Surapong Suwana-adth

Surapong Suwana-adth (สุรพงษ์ สุวรรณอัตถ์; 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 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; Physics in University of Virginia (M.S.); Physics in Virginia Military Institute (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 (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.

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-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.

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. Prior to this, he was awarded the Eisenhower Fellowships in 1994.

National

 * Order of the White Elephant - Special Class (Thailand) ribbon.svg Knight Grand Cross of Order of the White Elephant (MPCh; 2014)
 * Order of the Crown of Thailand - Special Class (Thailand) ribbon.svg Knight Grand Cordon of Order of the Crown of Thailand (MVM; 2011)
 * Freeman Safeguarding Medal - 2nd Class 2nd Cat (Thailand) ribbon.svg Freemen Safeguarding Medal Second Class (SCh2/2)
 * Border Service Medal (Thailand) ribbon.svg Border Service Medal (ChD)
 * Chakra Mala Medal (Thailand) ribbon.svg Chakra Mala Medal (RChM)
 * Royal Thai Army Parachute Wings Badge
 * Royal Thai Army Ranger Badge

Foreign

 * 🇲🇾 Malaysia:
 * Order of Military Service Loyal Commander (PSAT; 2013)
 * 🇸🇬 Singapore:
 * Darjah_Utama_Bakti_Cemerlang_(Tentera)_ribbon.png Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang (DUBC; 2017)
 * 🇺🇸 United States:
 * US Legion of Merit Commander ribbon.png Officer of the Legion of Merit (2017)