Neo Kian Hong

Neo Kian Hong
Neo on board the USS McCampbell on 18 May 2011
Born	Singapore
Allegiance	Singapore
Service/branch	Singapore Armed Forces
Years of service	1983–2013
Rank	Lieutenant-General
Commands held	Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion Singapore Guards Commander, 7th Singapore Infantry Brigade Assistant Chief of the General Staff (Operations) Commander, 9th Division Commander, Army Training and Doctrine Command Chief of Staff, Joint Staff Chief of Army (2007–2010) Chief of Defence Force (2010–2013)
Awards	see #Awards
Other work	see #Civil career

Neo Kian Hong is a Singaporean civil servant and former army general. He was the seventh Chief of Defence Force of the Singapore Armed Forces from 2010–2013 and held the rank of Lieutenant-General. Before that, he served as the Chief of the Singapore Army from 2007–2010. After retiring from active military service in 2013, Neo joined the civil service and became the Permanent Secretary (Education Development) in the Ministry of Education.

Neo received his secondary education in Victoria School, where he was also a National Cadet Corps cadet, and his pre-university education in Nanyang Junior College. He was awarded the Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship in 1985 and graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Upper Second Class Honours) degree in electrical and electronic engineering from King's College London. He subsequently completed a Master of Science degree in management of technology from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He also completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 2013.

Neo joined the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1983. Throughout his career in the SAF, he has held various appointments, including: Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion Singapore Guards; Commander, 7th Singapore Infantry Brigade; Assistant Chief of the General Staff (Operations); Commander, 9th Division; Commander, Army Training and Doctrine Command; Chief of Staff, Joint Staff; Chief of Army (2007–2010). He attended the Indonesian Army Command and Staff Course (SESKOAD) in 1994. He also served as the SAF's contingent commander for the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) in 1999 and was involved in establishing the national contact and tracing system in Singapore during the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak.