Songkitti Jaggabatara | |
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Songkitti Jaggabatara in full dress uniform of 1st Cavalry Regiment, King's Guard
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Native name | ทรงกิตติ จักกาบาตร์ |
Nickname(s) | Tui (Thai: ตุ้ย) |
Born |
Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand |
22 December 1950
Allegiance | Thailand |
Service/branch | Royal Thai Army |
Years of service | 1972–Present |
Rank | General |
Commands held |
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Battles/wars | |
Awards |
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General Songkitti Jaggabatara (Thai: ทรงกิตติ จักกาบาตร์; rtgs: Songkitti Chakkabat; born December 22, 1950) was the Chief of Defence Forces, Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters (CDF, RTARF) from October 1, 2008 until his retirement from active service on October 1, 2011.
General Songkitti was educated in many schools in various parts of Thailand before attending the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School as a pre-cadet in 1967 as a prerequiste for attending Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy (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 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 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, also known as "Red Shirt" movement, a political pressure group supporting Thaksin Shinawatra, in Bangkok during April 2009