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| The Surayud Cabinet |
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Defence
Minister: General Boonrawd Somtas
General Boonrawd Somtas is a weekly golfing
partner of Interim Prime Minister Surayud
Chulanont. But he was surprised to receive
a telephone call just four days ahead of Sunday’s
announcement of his appointment as defence
minister.
“I am still surprised about the news
but willing to serve ‘the boss’
in whatever capacity I can,” Boonrawd
said.
During his one-year in the portfolio he said
he would devote his attention to forging unity
among the armed forces and resolving unrest
in the South.
Surayud and Boonrawd’s friendship dates
back to their cadet days at the Armed Forces
Military Preparatory School. They were graduates
of Pre-Cadet Class 1.
Subsequently, the two enrolled at Chulachomklao
Royal Military Academy before entering the
infantry as Class 12 officers. Both opted
to serve in special warfare operations.
They saw action in separate theatres –
Surayud fought the insurgency in Laos and
Thailand’s Northeast while Boonrawd
was deployed in Vietnam.
Their paths crossed again when they attended
the Army’s Command and General Staff
College.
As the top graduates, Boonrawd won a scholarship
to further his training in France while Surayud
was dispatched to Fort Leavenworth in the
United States.
Their career paths have been almost a mirror
image. While serving in the Special Warfare
Command Boonrawd was the commander of Second
Special Warfare Division and Surayud was his
counterpart at the First Division.
After Surayud was elevated to Army commander-in-chief
in 1998, he handpicked Boonrawd to serve as
his chief of staff a year later.
When the Thaksin-Shinawatra government came
to power in 2001, it became clear it wanted
to realign the military.
Surayud promoted Boonrawd to joint chief of
staff in 2002. Boonrawd’s mission was
to prepare the ground for his boss to follow
him to Supreme Command Headquarters the following
year.
The Supreme Commander and his joint chief
of staff retired from active military service
in 2004.
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