mofhistory/8.html Ministry of Finance official website "Decoration : Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of The Most Exalted Order of The White Elephant"
• http://www.mof.go.th/mofhistory/9.html Ministry of Finance official website "Decoration : Knight Grand Cordon (FIRST CLASS) of The Most Noble Order of The Crown of Thailand
• http://www.rtarf.mi.th/pdf/MRI.pdf Royal Thai Armed Forces Armed Headquarters official website, Military Rank Insignia of Royal Thai Army
• http://www.afaps.ac.th/ Armed Force Academies Preparatory School
• http://www.rtarf.mi.th/EN/index_new_en.htm Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters
• http://www.crma.ac.th/ Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy
• https://sites.google.com/a/capothai.org/www/ Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES)
• http://www.army4.net/news.php 4th Army Area